While much of what I choose to put on this blog is about the fun times we have together and with our awesome families, it feels right to post something about what has been consuming me lately. My mom's leukemia diagnosis. Really? My mom has leukemia? I really can't believe that's what is going on in our lives now. I've spent my entire child life career helping cancer patients and their families, I just never imagined I'd have to help my own family through it. My dad's treatment was so different, but the treatment my mom is going through is so much what I know from my previous life experience.
Don't get me wrong, I value that experience because I feel like I can prepare the family for what to expect and where there are gaps, Steven is amazing at filling in the details (because of his career and previous life experience). Knowing what to expect is only part if this, knowing what I will feel...impossible to predict. I don't think I even wanted to think about it as real...until the second bone marrow and that's when the emotional roller coaster finally had gotten to the top of the first summit...and down the hill we go! This whole month has been a roller coaster of emotions...and most of you know I do NOT like roller coasters!
At the bottom of that first hill was the looming "hair loss". My mom's hair was slowly coming out, but she still had quite a bit of hair...which was driving her crazy all over the pillows, her clothes, and the room. So last night I did something I never in a million years thought I would do:
I. shaved. my. mom's. head.
And you know what, we laughed (thank you Amanda!!), we cried, and we moved on to the next fight in this war. Fortunately for my mom, she has a beautifully shaped head and she looks great bald! Not saying it was easy to see...for us or for her...but all things considered-- she's bald, she's beautiful, and she's bad a$$!
Thank you, Melissa. That was a beautiful post.
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