{"id":8241,"date":"2020-12-01T22:03:28","date_gmt":"2020-12-01T22:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellspring.ca\/alberta\/blog\/2020\/12\/01\/marilyn-ostryznik\/"},"modified":"2020-12-01T22:03:28","modified_gmt":"2020-12-01T22:03:28","slug":"marilyn-ostryznik","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellspring.ca\/alberta\/blog\/2020\/12\/01\/marilyn-ostryznik\/","title":{"rendered":"Marilyn Ostryznik"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNovember 30, 2020<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\tMember Stories, The Wellspring team stories<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Peer Support &#8211; a calling with heart<\/h4>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"749\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/wellspring.ca\/ab-test\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2023\/06\/Marilyn-Photo-749x1024-2.jpeg\" alt=\"inline_217_https:\/\/wellspringalberta.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Marilyn-Photo-749x1024.jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/p>\n<p>This month marks my seventh year as a Wellspring Calgary volunteer. As a 20-year breast cancer survivor, this work is especially meaningful to me as I feel deeply connected to Wellspring&rsquo;s vision to ensure no one has to face cancer alone.<\/p>\n<p>Since COVID temporarily closed our centres, I have been spending between eight and 13 hours a week calling our members to check in and find out how they are doing.<\/p>\n<p>While I view my Peer Support role as an honour, some days it is difficult making the calls, knowing there will be a full range of responses. I might hear about the highs of someone who has just finished treatment, to the lows of an individual who has just heard the words, &ldquo;you have cancer.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>As I listen with an open heart, and do my best to remain calm, kind and empathetic, sometimes I cannot help but say, &ldquo;I have no words. I am so sorry. That is crappy.&rdquo; Often times the best response is no response at all. To just listen and let it all pour out.<\/p>\n<p>I am grateful that my experience as a survivor brings hope to some, and I encourage people to take advantage of all that Wellspring has to offer online. The sense of community is huge and the social benefits are enormous. I tell this to new people, and I hear it from those who are already engaged and taking programs.<\/p>\n<p>Truly, the rewards of this work are immeasurable. It has prompted me to start a Gratitude Journal &ndash; to give thanks for all I can give, and to express the ways this role lifts my spirits.<\/p>\n<p>Just the other day I heard, &ldquo;You called at just the right time. You are an angel.&rdquo; I don&rsquo;t know about that, but I do know I am a grateful cancer survivor, and am guided to do all I can to make things just a little bit brighter for others on this difficult path.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How to get peer support?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Living with cancer as a patient or caregiver can be isolating and COVID-19 has created another barrier by isolating us even more. If you feel the need or the desire to connect with one of our trained Wellspring Peer Support volunteers, please become a Wellspring Calgary member, then register for Peer Support&nbsp;or call 1-866-682-3135 and a volunteer will help you register.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This month marks my seventh year as a Wellspring Calgary volunteer. As a 20-year breast cancer survivor, this work is especially meaningful to me as I feel deeply connected to Wellspring\u2019s vision to ensure no one has to face cancer alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-8241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-inside-stories"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Marilyn Ostryznik - Wellspring Alberta<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wellspring.ca\/alberta\/blog\/2020\/12\/01\/marilyn-ostryznik\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Marilyn Ostryznik - Wellspring Alberta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This month marks my seventh year as a Wellspring Calgary volunteer. 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