Thanksgiving is a family favorite in our house. We all gathered at my parents’ house for a full day of eating. Dad and I would wake up and immediately start cooking, we would get the smoker ready for the ham and turkey, we would mash potatoes for potato pie, we would start baking, getting the green beans ready for the casserole, and then sit down to make the anti-pasta.
Let’s recap- in the two weeks I have found out I had cancer we have gone through, IVF treatments, 3 breast MRI’s, 1 Brain MRI, 1 echocardiogram, 1 PET Scan, 1 Bone Biopsy, 1 Botched Port Surgery, 1 Plural Effusion, 2 Chest X-Rays, Countless doctor visits, 5 Vaginal Exams, 1 Egg Retrieval, 1 Chemo Teach, 1 Paxman Cold Cap Fitting, Countless blood draws and countless hours of anxiety, nauseas, and being drugged up.
There is a lot going on a normal day in my life. I am serial perfectionist who takes on too much because I enjoy the stress of being busy. But 2019 pressed me with new stress. Stress I was not prepared for nor wanted. 2019 was a little bitch and it knows it.
A week after I was diagnosed with Her2+ Breast Cancer, I went for my first PET Scan. A PET scan is similar to an CT Scan, main difference is what you are injected with before the scan.
With cancer comes a list of realizations and decisions that need to happen in a split second. Decisions people normally have days, months, years to think about I was making some times in a moment. A moment of extreme stress
Tuesday morning after our first meeting with the oncologist, I was shattered all over again. I was feeling a different kind of grief.
In October I had a sharp pain on the side of my left breast. I immediately, on the couch in my living room, performed a breast exam and found a dime size mass in the lower left quadrant of my breast.
At our wedding, my father gave a toast equating love to a garden of roses: You get beautiful flowers if you put in the work. It was not always going to be easy, but it would be worth it.
As every father should be to their kids, my father was my hero. He was my hero for simply being the best dad.
On my way to my father’s visitation, I received a text from my Jeep dealership in Texas. My Jeep had finally arrived, 6 weeks after I ordered it. What a day for my Jeep to arrive.
On the day of my father’s visitation, I went to church to seek help. I needed to talk to someone stronger in the faith than myself.
I had the honor of presenting one of the eulogies at my father’s funeral. I wanted to take the time to share it here for those of you who were unable to attend or did not have the privilege of knowing my father.
The start of summer is historically a day that marks pool trips, frozen treats, and relaxation. The longest day of the year used to be one to go out with friends, enjoy cookouts, and be joyful. The longest day of the year: June 21st.
