Saturday, November 13, 2004
Mom
Sometimes you experience something or someone in your life that makes you reflect on things in your past. Yesterday a conversation with a friend caused me to think about everything my mother has been through over the years. Those of you who know me well know everything that she has dealt with. She is truly a remarkable woman and when I pause to realize all that she dealt with, it leaves me in awe of her strength, spirit, and resolve.
When I was in 6th grade my mom and I were in a pretty bad car accident. I walked away fine, but mom had continued to have problems with her knees and back for years after. Those probably still cause her difficulties now, despite it having been about 16 years ago. In the spring of my senior year of High School my parents sat me down in our living room to tell me that mom had breast cancer. I honestly can't remember much of that day, other then the word "cancer". I can't recall if Kiersten was there or in St. Louis. I can't remember anything else said, just "cancer". I don't believe that I displayed much emotion then, but then I again I don't often make my emotions all that visible. Mom had surgery that spring and started chemo soon after. She had 6 months of chemo, and never lost her spirit through one bit of it. One could say that our family wasn't that close going into mom's cancer. We had drifted from each other and in a way we just living our own lives. That experience brought us back together and to this day mom still says that she wouldn't trade her breast cancer for anything in the world because of the fact that it brought us back together. Could you imagine saying that? Its been almost 10 years since mom's surgery and she is still cancer free, but unfortunately that's not all she's had to deal with. Mom had open heart surgery a little over 3 years ago. She's also diabetic and suffers from fibromyalgia. A day without any pain or fatigue is a great day for her, yet she still keeps her spirit and resolve. If you were to meet my mom today, she wouldn't try to hide any of her health issues from you. If you were to ask she would tell you everything in a matter of fact way. You would walk away from the conversation not feeling any ounce of pity for her, but a sense of awe of how she lives her life.
When I ran Chicago I wore the LIVESTRONG bracelet as a reminder of how I wanted to live and how I had trained. LIVESTRONG is a fundraiser for cancer research and Armstrong foundation, so there was another reason that I wore it. As I struggled through the last 4 brutal miles of the run, thoughts ran through my head of how painful this was and how much I would love to stop running. But every time I glanced down and caught a glimpse of the yellow on my arm I thought of everything that mom has been through and I realized that if she could persevere through all of the obstacles in her life, then surely I could survive these last few miles of my run. Thanks, Mom.
When I was in 6th grade my mom and I were in a pretty bad car accident. I walked away fine, but mom had continued to have problems with her knees and back for years after. Those probably still cause her difficulties now, despite it having been about 16 years ago. In the spring of my senior year of High School my parents sat me down in our living room to tell me that mom had breast cancer. I honestly can't remember much of that day, other then the word "cancer". I can't recall if Kiersten was there or in St. Louis. I can't remember anything else said, just "cancer". I don't believe that I displayed much emotion then, but then I again I don't often make my emotions all that visible. Mom had surgery that spring and started chemo soon after. She had 6 months of chemo, and never lost her spirit through one bit of it. One could say that our family wasn't that close going into mom's cancer. We had drifted from each other and in a way we just living our own lives. That experience brought us back together and to this day mom still says that she wouldn't trade her breast cancer for anything in the world because of the fact that it brought us back together. Could you imagine saying that? Its been almost 10 years since mom's surgery and she is still cancer free, but unfortunately that's not all she's had to deal with. Mom had open heart surgery a little over 3 years ago. She's also diabetic and suffers from fibromyalgia. A day without any pain or fatigue is a great day for her, yet she still keeps her spirit and resolve. If you were to meet my mom today, she wouldn't try to hide any of her health issues from you. If you were to ask she would tell you everything in a matter of fact way. You would walk away from the conversation not feeling any ounce of pity for her, but a sense of awe of how she lives her life.
When I ran Chicago I wore the LIVESTRONG bracelet as a reminder of how I wanted to live and how I had trained. LIVESTRONG is a fundraiser for cancer research and Armstrong foundation, so there was another reason that I wore it. As I struggled through the last 4 brutal miles of the run, thoughts ran through my head of how painful this was and how much I would love to stop running. But every time I glanced down and caught a glimpse of the yellow on my arm I thought of everything that mom has been through and I realized that if she could persevere through all of the obstacles in her life, then surely I could survive these last few miles of my run. Thanks, Mom.
