Flying with the Ravens
Lucy McNair
Photography
Before my diagnosis and treatment I spent a lot of time with ravens on the mountain ridges of Snowdonia.
I would soar high above the crags, catching the wind as it was lifted up the dark cliffs, diving, flipping, feeling the wind with every outstretched feather.
After my treatment I was grounded and could only watch from a distance as my majestic friends flew the high ridges. I could no longer join them in their free flight.
My four-year check up found no trace of cancer, and since my last clear results, I have felt a shift in my outlook.
A pair of ravens fly in to my garden and I hear their call. For the first time since my diagnosis I believe that I will, once again join them.
I would soar high above the crags, catching the wind as it was lifted up the dark cliffs, diving, flipping, feeling the wind with every outstretched feather.
After my treatment I was grounded and could only watch from a distance as my majestic friends flew the high ridges. I could no longer join them in their free flight.
My four-year check up found no trace of cancer, and since my last clear results, I have felt a shift in my outlook.
A pair of ravens fly in to my garden and I hear their call. For the first time since my diagnosis I believe that I will, once again join them.
Arts Contributor to the Living Alone with Cancer Experience led by Cardiff University School of Healthcare 2016-2018 Funded by Tenovus Cancer Care:
http://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/cancerservicesresearch/art/
I think this piece is particularly moving because of the importance that this bird has for the photographer. The way they describe how after the treatment they couldn’t soar really stood out to me; it’s an excellent metaphor for capturing how grounding a life-threatening illness can be for a patient. As ravens are particularly associated with death and mortality in folklore, it makes this photograph even more poignant.
In particular, my favourite section is how even after the check up had no trace of cancer, they didn’t immediately return to soaring with the ravens, feeling better after a difficult time, even when technically everything is okay, it is still a process that takes time: something I feel is often forgotten by doctors and other healthcare professionals.