My Mom, My Hero, Part 1

In February of this year, I took a business trip, and when I got home, I got horrible news.  My mom called me and told me that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.  Weeks before she had her annual mammogram and they called her to tell her they had found an abnormality and she needed to come in for more tests.  After these tests, the breast surgeon she was put in touch with felt 99% sure that it was malignant, and they were going to perform a biopsy.  The surgeon also stated that even if the biopsy came back as benign, she still wanted to perfom a lumpectomy to be on the safe side.  The biopsy would be in a couple of days.  My mom had not told Karen or me about this earlier because we were both going to be out of town, and she didn't want us to worry.

My first thought was sheer terror, my mom is my rock, she and my grandmother are the two strongest women I have ever known, I felt like I was 10, and I immediately fell apart and cried.  Then, as my mom started to comfort me, my mature, mother side kicked back in and I pulled myself together.  The next thought I had was if it were me, I would do everything possible I could to make this ok for my girls, and I didn't want my mom to worry about me.  I asked her where she was and got in the car to go see her.  I needed to see her, to see that she was just as beautiful and strong as she always was, and when I saw her, that was exactly what she was. 

My mom has always been the type to put her family first, to make sure everyone was alright, and this time was no different.  She worried about my dad, about how my sister and I were doing.  She took comfort in knowing that we had a support system of each other as well as amazing friends and if she was worried about herself, she didn't show it at all.  I only hope and pray that I am able to be that same source of strentgh for my family if I ever have to be.

The next month was an emotional roller coaster, first bad news, the tumor was malignant, then worse news, it was the worst kind it could be, then amazing news, IT HAD NOT SPREAD, followed by more good news, mom was able to have the shorter round of radiation therapy and no chemotherapy was required.  After her surgery and treatment, she was declared in remission, music to everyone's ears. 

Karen, Nathan and I put together a "care package" for mom when she was getting ready to have her surgery that had books, a blanket, a bag for her things, a necklace, and this was my favorite thing we did for her:

It is important that I share with you the fact that our family had no history of breast cancer until my mom's this year, and that without this regular screening mammogram, we may not have been so lucky. Please share with any woman that you love to take care of themselves. As mothers we often put ourselves last, our appointments are the hardest to fit in among children's appointments and activities, days off to care for them when they are sick, but the best thing we can do for our families is to take the time to take care of ourselves as well.


Mom took the time and it saved her life. This inspired me to start taking better care of myself, this is what got me back into working out, got me to make sure I am scheduling regular check-ups and getting the tests I should be getting. Thank you mom, I'm 33 and I am still learning from you.  I love you more than I can put it to words, and I'm sure that I don't tell you that often enough.