My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 at the age of 43 and went through a mastectomy, radiation and 8 months of chemo. She went into remission for the next 7 years and lived a very fully life in those years. She tapped into a new found courage, even trying things that used to terrify her like parasailing.
I am the same age as she was when she was first diagnosed: 43. Since I was a senior in high school at the time of her diagnosis, 43 seemed way out in the future, ancient almost. Now that I am 43, I know how young it really is, how much life I feel like I still have yet to live.
She was diagnosed when I was a senior, my brother Kevin was a junior and my sister Jessica was just 11 years old. She told us that her great wish was to be around long enough to see her kids graduate from high school. During my sister's senior year of high school, my mom started to complain of what she thought was the beginning of arthritis in her shoulder. Unfortunately, it turned out that the cancer had come back with a vengeance and had found its way into her bones, pancreas, liver and brain. My sister graduated high school at the end of May, my mom went into the hospital on July 4th and passed away on July 11th. She got her wish, but barely.
Mom was one of those women who was meant to be a mom and made all of her kids feel special and loved. She was one of five sisters, whom she loved fiercely. She and my dad were high school sweethearts that found each other again in college and loved each other for their entire adult lives. She had an army of close friends that she would have walked through fire to help.
She made the best chocolate chip cookies on the planet. At her funeral, dozens of people mentioned that to me and my family - everyone wanted her recipe. She would never tell! To this day, I haven't been able to quite replicate it, even though I have her recipe book. It wasn’t just cookies, either. Her spaghetti recipe is still my all time favorite comfort food, followed closely by her poppyseed chicken with goop (gravy).
During the seven years after her first diagnosis, Mom campaigned for breast cancer awareness and fundraising, and just as important, used it as a testimony of how she leaned on her Christian faith to provide strength and comfort during her journey. As part of my ongoing amends to her (I wasn’t always as nice to her as I should have been), I continue to fundraise in her honor.
My daughter is named after my mom. Mom dreamed of the day when she would have grandbabies and would have loved this little girl. My brother and his wife are now expecting a little boy, and Mom would have loved him, too.
Mom was like Crafty MacGuyver with anything in the house - she could make incredible decorations with a pine cone, a piece of ribbon and a hot glue gun! Our house always felt like the coziest home on the block, due in large part to her expert level crafting skills, but in larger part to her welcoming nature and huge heart.
In her lifetime, she was a mom, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, teacher, entrepreneur and business owner, mentor, friend, Brownie troop leader, church member, volunteer, fundraiser, champion baker, writer, crafter and so much more. I can only imagine what else she would have been if she had lived past 50.
If you would like to donate to Susan G. Komen in her honor, please click here:
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