December 5, 1987 was a date that changed my life. FOREVER. In a great way. That was the day I married my soulmate, my best friend, my bride. We were CHILDREN!! Two weeks from today, we will celebrate our 27th anniversary. And I couldn’t imagine doing life without her.
Only a month or so after that day in 1987, my mom was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. That is where I met cancer for the first time in a personal way. And cancer was not my friend. Cancer tried to take my mom, but she fought. And fought HARD. Chemo and radiation, as hard as they were, worked well and mom has been cancer-free since then.
Since that time, much has happened in my family. Mom and Dad have seen grandkids, their first great-grand, and many other great milestones. Dad’s health in the past few years has declined as dementia takes over. Mom has given 110% of herself to taking care of him. Many tough days and sleepless nights. This summer, she fractured a couple of ribs and never quite recovered from that pain.
That catches us up to today. In the past two weeks, we have discovered there is more. This unwelcomed visitor that left us many years ago is back. We do not yet know the extent of it. We do not yet know what we are facing. But our doctors are certain it is cancer.
So, we meet again. I have purposefully not posted much on social media and don’t know how much I will be able to do that in the next few weeks. The biggest thing we need is prayer. Lots of big decisions to be made, decisions that will wrench our hearts. But we have to do what is best for both mom and dad.
The Random Thinker 