Blessed are those who...

Blessed are those who surround themselves with family and friends who provide love and support in trying times.

In no particular order, here is a shout-out to all those who have helped me through the past few months....

My son -  I was blessed the day I found out I was pregnant.  While there are times when he drives us bonkers (helloooo terrible twos!), the love I have for him is never ending.  Most women my age, and younger, who are facing breast cancer, chemo, and hormone therapy are given the unfortunate news that they may not be able to have children any time in the near future, if at all.  Then they have to decide what to do to preserve their fertility.   When my oncologist told me that I would be on hormone therapy for 5 years, I knew I may not be able to have another child.  I cried, but then I thought, I am one of the lucky ones since I have a child.  Yes, I would like for him to have a brother or sister in the near future, but that just isn't possible.  Maybe later....in 5 years.  For now, I am blessed to have Little O in my life.

My husband - I am pretty sure my husband knew what he was in for when he asked my dad to marry me, but I know he didn't think he was going to have to go through a cancer diagnosis so early in our life together. Somehow, I really lucked out when I married him - hello...he. cooks and does the laundry!!!  When we found out I had breast cancer, we cried for, maybe, 5 minutes.  Little o came running over to us asking us if he could watch Cars, so that was the end of that! Since then we have had our "man, this sucks" moments, but more than anything, he has been my rock.  He has listened to me go back and forth on surgery options, treatment options, and everything dealing with breast cancer.  He has given me his honest opinions, and all the love and support I could handle (there have been times when I wanted to be left alone!).  He helped with everything from getting up in the middle of the night to help me get out of my chair to take medicine, to changing my drains, to washing my butt! Without him, I do not know how I would have gotten through everything so far.  My love for him is also never ending.

My family -  My mom and dad!  My mom was able to take 2 weeks off of work to come stay with us after my surgery. She did everything for me.  We joked one day about all of her "titles" she had while staying with us - cook, cleaner, driver, flower arranger, hair dresser, dog walker, shopper, maid, servant, drain changer, you name it, she did it!.  I am sure I am leaving out some too!  I was all drugged up, so I am sure I am forgetting some of her duties!  But, most importantly, she was there with me.  I love being around my mom, so having her around was awesome.  My dad is awesome too.  He has the wisdom and strength that I needed (and so did my mom!) during this journey.  I always ask for his opinion and he gives it to me straight. Can you tell that Omar and my dad are a lot alike?!?!  Everyday my dad would send me words of encouragement to help me get through the first two weeks after surgery.  It gave me something to look forward to every morning!

My mother-in-law used her spring break to come up the week after my mom left to help us.  She did all the things my mom did!  She was there for me when I had one of my break downs and I am thankful for that.  She is a wonderful cook and we had lots of yummy homemade Mexican food! 

Aunts, uncles, brother... - my family live all over the place - colorado, texas, and missouri.  Their words of encouragement came in several forms from cards, emails, gifts, and food all sent with love.  Each one meant the world to me.

My friends - I knew my friends would be there for me during this time, but I was blown away by how much!  I had friends make meals for us and deliver them even though they lived far away!  I had some friends, near and far, who came to visit me in the hospital (truth be told, I know they were there, but I have no idea what we talked about!).  I had lots of cards sent to me.  Gift cards for meals, flowers, a duck with fake boobs and a sock monkey with fake boobs and an oakland a's bear!  One of my friends (who is a breast cancer survivor) from my previous job brought us pan dulce!  She, along with a friend from my Catholicism class (who also has breast cancer), talked with me extensively about breast cancer, treatments, surgery, and anything and everything in between.  The love and support from my friends was overwhelming.  I will never be able to thank them enough for all that they did to help me and my family. 

My dog, Ziggy - it's funny to mention him, I know, but he is a sweet little dog.  The first week I was home from the hospital he would sleep on my lap all the time!  Pretty much wherever I was, he was.  It was funny having him follow me around making sure I was OK!

Thank you to everyone who has helped me through this so far.  I will never be able to put into words how appreciative I am of you all.  I am truly blessed to have you in my life!