I was delighted to get this email. Heather reached out to me and wanted to share her story about surviving cancer.
Heartwarming Story!
Most 7-year-olds don’t know what cancer is, but my daughter is very familiar with the term. Not only does she know what cancer is and how frightening it can be, but she knows that there is always hope. When asked about this deadly disease, she will tell you that she saved my life. She’s not trying to be cute, she just clearly understands the effect that she has had on me and how hard I fought so I could be with her.
While our friends were starting their families, my husband and I were still focusing on getting to know each other. Our lives felt complete as they were, and we saw no reason to rush into parenthood. I was 35 when Cameron and I decided that we were ready for this incredible step, and we had no idea how fast the process would be.
It only took us three months to conceive Lily, and I took three pregnancy tests before I really believed the news. I was so excited about all the changes we were facing. I was shocked and nervous, but I was also incredibly excited and happy about becoming a mother. I spent so much time rubbing my belly and thinking about the baby growing inside me. I wondered what kind of mother I would be, and I knew that I would do everything in my power to be a great mother to our child.
Pregnancy agreed with me, and the nine months passed without any serious problems. I could have had ten more children because Lily was so easy for me. My only problem appeared as I was preparing to deliver her. My little darling was breech, and the doctors were unable to turn her. I was whisked in for an emergency C-section. While other women may have panicked at this, I turned it into a positive by joking that her head would be perfectly round. When she was born, I was overcome with so many emotions. There was so much I wanted to teach her, show her and tell her.
All I could do was hold her in my arms, staring at her perfect little features and thinking about how incredibly blessed I was. I could have held her that way forever, but things always change and time stops for no one.
Lily was only 3 ½-months-old when I went to the doctor and received news that would change all of our lives. Thank God my husband was with me, because I didn’t know what to do when the doctor said I had malignant pleural mesothelioma.
When he started saying I only had 15 months to live, I began to shut down. All I could think of was that I wouldn’t be there for Lily. I had barely gotten to know her, and I would never get to see her grow into the beautiful woman of my dreams. Thankfully, my husband was there and he continued to listen even as I started to drift in my shock and grief. He collected the information the doctor gave us, and he made the decisions about my medical care.
They weren’t easy decisions to make because they involved traveling and some extreme surgeries. However, they were my best hope for surviving. It would start by going to Boston to meet with one of the top mesothelioma specialists in the world. I would undergo surgery to remove the infected organs including my left lung, the lining of my heart and even my diaphragm.
I would remain in the hospital for 18 days to stabilize me and help me start recovering. After that, I would live in an outpatient facility near the hospital for two more weeks. During this time, my daughter would be away from me. She would be living with my parents in South Dakota while I underwent the treatments and Cameron tried to continue working and supporting me. Finally, after two months apart, I would join her at my parent’s house before returning to Minnesota to start my radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
This was a major sacrifice for Cameron and I, but it was necessary. I missed an entire month of her life, but it meant that I would be around for her in the years to come. I hated being apart from her, but I made the sacrifice so that I could be here for her today. I fought to live for my daughter, and I cannot thank her enough for giving me the strength and courage to fight.
I look back on my journey with this disease, and I know that I am blessed to be alive. With mortality rates of almost 95 percent, the odds of survival were not in my favor. However, I had something that other people don’t have. I had a baby girl at home who needed her mother, and I absolutely credit her with saving my life.
Visit Heather’s Blog Here
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