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Many people will never know the pain of the word cancer during their lifetime. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Cancer has always been a word in our society that has a very negative connotation. It does not make people rational when thinking about the possibilities of what will happen in the future, all a person can think of is the worse case scenario, death. It made me miserable for the first couple of days. I cried until I could no longer. I did not feel like going to school, work, or even play soccer. It turned my life upside down. Whatever happened to high school being the best years of my life?
I knew that I had to learn from this experience, rather than dwell on it and be depressed. I had to be the bigger person. I needed to be strong for my mother at a time when she could not be strong for herself. I needed to let go of all my hesitation and be there for her when she needed me the most. As soon as the time came, I took advantage of it; I kissed her when we were finally able to see her after her surgery that seemed to take an eternity, and all I wanted was to be with her and hold her. I held her hand when she cried, since she was there when I could not handle the introduction of this new albatross in our family. When the time came for her to go to the chemotherapy treatments, she allowed me to have the honor of shaving her head. It was a moment that I will never forget. Before her head was shaved, I never fully believed she had cancer, but now I was staring at her shaved head. I was looking at cancer now, while it was glaring back at me. My mom had cancer. That night changed me. I had to believe it. There was not a way I could deny it. I knew I had to change the way I saw my mom from that day forward. I finally got enough courage to go to a treatment with my mom during the summer. It was the scariest experience of my life, but it was just another building block of my maturity that I added to the stack that summer. My mom had to check into the hospital for her treatments, therefore, it was an all day adventure in a tiny room that smelt like syringes and rubber gloves. I was a foot away from my mom when she was wired with tubes. Tubes that were filled with chemicals that would temporarily cause her pain, but in the end would make her feel better for the rest of her life. Afterwards, I drove her home, put her into bed, gave her a cold glass of water, made sure she had everything within an arm’s distance, and then went to refill her prescriptions. I wanted this to be over with just as much as she did. So, I did all I could to help her to make her feel better and make this cancer completely and fully dead.
After her last chemotherapy treatment, it was time for celebration. We had truly conquered it, and my relationship with my mom had grown a miraculous amount. We are closer now, than we had ever imagined we could be. We were always close, but that year made me appreciate the relationship that I have with my mother. I cherish every laugh, every hug, every kiss, and especially every tear, because I never know when those little moments can be taken away by fate. This experience has changed the way I look at life. Life is a very precious thing, and it can be over in a wink of an eye. Before my mom was diagnosed, I did not remember anybody close to me in my family that died or had a life threatening disease or condition. But I do remember that on February 1, 2004, my mom didn’t have cancer, but on February 2, 2004, she did.
If that paper doesnt get me into college, i will now forfeit life. i love my magha. Now you know my story even more so. wish me luck. COMMENT ME!!! |
