On May 21st of this year at 4 a.m., Dr. Kathleen Briggs lost her battle with breast cancer, which began 10 years ago this April. Although I only knew Dr. Briggs (or Kathleen, as she liked most of her graduate students and colleagues to call her) for a short period of time, she had a lasting impact on me as a marital and family therapist and as a person.I first met Kathleen back in 2002 when I was looking into graduate school at Oklahoma State University. She was the first of the marriage and family therapy (MFT) professors I met. I can remember the zeal and passion she had toward this field. All I remember thinking is, "if she is part of this graduate program, well, this is where I want to be." Later, I was invited to join the 2003 MFT cohort at OSU. You can imagine the disappointment I felt when I discovered that Kathleen wasn't a main part of the MFT program as she took the position as department head. She still seemed to stay connected in various ways, but we, graduate students, rarely saw her in the classroom or clinic. Well, I wasn't about to be deprived of the Kathleen Briggs experience, so I took it upon myself to stop by her office and visit with her as often as I could. As busy as she was as department head, she always seemed to make time to visit with me when I stopped by. I remember one particular time I was contemplating buying a PDA (i.e., pocket pc). I knew she had one, so I stopped by to briefly ask her about it. She dropped what she was doing and spent 30 minutes showing me how it all worked. She even offered to let me borrow hers for a while longer so I could see if that kind of device would best serve my interests. She was such a fabulous person.
The biggest impact Kathleen had on me pertained to how she approached life. I didn't know her before she was diagnosed with cancer, so I can't speak to how her battle with it influenced her perspective on life. However, I do feel like I have a good sense of how she approached life as someone battling with cancer. I've often caught myself describing Kathleen to others as a "machine." It just seemed that she wouldn't let anything bring her down and keep her from living life to the fullest. I'm sure she has had her moments of struggle that she probably revealed to her closest friends and family. But, for the most part, Kathleen stayed positive and determined. I did my internship at a cancer center and I have seen firsthand all the chemicals that get pumped directly into one's veins in effort to battle the cancer. Most of us in the MFT program knew if the cancer had returned; therefore, we knew Kathleen would be receiving chemotherapy. It was always phenomenal to me to know Kathleen was going through something so physically and mentally draining and yet see her in such high spirits. I remember thinking that I hope someday when I stare death in the face, I could stand strong and determined; and know that even if death prevails, I won't go down without putting up one heck of fight. There have been only two people in my life that have had that kind of impact on me, and Kathleen is one of them.
Thank you, Kathleen, for your life that you shared with me. To all who read this, Kathleen was a big supporter of cancer research. And although we have come along way in the search for a cure in the last two decades, there is still much work to be done. The American Cancer Society (http://www.cancer.org/) and the Komen Foundation (http://www.komen.org/) are just a couple of places you can make donations in the effort to find a cure. God bless you all.
