Time for our annual Christmas Eve party with the entire family. This year is a little different. My mom just had more reconstructive surgery. I hope that my sister doesn't mind, but I copied her blog and added it here. She has a way with words and I wanted to share her thoughts with those that read my blog.
This is from my sister Dawnelle:
"As most of you know, my mom had breast cancer in 2004 and underwent a double mastectomy and chemotherapy. The surgeon she had at the time was trying to be sparing concerning the amount of tissue he took, and he left some of the cancer. What a favor, huh! About a year and a half or two years later, the cancer came back. She did not have to do any more chemo, but she did have to have more surgery and then undergo radiation. They got all the cancer, and she has been cancer-free since. However, radiation bakes the skin and makes it tight. Her skin continued to get tighter and tighter until finally she had had enough. She likened it to a piece of leather that got wet and tightens as it dries. She was uncomfortable all of the time and she decided it was time to redo her reconstruction. She went to see a specialist at Huntsman and he took skin from her stomach and moved it up to replace the tightened skin on her chest. She is doing well, and is in good spirits and I hope that she feels better after all is said and done. I have watched my mom endure so much and I am so proud of her. She is an amazing woman. Cancer is a monster, and once it shows its face it leaves life long effects. I hope that I can avoid going through all that she has been through, but should that be my fate, I have a hero to look to for hope and comfort."
My sister is a wonderful woman and has the biggest heart of anyone I know. I echo her sentiment and I am so proud of both her and my mother. I look up to them both and I hope they know how much I love them.
We had a great time together as a family and it's always fun to watch the little kids open their gifts.
