Churchill Sent Me & A Bump in the road

You don’t get many chances to make a real difference in life. I worked hard for this one: a Churchill Fellowship to research veteran mental health and comedy across North America.

I was ready. I’ve already navigated major health issues, living with vastly reduced lung capacity from surgeries a decade ago. But the Fellowship saw that as experience, not a hindrance.

I had the flight booked for Vancouver. My itinerary was set. I was three weeks away from wheels up.

Then came the colonoscopy result. “Sorry Mr. Leslie, you have bowel cancer.”

It felt like a calm walk in the park, birds singing, sun shining, then getting hit by a low-flying plane. My mind raced immediately to my family, my work, and this Fellowship.

So, the plan has changed. This blog was supposed to be about researching humor, recovery and resilience. Now, it’s about living it.

I will be documenting both the Fellowship mission and this personal “bump in the road.” I’ll keep the updates distinct, the mission is the mission, and the cancer is the cancer, but there is no denying they are now part of the same story.