From Being Diagnosed to Beating the Odds: My Mother's Cancer Story

I can remember the day like it was yesterday.

I was living in Ohio and in the middle of the night I got a call from my father stating something was happening to my mother.

The day was May 11, 2011.

I didn’t understand at the time. All I knew was the next day I was flying home. Lord, the whole time I was on the plane I didn’t know what to expect.

When I arrived at the Atlanta airport I was greeted by my father. My mom chose to stay back. When we got in the car my father began saying we needed to take my mom to Emory in Atlanta the next day to get her results back.

I thought mom was good. She was just at work yesterday.

With tears in his eyes I knew there had to be more than he was telling me. So the ride home was quiet.

When we got back to Alabama I noticed my mom wasn’t her normal self. And she was not walking. Instead, she was sitting. She said,”Hey baby, I’m glad to see you.” But not like herself.

Everyone who knows her knows she smiles with her ruby red lipstick on.

That night was very silent night in the house. The same when we woke up the next morning.

My dad helped mom to the car as we headed to Emory. When we arrived I saw the “oncologist” sign and said, “Why are we here?”

Three years prior my father had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. So, needless to say, my mind a wreck.

As each doctor came in they advised us, and I heard what I had been dreading to hear — “Your mom, wife has multiple myeloma with a deletion of chromosome 17.”

I didn’t know what that meant. I was angry. Tears began falling because my mother is the glue for this family.

The doctor said she had a year, if that, to live.

I continued to cry, mom was crying and dad practically passed out. The entire room was fighting back tears.

She needed a bone marrow transplant. My mom said she was going to pray and ask God what to do. She then told her doctor that God gave her the word that she shall live and not die.

My mother went against all the odds as every doctor from Birmingham, Atlanta and Boston said she would most likely die. But she wanted to live. And here it is — almost 2018. My mother is here.

She has had many battles with transfusions, a weak immune system and weak bones, but her faith kept her alive.

Our family has overcome so much. I gave up everything — my life and dreams — to care for her. But the best gift I gave my mom and dad was a grandchild.

I always say we never know what will happen each hour. So cherish each day.

I still cry when things get rough, but through it all I know God is so good.

Never think you are alone. Everything is day by day. But I trust God for answers. Even when I don’t understand it all I say,”Lord what do I do next?”

I hope someone can be blessed and encouraged by these word, and know that sometimes, you have to cry. But you can also live, laugh and love.

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Getty Images photo via diego_cervo