My first memory of breast cancer was when I was 13. I was in my acceptance interview at Cornerstone when the principal asked my dad if he could tell him one specific thing that God has done for him in his life. Not knowing what was coming, I cringed in my seat as I prepared to hear my dad go off on a tangent about the extent of his love for Jesus. My dad has always been our number one cheerleader when it comes to having a personal relationship with God. Growing up he would ask me how my walk with God was or if I was in the FOG (an acronym he made up meaning 'favor of God'), I definitely rolled my eyes at that one a few times. One time he made vinyl stickers with a christian fish and the letters F-O-G and put it on his car. Needless to say he was persistent and has always encouraged us to better our relationships with God, and I admire him for that. The next words I heard in the interview were, "Well Eryn doesn't know this but God healed my wife of breast cancer." My heart stopped. I let the words sink in and held back my tears with every ounce of my being. what. the. heck. My mom was sick! When! Why hadn't I know? I was shocked. A few weeks later, I brought up the interview. My dad told me that I was 6 years old and too young to understand at the time. There were no obvious signs because my mom was able to take a low dose chemo pill and had no visible symptoms. I don't remember ever thinking anything was weird, but then again I was 6. I was busy playing barbies and making home videos of myself dancing around and singing. I only know this because my mom has uploaded them to youtube recently, THANKS MOM.
Well I got accepted to Cornerstone. Thankfully the principal did not have a vision from God of the havoc I would wreak in my next 4 years of high school... or a vision of my high school graduation, when the superintendent gave his speech and mentioned that a particular girl was in his office at the beginning of her high school career and now she is here graduating, yes that happened. I had the time of my life and needless to say I have settled down... somewhat. It was during my high school years that my mom's sister Mini (1 out of 5 sisters YEAH) was diagnosed with breast cancer.We watched her fight and fight for many years as the cancer spread. Even through her intensive chemotherapy, she always had a smile on her face and even did the breast cancer walk with us a few times. I will never forget a picture I have of her and mom crossing the finish line in their survivor shirts. She was such a fighter! When I was 23, the doctors decided there was no more they could do. Aunt Mini went to be with Jesus a few weeks later and it was one of the hardest things our family has ever had to deal with. It's still hard. We miss her every day.
While preparing for her funeral, my parents sat me and my sister down for a 'talk'. These talks were pretty common with me and my parents, mostly in my high school years and they almost always ended with some sort of sentencing. What could I possibly be in trouble for at 23 years old. I definitely wasn't expecting to hear what I did. My mom's breast cancer had came back. Great timing. Right in the middle of losing Aunt Mini, this can't be happening. I was heart broken. The funeral day came and it was a tough one. Mourning the loss of a loved one and mourning the news of my mother was overwhelming. I will never forget when my Aunt Mini's daughter Wendy found me after the funeral, held me while I cried and told me that her mom was going to be my mom's angel through this.
After a few weeks, my mom began to prepare for her journey. She was going to have a bilateral mastectomy and then start chemotherapy. The day of her surgery was emotionally draining. We all took off work, and sat in the waiting room for hours waiting and waiting. Mom's friends came by and brought us a big basket of food and treats. My mom's friend from high school who is also my dear friend Jordan's mom brought us an ice chest, with drinks and food for our stay at the hospital. After the surgery, so many people came to visit, brought us dinner many nights of the week and took care of us, we are blessed with the most amazing family and friends. I wish I could name and thank every single one of you on here. My Aunt Sonia came to live with us to take care of my mom while she recovered. After her recovery, she began chemotherapy. There is no manual on how to act when your parent is going through chemo but there should be. Watching someone you've always known to be so strong become so weak and lose all their hair is absolutely heart breaking. I went to chemotherapy with her once. Sitting there for hours in a room with other cancer patients hooked up to machines is very emotional. It was too hard on me to watch and thankfully my aunt Yolanda devoted a lot of her time to being with my mom at her appointments, she is an angel. My mom eventually finished chemo therapy and all of her pretty hair grew back and now she is a two time survivor as of 2010. She is truly my hero.
So all of this brings you to where my journey starts.
Thanks for reading y'all,
Eryn
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