Rosemary Madnick

Vice President for Research Administration at The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

Incurable doesn’t mean incapable. There are still paths to walk and bridges to cross. Cancer has taught me not to wait for perfect days - there aren’t any. So, get outside, cross the bridge, take the photo and make today count.

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

The unglamorous work of survival: daily effort, tedious repetition, hard-won resilience. The kind nobody applauds but everything depends on.

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

Lo, upon this day did we repair unto the picture-house, there to behold Hamlet, the melancholy Dane, whose troubled brow doth mirror mortal frailty.

And mark this wonder: no other soul did grace the chambered hall. The velvet seats stood hushed and empty, as though the world itself had paused to grant us sovereign dominion of the stage.

Thus were we seated as lords and ladies of that shadowed realm, the silver screen our private court, the flickering light our only herald.

A play within a play we watched - yet ours became a theatre within a theatre, for what king or prince hath known a rarer privilege than this: To witness the Prince of Denmark’s grief in solemn solitude, And claim the house entire as if by royal decree!

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

Still here. That’s the headline.

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

Not “back to normal.” Back to deliberate.

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

Holding back when you want to push is sometimes the hardest discipline there is. You’re not stalled. You’re rebuilding infrastructure.

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

Survival in an abnormal situation is not normality. It is defiance. It is endurance. It is a daily act of courage carried out in circumstances no one would ever choose. Read more in my blog:
https://t.co/tIEtKgKycX...

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

A small outing. A big milestone. First cinema visit since critical care! We saw Marty Supreme and it was great!

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

Sustained effort. Relentless adaptation. Daily problem-solving. Constant vigilance. It is the unseen labour of staying alive in a body that no longer behaves as it once did. Please continue to share and support, your help matters more than you know.
https://t.co/ZQ1Lz6AYiU

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

It's Escape Room time again and a great place to apply survivor’s logic. Here's my escape doctrine for rooms and other life stuff:

1. Stay calm longer than the room expects
2. Treat pressure as information.
3. Solve the next thing, not everything.
4. Slow your thinking when time speeds up.
5. Use curiosity as a countermeasure.
6. Be useful under stress.
7. Earn the exit.

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

Doctor’s orders: at least one hug per day.

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

Hope doesn’t sit down. Movement is medicine and just a few steps is enough to change the chemistry. This is how tomorrow is built.

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

You can choose to be in the manufacturing business of morale, keeping the assembly line of optimism moving or you can just moan and be grit in the machine.

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

Thank you to everyone who has helped me stay afloat while I focus on my health battles. Your support, kindness, and generosity mean more than I can properly put into words.
If you’re able to share or support, it genuinely helps ease the practical pressures so I can keep my energy where it belongs: on recovery and resilience.
Thank you for being part of my fight.
💛
https://t.co/o8qQ1bUBCg

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

Head & neck cancer means you don’t fly business class, you fly…
1. warrior class - every mile earned the hard way.
2. survivor class - no upgrades, just raw spirit.
3. resilience class - turbulence included.
4. courage class - seatbelt permanently fastened.
5. Hope class - wings patched with stubborn faith.
6. grit class - no champagne, just determination.
7. fighter class - oxygen mask already on.
8. comeback class - fuelled by tomorrow
9. wing-it class: literally no idea what comes next.
10. get-on-with-it class: no fuss, just flying.
This is Budget Fight Airways and BYO courage. No snacks.

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

A brisk reminder that optimism needs a coat!

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

The odds can look ridiculous. Keep going. You still have a chance of being the plot twist.

[Jeff Myers @Coachjeff629]

John is truly an inspiration for those confronting challenges. He struggles to breathe and eat, yet walks almost every day . He maintains hope and positivity. A model for us all. #FuckCancer

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

I live in a body that can betray me without warning, lungs that may falter, strength that may slip. Food no longer passes my lips; a tube keeps me alive while pain keeps me humble. In the quiet hours when fear knocks loudest, I stand in the only power I have left: the choice to continue.

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to wake up and realise you’ve got a broken jaw that wont heal, no tongue, a collapsed lung, a feeding tube up your nose and Stage IV incurable cancer? Of course you haven’t — why would you?! But for me, this is my world. And the important thing is this: I’m still here, still swinging, still in the game, despite every challenge thrown my way.
https://t.co/aHDmHWdT6w