The Bad News

Our family has had some bad news in the last few weeks. I think I am feeling a little bit numb, but maybe that's also a blessing of peace. Of course I do feel some fear, but also hope and faith too. I don't feel like I can do a very good job of writing about it, so my sister, Krystal, is letting me use her post from her blog. I know some of you have read it...but she put it just how I wish I could have. Thanks for letting me use it.

Killer
I think we were all expecting something big to happen.
A year ago, my mom cut off all her hair, a year earlier than she planned...
My dad was released from his calling as a member of the bishopbric of a young single adult ward..
My mom was released from her calling as Young Women's president...
We all wondered, what was coming? A call to the Stake Presidency?
But Stake Conference came and went and that wasn't it.
Wayne and Tara decided to stay at Dixie for a few years instead of moving...
Heather and Samuel decided it was time to move closer to home, and relocated from Hawaii to Las Vegas, much closer to the family...
Jeff will be finished with school in 3 months and we will be living in Utah for the first time in six years...What was coming?

We found out a few weeks ago. My mom has breast cancer. Even typing that makes me feel like I swallowed a rock. She found a lump, had it removed, and heard the bad news about what it actually was. She had a second surgery where 20 lymph nodes were removed from under her arm. It was in 2 of the 20. Now she will have to go through chemo as well as radiation, which could put her out of commission for the next year. She'll lose her hair and won't be able to take long trips to see her grandkids. Wait, she already parted with her hair (most of it) and soon none of her grandkids will be more than 4 hours away...isn't that interesting?

We all feel that this is the Lord's will. It's serious, as all cancer is, but everyone is hopeful that she will make a full recovery. And maybe we have been prepared for a while now, as it hasn't been much of a shock for any of us. My mom admitted that she knew she was going to have to have chemo from the very beginning, knowing that anything else would be "too easy." She is already talking about how much she has learned and how tender her heart has become. It's just a bump in the road, something that will enable our family to become closer to each other and closer to the Lord.

We all made our picks for March Madness this year, and we named my mom's team "Kancer Killer." As of today, Kancer Killer is in first place in our league. That makes me smile, and also makes me think that she is going to come out on top. Where she belongs. Love you mom. Thanks for being such a fighter.