Kelly and Her Mom

Kelly, my sister-in-law, just lost her mom Barbara to lung cancer last week. Barbara’s experience seems so much like my dad’s; struggling to get properly diagnosed, promised a certain amount of life by doctor’s, and then quickly declining towards the end. The other night, while my own mom was on the phone, calling my other siblings and letting them know, it suddenly hit me. She had just died of the same disease I now carry, currently carry, in my body. Up until that moment, I had identified more with Kelly- I knew how hard it was to lose a parent to cancer, or to anything. The disbelief and devastation it is weighted with. How life changes forever while you’re still trying to catch your breath. But this was a whole new perspective.

Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten off easy, because I haven’t felt sick, or realized the incredible amount of work it is taking my body to heal itself. Whatever it is, I feel a new tenderness, for myself and those around me striving to overcome cancer or its effects on their lives.