A Moment That Forever Changed My Life!

Hellooooooo...
{tapping mic} Is this thing on???

Well hello there people in blog land! It's been a while since I've blogged and well, quite frankly, my world has been turned upside down since the time I took time to sit down and write a post! 

I'll go ahead and warn you that the upcoming post here has absolutely NOTHING to do with education, or a cool product or even teaching {so I won't be mad if you decide to quit reading now}. What's about to unfold in this blog post is the last 7 months of my life that has been a whirlwind....to say the least. 

Maybe you can relate....

We all have those moments in life that will stick with you for a lifetime. Those memories that you are pretty sure you'll remember, even when you're old and wondering around aimlessly. Those moments that you wish you never had to remember but you do because they become part of you and shape you in every way.  Well, one of those moments happened to me shortly after writing the last blog post before today, which was this past November.  

It was early December when my mom {in GA} Facetimed me {here in England} to chat and somewhere in the conversation, she let me know that had an upcoming mammogram appointment. I said okay and we continued on with our daily musings of everything going on between our two countries. 

A few days later she casually mentioned that her mammogram went a little differently than normal. When the nurse was using the boobie squasher machine {I have no idea the real name, that's just what we've always called it} her breast wouldn't lay just right. The nurse had a hard time getting it squash down, noticing that it was a little firm in some spots. A few days later, December 15th to be exact, was when we got the news....the nurse had in fact felt something odd....she felt cancer. The doctor didn't end up seeing much in the mammogram films but rather he acted on the nurse's notes that something wasn't right. He decided to do a biopsy to be 100% certain of what he thought it was and days later we were informed that yes {insert those dreaded words} my mom has cancer!

And not only did she have breast cancer....she had stage 3 breast cancer!

Talk about your heart stopping.

The rest of my life flashed before my eyes. The rest of my kids lives flashed before my eyes. Holidays, birthdays, vacations and every happy moment flashed before my eyes....but without my mom present! That was gut wrenching!!! It was almost more than I could bare. 

I allowed myself a few solid days of crying...which I did often. After that I made up my mind that my mom not being in my future life, wasn't an option. If she was going to fight, so was I. We would fight this battle together...miles and an ocean apart, but together nonetheless. 

She started chemo on January 15th. She had 4 doses of the REALLY bad chemo {often referred to as the 'red devil' which is red like kool-aid and makes all of your hair fall out} every other week. She then begin weekly treatments at the beginning of March that would last for 3 months!! As you can imagine, she was slap worn out!! Her body had been out through hell and she has experienced the worst side effects that you could imagine. Her last treatment was on Friday May 29th. 
(A pink boa to celebrate the last chemo!)

She is now in the resting phase. She is now letting her body try to recuperate. Her numbers need to come back up before her surgery. Her side effects are slowly fading away and even the tiniest amount of peach fuzz hair is starting to grow. Chemo is just no joke!! 
(My mom and I went I visited her in late January.)

She has a double mastectomy surgery planned for July 6th. I'll be flying back to the states a few days before that to accompany her through this next phase and thankfully I'll be able to stay for a few weeks! 

I guess I shared all of this to not only explain my blogging absence but to also let you know that there IS light at the end of a daunting cancer tunnel. While I was not the person with cancer, being a cheerleader and supporter can be very difficult too. Keeping a brave face and always offering words of encouragement {even when you aren't so sure of things} can be exhausting. So if you are the cheerleader to someone with cancer, keep going! Keep cheering and keep those Pom Poms waving. It will help more than you will ever know!! 


Cancer is a big ugly word that can be part of your life, but it doesn't have to define your life!


1 comment

  1. Wow! Just wow! How scary! Words are just not enough. I'll keep you and your mom in my prayers. Keep us posted!! Em
    emilysteacher@yahoo.com

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