Survivor

Each school day 46 children are diagnosed with cancer, October 4, 2010 was our day.  I remember it so clearly, I replay it in my mind, thinking about the moments, even seconds before we heard the word cancer and my life was changed forever.  Once you have a child who is diagnosed with cancer, life can never be the same, certain wounds to a parents heart will never fully heal.

In recent conversations with Georgia, I have learned that she doesn't remember being sick, living in the hospital or even having an NG tube.  She knows the words cancer, leukemia, chemo, and can spot a piece of mail from Children's Hospital but she doesn't remember the details of that time.  I was floored, I am so relieved that she doesn't remember, but part of me thought, how is that possible, this thing that did a 180 to my entire existence and she doesn't remember?   Her doctors told me throughout treatment that she was too young to remember, I of course was adamant that she would given how stressful things were.

For now, Georgia's cancer, treatment and care for her long term health is something that sits in my lap, she doesn't need the burden of it all, she is doing exactly what she should be, she's being a kid.  She's carefree, full of happiness, loves her friends, and happens to be one of the most remarkable human beings on the planet.

The heart wrenching thing is that when you are diagnosed with cancer, you are never simply done.  Georgia will need to understand what has happened to her body, she needs to be aware of the chemotherapies she endured and she, one day will be in charge of her own health.  So the real sucker punch that cancer gives a mother is the burden of news to share, picking the right time, using the right words and reliving it in a whole new way.  

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we are participating by raising awareness and celebrating our survivor.  Please do your part to spread awareness and support causes that research childhood cancers, they are different than adult cancers yet often given the same decade old treatment.  There is so much happening in the way of new progressive treatments for children, we need treatments that will not have impacts on these growing bodies, ones that don't require conversations on how as adults they will need to survive the effects of the very treatment that saved them.

Worldwide, 175,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. 

In the U.S., more children die of childhood cancer than any other disease—more than AIDS, asthma, cystic fibrosis, congenital anomalies and diabetes combined.

Less than 5% of the National Cancer Institute's annual budget goes to childhood cancer research.

http://www.stbaldricks.org/why-we-exist?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=textad&utm_content=leadingcauseofdeath&utm_campaign=why-we-exist

http://bentownefoundation.org/whatwedo/

When I went to take Georgia's Survivor picture, I told her what the sign said and tried to explain what the word Survivor means.  I told her, this has to do with when you were sick, now you are strong and healthy" seeing confusion (or maybe just boredom) on her face I tried a different approach, I said, "this means you won" she smiled, she likes winning.  I told her, being a survivor is a big deal!  "Mom" she said, "you know what else is a big deal? What? "Being able to watch the ipad." What can I say, she's your average four year old.