Angels Everywhere

We have all heard the saying that there are angels everywhere, and that has turned out to be very true in my life. But I can honestly say that I never expected to find them at the Flora-Bama on Cinco de Mayo weekend.

Let me back up.

One of my friends, Jenn, organized a girls’ beach trip for her birthday on Cinco de Mayo weekend, and I was really looking forward to the trip – until I got some pretty devastating news a few days before we were supposed to leave.

At my annual mammogram, the technician finished her normal routine and then, said, “I just want to get another picture, can you hang with me for one more minute?” My heart sunk because I was pretty sure I knew what that meant.

The doctor looked at the images and prescribed a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound to get a better view of what the technician had seen on the first round. Sure enough, there was ‘something’, and the doctor said, “Before we jump to conclusions, let’s get a biopsy to confirm what we are looking at here.” I scheduled the biopsy for the next Friday.

I shared this development with a small group of friends and family, and they were all so kind, offering prayers, words of comfort, and to go with me if I needed them to.  One angel even dropped off flowers on my doorstep, with a note reminding me that I am not alone.

Fast forward to a week later, my friend Allie (who is an angel herself and who I ironically first met when we were both volunteers for Susan G. Komen) went with me for the biopsy. They couldn’t get the view they needed via ultrasound, so I had to get clamped into the mammogram machine for the biopsy to happen. It was as awful as you are imagining. The doctor said it would be about a week to get the results, so I settled myself in to wait it out.

Turns out I didn’t have to wait that long – Allie works for an oncologist and was able to call me with my results after only 5 days. I was sitting in a pedicure chair when her number popped up – I thought she was calling me to talk furniture (since she’s also helping me figure out how to decorate my new house), but when I picked up and she said, “Can you talk for a few minutes?” I knew why she was really calling. I am beyond grateful that I got to hear the news from one of my closest friends, but I hated to hear the next sentence she had to say.

“It’s definitely cancer.” 

She followed with what my next steps would be – meeting with a surgeon and more testing to figure out what kind of surgery would be best. She had already made me an appointment to see a surgeon before she even called me (angel, I tell you!), and couldn’t have been more kind as she shared more information about what kind of breast cancer I have.

I was in shock for the rest of the night but had to go home and play mom to Diana, who I had decided to shield from the news until I knew what the plan would be. The next day, I also talked to the doctor that performed the biopsy to hear what she had to say, and she assured me over and over that we caught things early and that my situation was treatable.

Then, I had to decide if I was going to go on this beach trip. I really wanted to go but wasn’t sure I was up for it. I didn’t want to be a bummer on what was supposed to be a fun trip, but also thought it might be exactly what I needed to have blow off some steam and be with some girls that I love. I shared with a few of the girls, including Jenn, and they all encouraged me to come. (Angels!)

So, that brings us to the night at the Flora Bama.

The 8 of us rolled up in two Ubers (one was a pimped-out Lincoln Navigator and one was a pickup truck with a dog in the back and Bible on the dashboard, but that’s a story for a different day), and started to look around for a place to hang out. As we were walking around this legendary, gigantic bar, we saw all sorts of different groups of people, but one, in particular, kept catching my eye.

There were this group of about six women all dressed up as old women. They had on grey wigs, muumuus, granny glasses, long strings of fake pearls, and sashes that showed they were part of a bachelorette party. One of them had a cane, one had a walker, and they were having a blast dancing together in their granny get ups.

Finally, I had to know what the deal with the outfits was, so I walked up to the one with the bride sash. “Excuse me, y’all look like you are having the most fun, but I have to ask – what’s the deal with the old lady costumes?”

The bride laughed and said, “We are here for my bachelorette party, and we are breast cancer survivors. We all met in a breast cancer survivors’ support group in Louisiana, and now we are celebrating living through cancer and calling it into existence that we are going to be old ladies together celebrating all the things for years and years to come.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and instantly teared up, right there in the middle of the bar. The bride looked at me and asked, “Are you okay, honey?” I shook my head and said, “I was just diagnosed with breast cancer on Wednesday. I think I was meant to see you tonight.”

She flung her arms around me, and then, called to one of her friends to come talk to me too. When she told her friend about my diagnosis, she put both hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes and said, “You are going to be fine. You hear me? You are going to get to the other side of this and be back in celebrating mode before you know it.” 

Then, the rest of the women noticed the bride and her friend talking to me and approached to find out what was going on. Once they heard, they gathered around and started sharing words of encouragement and sharing their stories. The next thing I knew, one of them had laid her hands on me and was saying a prayer of healing in my ear.

I wiped my eyes, thanked them for their kindness and turned to go find my friends to tell them what had just happened. They danced off into the crowd, but not before the bride turned around and gave me a final thumbs up.

For the rest of the night, I kept seeing those angels across the room. They were having the time of their lives, and it made me smile every time. They were a bright spot in what was starting to feel like a very dark time, and I felt lighter after meeting them. Maybe some would call this some crazy coincidence, but to me, it felt like a message from God, assuring me that things were going to be okay.

In the few weeks since then, my genetic testing came back clear, which means that I can move forward with a lumpectomy instead of the more major options. After they take out the tumor and some lymph nodes, they will be able to test those and determine what kind of follow up treatment I need.

The surgery will be this Thursday, and my friend Sally (another angel, who apparently has bought a special shirt for the occasion) will be taking me.

As I have shared the news with friends and family, I have been humbled by the kindness that I have been shown. There have been offers to fly in to help take care of me, texts/calls to check on me, offers of meals, a high volume of shared memes and reels to distract me, offers to take care of Diana while I go through treatment, gifts dropped on my doorstep…and more prayers than I can possibly count. I have always known that I have angels all around me, and this experience has confirmed to me that I am truly blessed to be so surrounded.

I firmly believe that we find what we are looking for. If we keep our eyes and hearts open, there are good things and good people all around us, even in the most unexpected places like the Flora-Bama. I don’t know what the road ahead looks like from here, but I am absolutely sure that there will be angels with me all along the way.