Good in the Midst of Mesothelioma

A few weeks ago a fellow mother and cancer survivor, Heather, reached out to me to share her story. She requested to share her story with my readers in an effort to spread awareness and hopefully prevent mesothelioma cancer from happening to others as it is 100% preventable. I would like to share her journey with you. She is a very courageous lady who has triumphed against cancer. I hope this post encourages you and continues to spread awareness!


Good in the Midst of Mesothelioma

At the age of 36, life was peaceful and happy. My beautiful daughter, Lily, had
been born on Aug 4, 2005 and we were showered with love and support from both
sets of her grandparents, other family members, and many friends. I had just started
back to work after her birth when this peaceful scene crashed in around me. I found
myself tired and out of breath all the time and I was losing 5-7 pounds a week.
These symptoms could have been attributed to being a new mom, but I felt there
was more to it.

After seeing the doctor and going through a myriad of tests, on November 21,
2005, the culprit was found in the diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma,
cancer in the lung lining. I had unknowingly been exposed to asbestos as a child and
it took 30 years to show it’s symptoms. Like most mesothelioma patients, my
prognosis was grim and I was given 15 months to live if nothing was done. My first
thoughts were of my sweet 3 and 1/2 month old daughter and my husband. I knew I
had to do whatever it took to survive so they wouldn't be without me.

We did the drastic thing of flying to Boston where I could be under the care of the
best mesothelioma doctor. On February 2, 2006 I went through extrapleural
pneumonectomy with the removal of my left lung. There was 18 days in the hospital
and 2 more months recovery before chemotherapy and radiation treatments. All this
time I was trying to be the best mom I could be.

Lily traveled to my childhood home in South Dakota to be with my parents when I
was not able to care for her. My parents didn't hesitate to take on the role of caring
for her and I knew she was in the best hands possible. There was also a whole
village of people supporting them. The people from church that I knew and looked up
to as a child surrounded my parents with love and support. Women with families of
their own whom I had babysat when young babysat Lily in order for my parents to
keep their full time jobs.

I had new amazing friends in Boston that surrounded me with support, people that
were going through the same thing I was. And the nurses tried to ease the pain of
missing the milestones Lily was making without me. I could only witness her new
achievements of eating solids, scooting, and rolling around by the grainy black and
white pictures my husband printed from emails my mom sent me. We would ooh and
aah together as I tried not to cry. Those pictures reminded me of why I was fighting
for my life.

Those were very difficult times, but good came from them too. The bond between
Lily and my parents is deeper than ever, even with the months that sometimes go
between visits. We have learned that life is fragile and we try to embrace each day
and do the best we can. We love and cherish all those people that have been there
for us. And I am thankful for the good that has come from our trial.

To learn more about mesothelioma, visit www.mesothelioma.com

Letters to Isla Rae

Dear Isla Rae,

I think you get cuter and cuter every day! At 7 months, you love to laugh. You get in these silly moods where you laugh at almost everything. You basically ticklish all over, but you are especially ticklish under your chin or chins rather and on your thighs.

You love to clap! It has been your favorite thing to do ever since January 1st when you clapped with mommy for the first time. Now, you've learned to clap and make noise. You will wake us up in the middle of the night, clapping your baby hands together. You clap when you eat, nurse, play, ride in the car and watch Bella. You really love it when we clap along with you and say yay!

You are very interested in Bella. You watch her every move. You try to grab her as she walks by. You wrinkle up your little nose and laugh at her. She is very good around you too. You love to chase her around the yard with mommy.

Your favorite game to play is up and down. All day long you want to go from sitting to standing. All we have to do is put our hands out and you do the rest. You pull up and stand for a minute then sit back down, up then down, up then down, up then down.... you never loose interest in it.

You are eating really well, but still no teeth. You like your oatmeal the best. So far you've tried carrots, peas (not your favorite), sweet potatoes and today, you're trying avocados! I'm excited to see how you like the avocados. You were not a fan of peas at all.

Your hair is getting longer and thicker. It cracks me up how its growing over your little ears. I can comb it over to the side now and it's almost long enough for me to clip a hair bow in. It has really gotten a lot thicker lately. It's still dark, but starting to lighten up some. It's a lot lighter compared to your newborn pictures. Your eyes are still blue. You have a little dimple on your chin when you smile... I have the same one. You love to raise your eyebrows up when you smile. I love this! It's one of my favorite things you do. So sweet.

