I've had a bunch of different blog posts on my mind over the last 6 months, yet they haven't made it this far. This is a note that I wrote on facebook. I figured it worked well for those of my friends that keeps tabs on my blog.
Dear Friends,
Where do I even begin? When I tell a story I really like to build up suspense to the climax of it… trying my best to not give away the ending. I love to watch peoples’ reactions. Not this time. So here’s the climax with an explanation that follows. (As a disclaimer, I’m merely sharing this as a means to let my friends know what is going on. I’m not one for sharing such personal information in a public setting, but I’m just not able to find the time to share this individually. So if you have opinions about how this has been handled, please keep them to yourself.) :)
My mom has cancer.
What kind or where you ask? She has 5 tumors on her brain, 2 in her lungs, her kidney, and the doctors suspect her bones and blood. They told us 3-4 months.
Yep, pretty serious stuff.
5 years ago my mom was told that she had kidney cancer. This was based off of one CAT scan. All other tests done at the time didn’t show cancer anywhere else. A couple of years ago, she had blood work done and nothing came up on that either. Apparently, it spread.
In January/February she decided to do some remodel type work on her bedroom. She tore up the carpet and started sanding the wood floor beneath it. The walls had wood paneling on it and we took that off to discover layers of paint and wallpaper. She started scraping that off but found it to be quite the job. My brother assessed the situation and decided to step in. They took down the old wall boards and but up new stuff. The room looks pretty great. However, a few months later, my mom found out she had lead poisoning, we’re assuming from the paint she scraped off the walls. All summer she has been pretty sick with this. She lost a lot of weight and has had no energy. I stayed the weekend with her in late June and was surprised to see her mental abilities quite limited. Communicating was frustrating to her because she would lose her train of thought. At some points I was shocked to see that in some ways, she was like a small child. Turns out, she also suffered a stroke.
While receiving medical treatment through all of this, it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago, September 16th, that she went into get a heart murmur checked out. The doctor she saw about that was quite alarmed and sent her to the ER. They didn’t see anything bad about the heart murmur, but did a CAT scan, MRI, and who knows what else. They found the tumors on her brain, in her lungs, kidney, etc. Saturday, September 17th, they told us “About 3-4 months.”
What a roller coaster ride it’s been since then, although this past week, things seems to have calmed a bit. She is at home, unable to get out of bed. We have hospice keeping tabs on her. My aunt, my mom’s older sister, has been staying with us helping with her care. My mom tells us, although very limited in being about to communicate, that she wants to live. She wants to fight it. She wants to prove the doctors wrong. So we support that. She always needs to have someone with her, so my sisters and I have been trading times sleeping in the same room and just being with her. My brothers have been great in coming by to be with her and spending time with my dad. I’m in Provo every night now, not being able to help much during the day. We’re all just trying to do what we can.
There are so many blessings being poured out for my family at this time and I am constantly seeing the Lord’s hand in supporting me in this. I’m surprised at how well I’m handling this to be honest. But I shouldn’t be. You see, my mother taught me well. I know the plan of salvation is real. I know that God loves me and is watching out for me. Sure, it’s been an intense couple of weeks, but there have been so many miracles taken place, that in part, I’m not sorry my family is going through this. Of course I would rather my mom didn’t have to go through this. Of course it kills me to think that she might not be around much longer, but it is what it is. My family has really come together. I’m so grateful for real friends. Thank you for your prayers and words of comfort. I know that it’s another manifestation of my Heavenly Father’s love for me.
So, that’s the story. I hope I was able to communicate that all, but if not, just know that my mind is somewhere else.
Thanks for letting me share this with you.
Your friend,
Emily
PS: As far as what anyone can do to help, I've found that hugs are a HUGE help! :) That and prayers.
Dear Friends,
Where do I even begin? When I tell a story I really like to build up suspense to the climax of it… trying my best to not give away the ending. I love to watch peoples’ reactions. Not this time. So here’s the climax with an explanation that follows. (As a disclaimer, I’m merely sharing this as a means to let my friends know what is going on. I’m not one for sharing such personal information in a public setting, but I’m just not able to find the time to share this individually. So if you have opinions about how this has been handled, please keep them to yourself.) :)
My mom has cancer.
What kind or where you ask? She has 5 tumors on her brain, 2 in her lungs, her kidney, and the doctors suspect her bones and blood. They told us 3-4 months.
Yep, pretty serious stuff.
5 years ago my mom was told that she had kidney cancer. This was based off of one CAT scan. All other tests done at the time didn’t show cancer anywhere else. A couple of years ago, she had blood work done and nothing came up on that either. Apparently, it spread.
In January/February she decided to do some remodel type work on her bedroom. She tore up the carpet and started sanding the wood floor beneath it. The walls had wood paneling on it and we took that off to discover layers of paint and wallpaper. She started scraping that off but found it to be quite the job. My brother assessed the situation and decided to step in. They took down the old wall boards and but up new stuff. The room looks pretty great. However, a few months later, my mom found out she had lead poisoning, we’re assuming from the paint she scraped off the walls. All summer she has been pretty sick with this. She lost a lot of weight and has had no energy. I stayed the weekend with her in late June and was surprised to see her mental abilities quite limited. Communicating was frustrating to her because she would lose her train of thought. At some points I was shocked to see that in some ways, she was like a small child. Turns out, she also suffered a stroke.
While receiving medical treatment through all of this, it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago, September 16th, that she went into get a heart murmur checked out. The doctor she saw about that was quite alarmed and sent her to the ER. They didn’t see anything bad about the heart murmur, but did a CAT scan, MRI, and who knows what else. They found the tumors on her brain, in her lungs, kidney, etc. Saturday, September 17th, they told us “About 3-4 months.”
What a roller coaster ride it’s been since then, although this past week, things seems to have calmed a bit. She is at home, unable to get out of bed. We have hospice keeping tabs on her. My aunt, my mom’s older sister, has been staying with us helping with her care. My mom tells us, although very limited in being about to communicate, that she wants to live. She wants to fight it. She wants to prove the doctors wrong. So we support that. She always needs to have someone with her, so my sisters and I have been trading times sleeping in the same room and just being with her. My brothers have been great in coming by to be with her and spending time with my dad. I’m in Provo every night now, not being able to help much during the day. We’re all just trying to do what we can.
There are so many blessings being poured out for my family at this time and I am constantly seeing the Lord’s hand in supporting me in this. I’m surprised at how well I’m handling this to be honest. But I shouldn’t be. You see, my mother taught me well. I know the plan of salvation is real. I know that God loves me and is watching out for me. Sure, it’s been an intense couple of weeks, but there have been so many miracles taken place, that in part, I’m not sorry my family is going through this. Of course I would rather my mom didn’t have to go through this. Of course it kills me to think that she might not be around much longer, but it is what it is. My family has really come together. I’m so grateful for real friends. Thank you for your prayers and words of comfort. I know that it’s another manifestation of my Heavenly Father’s love for me.
So, that’s the story. I hope I was able to communicate that all, but if not, just know that my mind is somewhere else.
Thanks for letting me share this with you.
Your friend,
Emily
PS: As far as what anyone can do to help, I've found that hugs are a HUGE help! :) That and prayers.
