Posts Tagged ‘cancer’
Autism, DIPG, and the Unbreakable Bond of Siblings
An autism diagnosis for my son, Jackson, nearly nine years ago. A brain cancer diagnosis of DIPG for my daughter, Monroe, just weeks ago……. I panicked in the small emergency room nurses break room when it happened. No, I want to just take her home. Let’s pretend this never happened. This can’t be happening. It isn’t true, she’s only seven. I needed a moment to say all the things that weren’t helpful before I could process the diagnosis that was being handed to me in a suitcase with a weight…
Read MoreSomeone Will Always Have it Harder
Many times in my life I have felt guilty for complaining. You know, because someone else has it harder. This happened a lot when I was in a bad place going through something hard in my life. Like divorce, being a single mom, the struggle with school (when having a child with gifts or special needs) becoming a step parent and blending families, and so many other situations that broke me or made me crumble for an hour, for a day or maybe more. But it wasn’t until I had…
Read MoreYou Have a Really Nice Family
My step-mom died recently. Of cancer. The really bad one. Although I know there are no good versions of cancer. Pancreatic. The survival rate is almost zero. I learned that after I googled. No one would say it out loud. It ate her alive right before our eyes. She went from a larger-than-life, loud, happy, busy woman to a shell. To a 67 year old woman in a nursing home bed. 14 months is all it took. 14 months to eat someone alive. Sawyer recently asked me why it did…
Read MoreAutism isn’t a Scary Word
Someone I know is dying. Someone who is in my life. She has a spouse. And kids. Grandkids. A sibling. A home. Friends. Hobbies. Faith. A life. A very full life. She is a beautiful person with a beautiful soul. She found out a year ago that she has cancer. I remember when she told me. I didn’t think it was a big deal. Probably because she is such a good person. Bad things don’t happen to good people. So happy. So optimistic. I knew cancer was bad. But she…
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