Hi everyone! Today I am doing something a little different.
Recently, Heather (a fellow blog friend) contacted me and shared her story with me.
We got to talking and thought it would be a great idea/resource to share her story on this blog as well in hopes to help raise awareness. And to encourage people to find the silver lining to their situation.
This is Heather and her family {how cute is she!!!}
And here is her story:
The
Struggle Against Mesothelioma for a new Mother
Life sometimes throws us diametrically opposed emotions in a short period of time. When I was 36, I felt the extremes of both joy and sadness. My daughter, Lily, was born on August 4, 2005. The birth of children is indescribable, and my husband and I felt joy we can't explain. While this joy remained, it would be mitigated before long.
After recovering for a month, I went back to work. Something seemed wrong. My energy had evaporated, and I was tired all day. What concerned me most, however, was losing 5 to 7 pounds every week. This is not uncommon after giving birth, but I felt that there was something bigger that was wrong. My suspicions proved to be accurate.
My doctor put me through a plethora of tests. Just 3 1/2 months after Lily was born, my doctor diagnosed me with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a specific cancer that affects the lining of the lungs; it is caused by exposure to asbestos. Unknown to me, I was exposed to asbestos is a child. Without treatment, my doctor believed that I would only live for 15 months.
The news struck hard. I could only think about Lily and my husband, and he did not know what they would do without me. Right after I was diagnosed, my husband and I decided that we would do all we could to beat this awful disease. We learned about a drastic form of treatment, decided that’s what we needed to do, and shortly after that I flew to Boston and underwent extensive surgery called extrapleural pneumonectomy under one of the best mesothelioma doctors there is. My left lung was removed during this procedure, and I stayed in the hospital for 18 days. After that, two months of chemotherapy and radiation therapy followed. During this, I was doing my best to be best mother to Lily I could.
Lily flew to South Dakota to stay with my parents while I was in Boston. They were glad to take care of her, and they had a number of friends and family members who happily volunteered. I do not think I will ever be able to express my full gratitude, and I am not sure that I would have been able to make it through this without their help. I did miss a number of important moments in Lily's growth. While staying with my parents, she learned to eat solid foods and started moving around. Being away from her was hard, but I knew that I to do all I could so that I could be there for her in the future. Despite how hard it was, I believe that any mother would have done the same for her child.
I eventually realized that there was a silver lining to my ordeal. My daughter and my other family members gave me the ability to fight as I knew they needed me. We all have a deeper appreciation for life after seeing its fragility. I strongly encourage anyone going through a hard time try to find a silver lining and that is why I share my story. Through all of this I have found that there is always some good to be found even in the worst of times.
Life sometimes throws us diametrically opposed emotions in a short period of time. When I was 36, I felt the extremes of both joy and sadness. My daughter, Lily, was born on August 4, 2005. The birth of children is indescribable, and my husband and I felt joy we can't explain. While this joy remained, it would be mitigated before long.
After recovering for a month, I went back to work. Something seemed wrong. My energy had evaporated, and I was tired all day. What concerned me most, however, was losing 5 to 7 pounds every week. This is not uncommon after giving birth, but I felt that there was something bigger that was wrong. My suspicions proved to be accurate.
My doctor put me through a plethora of tests. Just 3 1/2 months after Lily was born, my doctor diagnosed me with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a specific cancer that affects the lining of the lungs; it is caused by exposure to asbestos. Unknown to me, I was exposed to asbestos is a child. Without treatment, my doctor believed that I would only live for 15 months.
The news struck hard. I could only think about Lily and my husband, and he did not know what they would do without me. Right after I was diagnosed, my husband and I decided that we would do all we could to beat this awful disease. We learned about a drastic form of treatment, decided that’s what we needed to do, and shortly after that I flew to Boston and underwent extensive surgery called extrapleural pneumonectomy under one of the best mesothelioma doctors there is. My left lung was removed during this procedure, and I stayed in the hospital for 18 days. After that, two months of chemotherapy and radiation therapy followed. During this, I was doing my best to be best mother to Lily I could.
Lily flew to South Dakota to stay with my parents while I was in Boston. They were glad to take care of her, and they had a number of friends and family members who happily volunteered. I do not think I will ever be able to express my full gratitude, and I am not sure that I would have been able to make it through this without their help. I did miss a number of important moments in Lily's growth. While staying with my parents, she learned to eat solid foods and started moving around. Being away from her was hard, but I knew that I to do all I could so that I could be there for her in the future. Despite how hard it was, I believe that any mother would have done the same for her child.
I eventually realized that there was a silver lining to my ordeal. My daughter and my other family members gave me the ability to fight as I knew they needed me. We all have a deeper appreciation for life after seeing its fragility. I strongly encourage anyone going through a hard time try to find a silver lining and that is why I share my story. Through all of this I have found that there is always some good to be found even in the worst of times.
I am so so happy to rejoice with Heather that she is Cancer FREE!!! Her story is truly inspirational, and I am so glad that she has turned her pain into purpose!! To read more about Heather's story and day to day life, you can follow her blog here. As I will be too :)
Have a great day everyone, I have a little special girl turning one tomorrow that I am looking forward to spoiling!!!
Oh I am so happy that she is healed! I always see that commercial about the cancer, but I don't know much about the causes. I thought it affected people who worked in factories. Glad I read her story, so now I can learn more about how something we are exposed to as a child can have such a negative impact on our health later on. Thanks for sharing!
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