Cancer Sucks...

Two years ago this fall, the girls lost their Great-Meme to cancer of the neck. It was a long, hard battle for her and for the family. She was diagnosed when Einey shortly before Einey's birthday. I remember then, her telling us how much she will miss seeing other great-grandchildren being born (Einey was the first). We surprised her then with the news that we were in fact expecting another baby which would be due in 7 months. Six months later, Meenie was born and Meme was doing well. The cancer was still there, but it had shrunk some. She loved seeing her two great-grandchildren. Then a few months later she got really sick. She wasn't expected to make it much longer. It was then that we were all surprised to find out Moe was coming. Moe wasn't supposed to come and it was a HUGE surprise. Meme again rallied. At about 7 3/4 months into my pregnancy, Meme again took a turn for the worst. She was hospitalized and given her last rite's. We said our good-byes. We felt sorrow that she wouldn't be able to meet her last great-grandchild. Two weeks later, Moe was born. Shortly after, Meme was discharged from the hospital. The following year was full of ups and downs and Meme finally passed away shortly after Moe turned one.

We are all thankful for the time she got to spend with her great-granddaughters. We believe they are the reason she hung on so long. We (Husband and I) believe that is part of why Moe was given to us -to help Meme and the family for a little bit of time. She purely was a gift from God. Because we had already said our good-byes, it made that last year easier for Husband and I. We knew she wasn't going to stay on this planet much longer, she was just too weak. But we were already healing and enjoying her last few months with us. We had already mourned. For other members in the family, it was much harder. They were not ready to let go.

The girls still ask questions about their Great-Meme. They look at pictures of them with her. There aren't many form that last year as it was quite disfiguring on her neck/face and she didn't want to be photographed. Still we got a few of her from the side with Moe. They ask to visit her in the cemetery (something they are obsessed with lately). They ask why she died. And while they still are no old enough to understand, we are starting to tell them more.

(We just found out that two year later, the girls are finally going to have 2nd cousins. Husband's cousin and his wife are expecting twins the end of the year!)

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The beginning of the week, I just found out that a good friend's brother was recently diagnosed with aggressive cancer. This man is a father of four. His last daughter was born last fall at 21 weeks! She has overcame many hurdles just to survive. She still has many medical hurdles she has to overcome. They still l don't know the full extent of damage she will live with. And now, they have to deal with cancer. My friend (pregnant with her fifth child) will be flying down South to be with him when he gets his diagnosis. For her, this is reliving a part of her history. She lost her younger brother to cancer when he was just twenty five. She was with him for everything - every test, every procedure). Now with a family of her own and living 1/2 way across the country, she feels like she should be there more. We have her family in our thoughts and prayers.

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In the blog-o-sphere, Whymommy of Toddler Planet has recently found out she has Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). I remember the first time I heard of IBC, it was through an email. An email I discarded, much as I did the ones warning about the people selling perfume that was really ether, or the guy who would put fliers on the back of your card and carjack you when you got out to remove it. Or the ones warning against freezing bottled water, microwaving food in plastic containers and rat feces on top of cans. That eating pop rocks and soda will cause your stomach to explode. That I should help out some poor widow whose deceased spouses money is tied up in a foreign bank. But if I transfer it to my account, I will get a cut and help out this poor widow. We all get these emails. Some of us discard them, some of us pass any and all of them on. Some of us check Snopes for verification on whether it is true or not. While most are false, the one about IBC is true. Go ahead, click on it and check.

Whymommy will be starting chemo in around 8 days (around July 13th) and she needs our support. That is the reason you see the button on the side for "Team Whymommy". She needs our positive thoughts. She is going to fight this and win! If you want a cool button and want to show your support, visit Canape and she'll hook you up! And don't forget to stop by Toddler Planet and show your support!