You haven't started crawling yet, but you are trying! You get up on all fours and rock back and forth. You can get to where ever you want to go by scooting around and you can crawl backwards, but you haven't taken off forwards yet. I know it's just a matter of time.

Some of the names we call you right now are peanut, pumpkin, and monkey. You are the apple of our eye, baby girl!

We love you so much!

Love,

Momma

ps. I don't like peas either...

Finally on the mend...

We are finally almost at the end of the road of recovery! The Bradbury's have had the flu and it has been rough! Luckily, my mom came down to help nurse us back to good health.

It amazes me how resilient Isla is. She is so strong! I felt so bad and I know she had to too, but she stayed smiley through it all. She kept up her good spirits by clapping and smiling the whole time...runny nose and all.

It's a whole new world being sick with a little one. I was so thankful my mom could come help out. No matter how bad I felt, I just looked over at Isla's beaming smile and instantly felt a little better. I'm thankful we are at the end of this and can focus on staying healthy for the rest of 2013!

Scripture for Isla: Galatians 6:9

Bible verse to teach your children. Galatians 6:9

Encouragement for Moms

Isla has been doing wonderful at day care… so wonderful that it’s almost made me feel a little bit inadequate. She does things for her caretakers that she won’t do for me.  She’s so attached to me and when I am around she only wants me… and she wants me non-stop. To hold her, rock her, feed her and show her attention. In light of all the things she is learning and doing at her childcare it made me think, am I doing something wrong? Can I be doing more?

I’ve also been starting to think about Isla’s first birthday party. What can I say… I’m a planner! While perusing pinterest, I've found so many moms that pull off extravagant birthday parties, make decadent cakes and have homemade everything.  This too makes me feel like I fall short. Getting a full day’s work in and making dinner with a little help from Betty Crocker is a big accomplishment for me.

So all in all, I had been feeling pretty down this week. Down on myself as a mom for not doing enough or not doing things “right”, down on myself for not being #1 wife and down on myself for not spending more time with my friends or just having some me time. But then, The Better Mom website lifted me up as it so often does. I read the post most recent post by Ruth Schwenk and watched Sally Clarkson’s video and immediately I had renewed strength, purpose and confidence in myself. I know now that I am doing a good job, following God’s grace and giving motherhood my all is enough! I’m looking forward to gaining even more strength on Sunday after the The New Rules of Resolution Sermon at Elevation Church on living by grace.

Hope this post/video helps other struggling mommies too!

Have a good day

Dear Isla,

Today, you fell asleep in my arms. I try to visit you on my lunch breaks and some days you are not that interested in your boring old mom... you'd rather be on the floor playing with the other babies or an interesting toy, but today, your face lit up when you saw me and you wanted your momma! My heart filled with delight and I was overcome with emotion as I picked you up and held you tightly in my arms. We nursed and rocked. You laid your sweet head on my chest and drifted to sleep. Today was a good day. I love all of these precious moments with you.

Love,
Momma

God's Perspective on our Troubles

I couldn't help but to repost my daily devotional today. Hope this encourages you as much as it did me! Happy Wednesday!

Read | James 1:2-4

Today’s passage seems to make an impossible demand: how on earth can we “consider it all joy” when we face terrible hardships? Doesn’t this admonition belittle our honest troubles and concerns?

Scripture never instructs us to ignore situations that cause us heartaches, doubt, fear, or worry. In fact, the Bible is quite honest about what we as Christians can expect from a life devoted to Christ. Jesus proclaimed, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33 niv). Because we seek to live by biblical values, the world does not understand our motivation and will therefore often stand against us.

How, then, can we rejoice when we face trouble? It is through our hardships that Christ often makes Himself known in our lives. If we lived trouble-free lives, what need would we have for a Savior? Rather, it is because we live fragile lives that we can see Jesus clearly.

When we face a problem head-on with the certainty that God will provide a solution and the strength to endure, we gain spiritual stamina. It is similar to training our physical bodies. Only through the resistance of an opposing force, such as a barbell, do our muscles grow. Likewise, our faith develops as a result of dealing with spiritual resistance.

Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can find the faith to rejoice in our pain. This is possible because we not only have the assurance that God will provide, but we also can trust that when we walk with Him, we will be better prepared to face the next obstacle.