Hillary's Story

I would like you all to meet my friend Hillary. She is a beautiful high school senior who has graciously sent me a paper she wrote for a college level class. Her story is is both serious and inspirational.  Everything below is taken directly from her in her point of view. I think this is a great way to post about her story because it truly puts you into her shoes. I think she did a great job of capturing her emotions and everything that happened to her family this summer. Take the time to read it all, it is a powerful memory put to words!

The BIG six letter word---CANCER

It was on Saturday May 28th 2011; Memorial Day weekend. It was a lovely day, the birds were singing and the sun was shining. It was quiet at my house, as usual. Mom was washing dishes, dad was watching TV, and I was reading a book in the living room. Everything seemed normal, that is, until the phone started ringing.  My mom picked up the phone, then handed it to my dad saying that it was the hospital. The doctor, from Marshfield Hospital sounded shaken and said, “Jim I’ve found some startling results,” he sighed. “It seems as though you have cancer in the piece of your stomach that you have left.”

My dad remained calm, while my mom, not so much. My mom and dad remained in the back bedroom. I had no idea what was going on, and to be honest I did not really care. I just thought it was a Time Share call, or maybe one of my dad and mom’s friends, or a relative. I listened as best as I could; it seemed as though they were using hushed tones, for what seemed like hours. At last I heard the creek of the door as my parents opened it. I heard my mom burst into tears. I had wondered what had just happened. It was just a phone call; it could not be that bad.

My mom walked down the hall with my dad. She had red blotches under her eyes. They seemed puffy too; as though she had an allergic reaction to something. My stomach sank a hundred feet a second. Something was definitely wrong. I was confused as to why my mom was upset, but not my dad. “Mom, what’s the matter?” I pleaded. My mom closed her eyes, tears still spilling down her cheeks, like Yosemite Falls, in California. She choked out, “Your father has cancer."

“Wha- What,” I mumbled. “No it can’t be, the doctor must have the wrong person!” I screamed. Tears began spilling from my eyes; eye liner blackening my eyes as they trickled down my flushed cheeks. My mind began racing with questions as to why my dad? My dad was the best. He worked hard, went to church, and helped anyone needing help. Why did God want to kill my dad? My mom began explaining the best she could, what needed to happen. She broke down half way through unable to finish. My dad ended up talking to me.

“I do not want you to cry. The doctor explained to me that if my cancer does not spread in a month that I can try to have surgery to remove the stomach cancer,” he said calmly, with a face that seemed so hopeful. How could he be so hopeful at a time like this? I managed to choke out the words, “Surgery?”

“Yes, it would be very risky surgery, but the doctor believes she could do it successfully.” He replied. I was all for it, if it would save my dad!          

A month was up, now came that heart stopping time, to see if the cancer had spread. I prepared myself for the worse, the cancer would spread and it would just be a matter of time, which meant no surgery. On the other hand I hoped for good news, that the cancer had not spread, and surgery could be done to save the life of my dad. The doctor came in. To my surprise she was short and quite young. She smiled at me and shook my hand. I saw something behind the smile that gave me hope.

“Well, I have some wonderful news,” she began. “The cancer has not spread, which means we can do surgery.” My eyes spilled with tears. I looked at my mom and she too, was spilling with tears. My dad hugged my mom and me. The doctor insured as that she had all the faith in the world that my dad would make it through the surgery. Of course there were some major risks. What choice did he have though? It was life or death. The surgery date was set for July 6th 2011 at 8a.m.            

The night before the surgery, Marshfield Clinic offered us to stay at the Hope Lodge. We checked into our room. Reality hit once again. This was really happening. Soon my dad would be having major surgery. My dad was still surprisingly calm throughout the whole night. I went to bed that night thinking, this could be the last night with my dad. It seemed like a knot welted up in my chest.

I woke the next morning at 6:55a.m. I took a shower; somehow I believed this helped by washing my negative thoughts down the drain. We arrived at the hospital and sat waiting in the waiting room. I could smell the cleanliness of the area. I saw the nurses running around, as well as the solid white walls, except for one small chip of yellow paint that was missed. I heard the dreadful ticking of the clock. Tick, tick, tick, it repeated wildly. Everything in this area annoyed my senses. 

The time came and my dad was called into the hospital room. We said our goodbyes and good lucks, and our love yous and watched as they carried him away, as though he was just some ordinary patient.

We waited, for what seemed like days. Finally the doctor came and got us, three hours and fifty three minutes later. She didn’t have a smile or a frown, which frightened me. “Everything went according to plan,” she smiled. It felt as though a thousand pound bar was lifted off my chest. “He is in the recovery room, he is doing quite well,” she exclaimed. Dad was awake when we walked in. He was hooked up to so many things; oxygen, feeding tubes, and a whole mess of others. I ran and gave him a big hug. He smiled at me which was definitely a good sign. I was happy to see my dad.

Some complications occurred after surgery, like internal bleeding and an AFIB heartbeat. The doctor put my dad on some medications to control the bleeding and heart beat malfunction. My dad pulled through like a champ. He was up and eating five days after the surgery.  He was released to come home thirteen days after surgery. He was restricted to a certain diet as well as exercising.

It is now October first 2011. My dad recently went back to work this last week. The doctor called recently to let my dad know that he is now cancer free. My dad is a cancer survivor. Family, I learned is the most important thing in my life. I do not know what I would do without my dad. This definitely was a life changing experience, not only to me, but my whole family. My family could not be more grateful or proud of the wonderful doctor, Jessica Wernburg, who saved my dad’s life.

 Thank you Hillary for allowing me to tell your story, and to post your own words on my blog! I think it adds a lot to hear it from your perspective, as many people are in your shoes with their loved ones.

Please visit my post titled "Awareness" to see some links for preventative cancer nutrition tips, colors of awareness ribbons, cancer associations and other helpful links relating to awareness, diagnosis and fund-raising! Also, check out some of my Breast Cancer awareness bags that I have made!

My next post will interrupt the blog series to bring you a DIY Halloween costume. I made my gypsy/fortune teller costume for under $10! I had a lot of the materials, but it would cost under $20 if you had to buy it all if you went to a used clothing store/thrift store/garage sale etc. I can't wait to show it to you! Check back soon, you might have just enough time to try to create it yourself for next weekend!