This really IS the story of how I transitioned from working full-time as a designer with a high-end furniture retailer to full-time blogger. But first, some background is necessary…
Can I just tell you about the last 2 years of my life?
August 2011– Our family is joyfully preparing for the wedding of our youngest daughter. Our two girls are absolutely the best things to happen to us in our 35+ years of marriage! Our sweet 26-year old baby girl is getting married to a wonderful, godly man. She has chosen to marry on the beach, at the place our family has vacationed for more than 2 decades. We find a gorgeous beach house and lease it for the venue. The summer months pass as we take care of all the details.
Piazza del Sol… the lovely wedding venue
September 2011– Days before the wedding my mother, who isn’t feeling well, goes to the doctor for some tests. These tests prompt the doctor to send her straight to the ER on that Friday. She undergoes more tests, and it appears she has a ‘blockage’ of her bile duct. We think it is gall stones, and how we wish it were. The diagnosis is a pancreatic tumor. After a battery of tests, she comes home from the hospital on Tuesday, September 27th. We leave for the wedding the very next day, on Wed. the 28th. Mom and Dad aren’t able to go, as it turns out.
October 2011– The wedding is on the 1st day of October. What a gorgeous day on the beach in Destin, Florida! And our lovely daughter is even MORE gorgeous! My joy is mingled with a sadness that is definitely out-of-place on this day. I do my part as the mother-of-the-bride and stand as the opening strains of the processional is played. As I do so, mixed emotions sweep over me so unexpectedly that I break down into {silent} sobs. Trying to keep them inside, I realize that if I turn at that moment and look at my precious daughter, I will lose it altogether. But the sobs subside as she and her daddy reach the simple arbor that sits in front of the ocean.
The Happy Couple right after the ceremony!
After a beautiful ceremony, reception, and a day of rest, we return home.
The next Wednesday, October 5th, Mom, Dad and I make the trip to UAB to see a pancreatic specialist who will do a laparoscopy to see if mother’s cancer is operable. The surgery, if done, is called the Whipple procedure and is extensive. Not knowing how to pray, we all still hope that the cancer is operable, because that will mean it hasn’t spread, or ‘metastasized’, and is confined to the pancreas. The exploratory procedure shows that it is stage 4, the most advanced stage of any cancer, and has spread to other internal organs, including the liver. I can tell you that going from gall stones to stage 4 cancer in the span of 10 days is quite a shock.
Mom and Dr. U, the physician who first found the tumor.
Still October 2011– After the assessment by the specialist in Birmingham, we opt to consult a local oncologist, Dr. Jeremy Hon. This is when Proverbs 3:6 comes into play: ‘In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths’. By leaning on Him, the Lord Jesus has indeed directed us; Dr. Hon proves to be the right choice. He is affiliated with a clinical trial that is being conducted on a new course of treatment for pancreatic cancer. Selection as a recipient of the experimental treatment is done randomly, by computer. Oh, how we pray that mom will be placed in the group that receives the drug. It’s a 50/50 shot… but she is chosen! What a celebration we have that day! The coming months will see us celebrating many baby steps in her treatment. Speaking of celebrations, this month is Mom and Dad’s 59th wedding anniversary, and we have a small gathering at my house for the family.
Mom and Dad celebrating their 59th anniversary.
November 2010– Mother’s chemo treatments are scheduled for Tuesdays. This just happens to be my day off from my full-time job as a designer (I work on Saturdays). I believe this is another divine intervention: I am free to go with them to her appointments! Tuesdays become very precious to us all, and to make a play on the book ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’, I begin to refer to them as ‘Tuesdays with Mommy’. We celebrate Thanksgiving and the whole family is there. Mother has lost her hair by this time, and now wears cute hats and caps, as it’s beginning to get chilly outside.
Thanksgiving 2011
Mom and Dad, surrounded by their family: son and daughter and spouses, grandchildren and spouses, and 3 (there are now 6!) great-grandchildren!
Well, that’s enough for today. Hang in there with me, because there is MUCH more to the story!
I’ll pick it up here next time! (Click to read Part 2)
