ABSTRACT
S ome say it is like falling into an abyss, where all is unknown. “Walking out of the physician’s office, the patient’s head swirls with questions … the feeling is one of being adrift in a sea of uncertainty, with all anchors gone and previous points of reference rendered meaningless” (Pollin, 1995, p. 49). Bolen (1996) described it as a soul experience: “Illness is both soul-shaking and soul-evoking for the patient…. We lose an innocence, we know vulnerability, we are no longer who we were before this event, and we will never be the same” (p. 14).
