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Jackie Briggs
This story is a part of the My Unsung Hero sequence, from the Hidden Mind staff, about individuals whose kindness left an enduring impression on another person.
In 2006, Jackie Briggs was working 60 hours per week at a high-pressure IT job. One Saturday afternoon, she determined to take a while for herself and go to a ladies’s well being convention. As she was strolling round totally different cubicles, somebody approached her.
“This beautiful dark-haired girl got here as much as me and he or she mentioned, ‘Excuse me, however I am unable to assist however discover your arm,'” Briggs remembers.
That day, Briggs had uncharacteristically determined to put on a sleeveless costume, leaving a rose-shaped birthmark on her higher arm uncovered. The lady requested Briggs if she had seen a dermatologist in regards to the birthmark, and when Briggs assured her that she had, the stranger continued.
“She pressed me and mentioned, ‘When?’ I needed to cease to suppose. I counted again … and it had been over three years.”
When the girl heard how lengthy it had been, she urged Briggs to name her physician. After explaining that she was a nurse at a plastic surgeon’s workplace, she gently reached out and touched Briggs’ arm. “Actually, do not wait,” she mentioned.
When Briggs adopted up together with her dermatologist, she realized that the girl had saved her life. It turned out that the birthmark was really a melanoma – one of many fastest-moving and deadliest sorts of pores and skin cancers.
“If I hadn’t listened to her, I in all probability would not be right here,” Briggs mentioned.
Briggs underwent surgical procedure and had the melanoma eliminated. She’s now fortunately retired and simply completed writing her first novel. Her unsung hero, she mentioned, saved her life.
“My six-inch ragged scar that travels virtually from the highest of my shoulders down my arm is my on a regular basis reminder of her… my guardian angel,” she mentioned.
My Unsung Hero can also be a podcast — new episodes are launched each Tuesday and Thursday. To share the story of your unsung hero with the Hidden Mind staff, file a voice memo in your cellphone and ship it to myunsunghero@hiddenbrain.org.
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