You Never Know What Will Happen In Life

So much has happened since I last wrote in this journal. Mom died. Can't say too much about how she wound up dying only that the medical care she received was quite dismal and with no relief from her pain - she basically wanted to go. We were all with her - we tried our best but when you get almost no help from the doctors who are supposed to know how to treat her pain - it was awful.

It's hard to think Mom's been gone a full year now. She is missed. I like to think of her up in Heaven with her Mom & Dad - Papoo would be showing her all the wonderful plants & flowers that he has grown while up there waiting for her to show up.  Grandma would be fussing that "Nick" spent too much time in the garden!  Miss them too.

I guess this is part of the pain of growing older - you lose people. 

This past year has been filled with a little bit of joy in the form of a healthy always bouncing baby boy named Thomas.  He just turned two and is the apple of everyone's eye.  I think young ones keep us a bit young...or at least you think you are as you chase them.  He spends most of his days here with us as his Mom & Dad work and we are all willing baby sitters.

In October, we learned that my beautiful grand daughter Brittany has a rare form of tumor..called a paraglionoma - it's normally formed near the adrenal glands and causes a flux in your hormones that can send your blood pressure sky high and also your heart rate too.  Very scary. After testing it was discovered that she had a huge one attached to her kidney and another embedded on her spine.  They opted to use radiation on the spine one and surgery for the one on the kidney.  It was a seven hour operation and God bless the surgeon he was able to save her kidney!

The results of the biopsy came back yesterday and it shows that the tumor was cancerous.  So now we are waiting for whatever comes next on how to fight this horror. 

Alisa & John have got to be devastated yet at the same time they must remain strong for Britt and the other girls too.  Hard position, too much stress - thank God they have good friends.  Their friends came together and planned a benefit for Brittany on January 20th, 2014 - people can attend or send money to help her cause.  John has good insurance, but when it come to a rare disease the costs go sky high and insurance will not cover certain parts of it.  So to be able to give her the best shot at beating this thing we need to raise money.  I hate asking people for money but I put it up on my Facebook page - I was amazed over 45 people have shared it to their pages already...and some donations have started to trickle in.  God please bless everyone who becomes involved with this.

Brittany is my oldest grandchild. She is beautiful inside and out. She excels in school, has always been extremely bright. Her dream is to go to Yale College and study medicine - I had told her maybe she will be the one to find the cure for all cancer! I believe in miracles, I am one myself - given what happened to me I shouldn't be alive but for the grace of God I am. 

I want to talk to Brittany, but what do you tell a child who has been diagnosed with cancer? I remember being 16 and thinking I had the world by it's ears, the thought of dying never crossed my mind at that age you believe you will live forever.  I want her to be happy, finish high school, follow her dreams - all I can tell her is that no matter what it is that she needs one way or another we will do everything in our power to make sure she has it.