Mom Update: Fight Like a Girl!

Mom posed for pictures with each of us before the "big event."

When mom first got the breast cancer diagnosis, she knew she would be having chemo, and that having chemo meant loosing her hair. We all knew this was inevitable, and we have all been dreading it. I have never wanted to see my mom without her hair, because when you see a woman who is bald, that pretty much always means one thing... cancer. And cancer is just plain scary.

Mom's hair started falling out a few days ago, and knowing that she had a chemo treatment again today and will probably be sick all week, she decided to have a little head shaving party last night and get it over with. I'm sure it's really hard watching your hair fall to the ground all at once, but it's also hard having it fall out little by little in clumps. "It's pretty unnerving!" as mom put it! So, we decided to make the best of it. We put on a little Michael Buble, we all gathered around, and Alli shaved her head.

We had all been worried about this day, because we knew that mom loosing her hair would make the cancer seem even more real. It was a hard experience for all of us, but mom did so great! Of course, she is still beautiful. She still has the same big smile, the same pretty eyes, the same fun personality, and she looked so good to us last night. With or without hair, she is gorgeous! We actually had a pretty good time--we cried a little, laughed a lot, listened to good music, danced to a little Abba, had some peach and razzleberry pie, (in honor of Melanie's b-day this week), and wore our matching "Fight Like A Girl!" shirts. I know, this is a G-rated blog, but there are a lot of breasts in this family. We are going to hope for a cure, fight like girls, and fight with our mom!

So, we are all pretty proud of our sweet mom today. She has been brave and is really good at doing things she doesn't want to do, but that have to be done. I'm also thankful for my dad. He is so supportive of her and takes such good care of her. He is so good to mom and is the perfect dad, because he is so patient. He laughs with us and understands when we just need a good cry, and puts up with our silliness and is always ready to take our pictures! He's used to our spontaneous dance parties, and just quietly listens to everything we have to say, but gives us great advice when we need it. We know that this experience has been hard on him, too, but he never complains. He is so strong and I'm so thankful that we have him, and thankful that mom has him!

So, it was an emotional night, but we have always been good at turning any occasion into a party, and that has really come in handy lately. Mom did great, and looks so good in her new hats and scarves, and her cute new wig. We love her and she is an awesome example to us!

Em, Alli, me, Mel,

Lid, and Cath

All the girls with mom and her cute new wig. Doesn't she look great? Thanks for being our official photographer, dad!

Mom went in today for round two of her chemo, more of that "cherry lifesaver", and we know she will probably have a tough week, but we are so proud of her for doing what she needs to do to get better! Allison and Emily went to chemo with her today, and she did really well. I stopped in for a few minutes to visit, because I was in the same clinic having an ultrasound on my neck as part of my yearly cancer follow-up. I really hate the days that I have to be a cancer patient again! The doctor called this afternoon and said that all the lymph nodes in my neck looked good. Blood work looked great too. Yay!!! I am going on seven years, now, and I can't wait until mom can say the same thing. Seven and counting! After all, we know how to fight like girls!!!