On August 27, I was able to go with my mom to her 2nd Chemo appointment. I wasn't any real help to her but it did a lot for me to be there and see the process and to just see her. I hadn't seen her since her diagnosis and living so far away from her was very hard. I felt so helpless.
She had chemo in St George and it took like 6 hours do get all of that poisen into her body so I ran a few errands for her and also got us smoothies at Tropical Smoothie Cafe. I kept popping back in to check on her. It was interesting to watch the other people. The infusion room is just a huge room with a bunch of chairs with people hooked up to them-people with all different kinds of cancer at different stages. Some were very quiet and kept to themselves, some were crying because they were so sick, some were loud and talking to everyone about everything. I guess everyone deals with it in their own way but I found myself wanting to know more about them. What kind of cancer did they have? What was their prognosis? What do they believe about life and the afterlife? Was this their first battle with cancer? Have they had family members that they have also battled cancer? I was curious but it also felt so personal-like something they just had to deal with on their own. It made me thankful for my family and friends and support system that I have. My mom has been very private about the whole thing (she is naturally an extremely private person) so it's been hard to know how to help her and truthfully there isn't much you can do to help someone going through chemo. I have been absolutely amazed at my mom's courage. She never once complained-not once. I begged her once to complain and she wouldn't. Guess she's like Job and I am more like Job's wife but she literally never complained. She also chose to go completely bald in public which has taught us so much about what beauty really is. She was absolutely beautiful without hair and she owned it big time. Her confidence was contagious and she was complimented so many times about how beautiful she was without hair. I've never been more proud of her or more proud to be her daughter.
Her Dr. is Dr. Te and we love him. He has been so good to my mom. He told her he has treated her cancer as aggressively as possible. Which to me says, "we have taken you as close to death as possible without killing you". Chemo made her SO SO SO sick. Radiation was much better than Chemo but not without it's pain and challenges.
This picture with a smile on her face makes me cry every time. Not because she has no hair-but because she was able to smile throughout it all. She is THE BEST!!
She had some bad experiences trying to find a wig in vegas but did get one. She hardly wore it though. We tried on a few in St. George as well. I thought it would be fun to post a few here.
Love you mom-you are so inspiring!
