Seeing life through a different lens...

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One of the greatest points of growth as a human is understanding that everyone has a story...  Here is ours.  As a blended family we have been faced with many challenges that has brought us closer together.  In many aspects on a deeper level I think that your life experiences and stories prepare you for a single defining moment.  A moment when all of the past goes away, things you once thought were important no longer are and you are faced with a situation that could literally make or break you.  This moment came for our family on April 24th, 2024.  I do not want to spend a bunch of time talking about me here because this is OUR story and how we have navigated our journey so far,  When we received the news that I had been diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast "C" the emotions that accompany that are indescribable so I will not even try... just know it is A LOT!!  Questions my husband and I immediately starting asking each other were things like - "Should we tell the kids" - "What if I do not get better" - "Will insurance pay for this" - "How will our lives be forever different" - "Will I get sick" and the list goes on and on.  I will address all of the questions through blog posts because they are all important and as we build our community hopefully will be able to help someone else faced with the same defining moment.  

First and foremost I was not sick and I am still not sick.  I had no symptoms other than a lump in my right breast and right armpit.  The lumps are still there by the way...  The way my family went to work for me was nothing short of amazing.  We immediately changed our diet, started exercising and my husband went to work reading and learning to the point his eyes were bleeding, not literally of course.  We jumped into action and paid for testing out of pocket, with money that we didnt necessarily have but we made it work.  I remeber crying one evening and my husband came over to console me.  I was scared because I didnt want to be sick in front of our kids.  My biggest fear was our children seeing their mom sick and dying and having that image stick with them forever.  My husband softly and gently said that "We have time".  Nobody has time so why was he telling me this.  It was not helping me because of all things I thought I had in that moment TIME was not one of them.  He went on to ensure me that this did not happen over night and if it was going to kill me in 90 days we should probably just go live our best life.  Even more confused I lashed out at him and said "Yeah well you arent the one with breast "c". He looked me in my eyes and grabbed my shoulders and said "if you have it we all have it".  As odd as it may seem that brought a sense of calm to me and I continued to listen.  He continued to explain that we had time to learn and research and find a path that I was comfortable with because again we had 90 days to figure something out.  Over the next couple weeks we were able to cover so much ground with each passing day increasing my confidence that I did in fact have time even though the first oncologist we met with acted as if my clothes were on fire.  My husband found a doctor in Clearwater Florida that checked all of our boxes.  We found a short term rental in St Petersburg. And each day we continued to do things that aided in my healing.  If nothing else it helped my mental health and at that point I had never felt healthier in my entire life.

July 7th, 2024 - We packed up the family and headed to Florida.  We didnt have the money but we were expecting it from a real estate transaction.  What we did have was a plan and confidence.  Over the next few weeks we settled into our new temporary Florida life.  The kids were enjoying the pool in the back yard, going to the beach, riding their bikes to the park and all things considered we felt at home.  

August 7th, 2024 - My husband was continuing to work through this real estate deal and the end was in sight.  We were spending all of our money on preliminary treatments with the faith that we would be made whole and could move forward at lightening speed.  Friends and family were recommending that we setup a "fundraiser" of sorts but we didnt want to do that unless it was absolutely necessary.  I think that funraising platforms have been adulterated to the point of entitlement but that is just me.  Luckliy my husband has a great job as a fireman in Washington DC that gave him the paid time off to be with us and support us.  Over the next few weeks my husband began doing Lyft rides, DoorDash, and Uber Eats of all things to help support us financially.  I was beginning to feel like we were stuck in a loop and none of this may ever come to fruition.  With each and every doubt that I had my hisband was right there with a solution and we continued forward.  Afterall I was taking all of the things available to me that my RGCC test indicated were effective, I was still feeling great physically, but I would be lying if I didnt tell you that my mental health was starting to wane.  

September 3rd, 2024 - Our lease was up in St Petersburg but not to worry we had already found a better house in a better neighborhood just north of Lifeworks Wellness where I would eventually begin receiving advanced treatment.  We packed up our stuff and headed north.  This move was a new inspiration and yet another new beginning.  The great news is that I am still feeling great and still doing some treatments, eating well, exercising, and doing everything in my control to remain healthy!!

September 16th, 2024 - Since the beginning my husband has been ferverently finding solutions for this curveball life has thrown at us and the end is in sight when yet another road block was put in the way.  That real estate transaction I was telling you about suddenly falls through (That is a whole other story for an entirely different website probably).  With all bad comes good and the concept for Our Fight For Life was born.  I guess there is no truer words than if you want something done right you have to do it yourself.  We have searched high and low for resources for Women that seek care outside of the one size fits all model of the "Standard of Care" with no success so we have decided to be the change that is needed to make a difference in Family's lives!!