Today is apparently National Cancer Survivor Awareness Day. My dear friend Patricia is a two-time breast cancer survivor. She is closer to my moms age than mine, but despite our age difference, I loved her from the day I met her. I was pretty sure she didnt like me, which I took as a personal challenge to win her over...and I did! :-) She has been there for every big event in my life since Ive known her; the birth of my children, as well as every subsequent birthday party, all of my fitness-related events, and texts or calls to check on me when were out of town or she just hasnt seen me for a while. She is selfless and has a heart of gold. She is a very talented quilter, and has made beautiful quilts for both of my daughters, and they love them. When she retired from civil service two years ago, she decided to start joining me at the gym every morning at 5:00. She does cardio while I do weights and has been there every day with rare exceptions. With this pregnancy, I quit going to the gym that early during my first trimester; I started going in the afternoon instead. Second trimester, I returned to mornings, but later. Id usually see her as I was arriving and she was leaving. About two months ago, I noticed it had been a week or so since Id seen her. I had been busy so I hadnt called or texted, either. Then came a text from her husband. Patricia has a brain tumor. We met up for breakfast shortly thereafter. She told me they were going to do a biopsy to determine if it was cancer. I asked her how she felt, and her answer gave me comfort. I know I didnt do anything to cause this, and I guess my faith is strong because I know its in Gods hands. The biopsy results came back. Cancer. A week later they went to do surgery, and the size of the tumor had already doubled. After surgery, she was a different person, no longer able to function normally and unable to use the left side of her body. This was about a month ago. She hasnt responded well to chemo and radiation, and her family made the incredibly difficult decision last week to cease treatment. My sweet friend Pat will likely be gone very soon. In many ways, she already is. I miss her so much. I mourn that she wont see the birth of our son in less than two months. She wont meet me and my girls for lunch dates anymore. She wont see her own son get married and have children. Her husband, who loves her dearly, has so much pain in his eyes and will miss surely her more than anyone else. Its all happened so fast. We all have incredibly difficult things that we encounter during our lifetime. This is one of mine. This post is to remind you that we are not guaranteed tomorrow. Make the most of today. For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. James 4:14
Posted on: Mon, 02 Jun 2014 02:35:48 +0000
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