Scrapbooks, Crafts, and Cards, Oh My!

Hey Everyone! Hope your Saturday was awesome! I've spent my Saturday working on a project for Breast Cancer. There is a challenge going on over at CardzTV .com  to create a layout, card or craft for Breast Cancer. I figured I'd throw my hat into the ring for this first challenge. For the better part of the day, I've shed tears, sweat and brain cells trying to come up with an original design for this. I think I might have something worth entering. Its partly finished but I had to step away from it for now to give myself time to replenish my creative juices. Once I have completed the  project, I will post the pics.

Cancer has touched my life as I'm sure it has with you all. My mom was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma back in 2007. Multiple Myeloma is characterized as a blood cancer that affects the bone marrow and over time weakens the bones making them brittle. When she was diagnosed, it was a shock for my family. Not much is known about this type of cancer and until she was diagnosed I had no idea it existed.  My sisters and I had to research to learn more about it and what treatments were being used to combat it. For months, my mom was confined to her bed unable to move cause the pain was so excruciating. When we did get her to see an oncologist after her diagnosis, she was hospitalized immediately for treatment. The worst part of it for me other than her diagnosis and hospitalization, was when she had a sample of her bone marrow taken. For those of you who aren't familiar with this procedure, they extract a sample from your hip bone. I almost fainted when I saw the insruments used. I had to wait out in the hallway till the doctor was done. My sister at the time was pregnant and was able to hold her own and give her support.

 I asked my mom about the experience later on and she told me that she doesn't remember having the biopsy done because of the amount of pain she was in. My mom spent a week or two at the hospital, if memory serves me right, where she was put into a sleep induced coma because of the amount of pain she had. Once the pain was managed, she was moved to a hospice facility. I can say that I hated that place. I felt she really didn't belong there and I felt that she wasn't given the care she needed. While she was there she caught pneumonia from the patient next to her and had to be sent back to the hospital to be treated. But after she was treated, she was moved to a physical therapy center, where she was able to get back some range of motion. I can say it was very hard for me to sit back and watch a woman who was so full of life not be able to anything without someone to help her. I'm sure for those who are experiencing this situation themselves you know how heartbreaking it is.

But, to finish up this blog before it gets too late, I will tell you that after a round of chemo, a stem cell transplant, and monthly intravenous treatments to help strengthen her bones, my mom has been cancer free for about 3 years. That number may be off, but chalk it up to those burnt brain cells I fried earlier in the day. Writing about my experience today has been good therapy for me. Alot of what happened during the time of my mother's illness, I pretty much stored it away in the back of mind. This is honestly the first time I have spoken about it since it happened.

I"m happy I was able to share my story with you and I pray that one day there can be a cure for cancers like Breast Cancer and Multiple Myeloma, so others won't have to go through this experience. I'll finish this post on that note and I"ll say Enjoy the rest of your evening or morning, depending on where you live and Peace!