TURTLE ANGELS
“Life is the journey”, cancer is a bump in the road of life. Cancer does not discriminate against us nor define us, it is a part of us. We are “Turtle Angels”, slow and steady. My husband and I have two boys with Hemophilia, a blood clotting disorder (normal clotting is 60-200%, our boys have 1% clotting ability). We always get the “how do you deal with that? We never could.” I have always said that “we are handed our cards at birth, its how we choose to play the game.” My signature line has become “God has a twisted sense of humor, he knew my temperament and gave me two children I couldn’t beat!”
I grew up as the “flat chested girl” that never thought a mammogram was even possible, not to mention having Breast Cancer. Not only did I not have a family history, I never experienced “Boobs”! In my journey of life, someone didn’t get the memo, and I got the call “you have Breast Cancer”. What? Two Hemophiliacs and now they will have a bald mother? My words come back to haunt me, “its all how we choose to play the game”. Game on, and the storm rolls in. Along my Cancer journey I thought cancer had changed me. Actually, it enhanced who I already was.
I have learned what matters in my days, slow and steady truly wins the race, and a little communication goes along way. Like any storm, we do what we need to just to get through it. The storm is over, Survivorship was my destination and here I am. Now what? The “Cancer Storm” has settled and I can see the aftermath of destruction. I was prepared for “cancer to be the hard part”, but I was not prepared for the toll it took on my marriage, or finances. I had “Truth Serum” and was now “Brutally Honest”. Finding my balance, I learned to surround myself with the people I wanted around me and weed out the toxic ones. From my experience, I have learned everything has Silver Linings. Like Hemophilia, Cancer has been on of the best things to happen to me. I am stronger, I have been “Blessed” with all of you and many opportunities. I now work in my Treatment Center with my rath of inspiration. I use my journey to better yours. Our family singe handedly cornered the market for Hematology and Oncology. If our days are filled with laughter, yours should be as well. So to all the “Turtle Angels” before me and to proceed me, press on, you are inspiring everyone around you!!