Have you ever sat down to write a list of things you are grateful for? I am going to do that now.
I am thankful for…
My beautiful boys. They remind me, every day, what life is all about. And, the fact that they are all healthy is such a gift from god. Continue reading
I am always suggesting that trying something new is invigorating for the soul. I know I say LOTS of things on this blog, but just to prove to you all that I try to follow my own advice, I will share a couple of new things that I tried last week. Continue reading
The Help by Kathryn Sockett. This was an amazing read and I found it hard to put this book down. The story takes the reader back to the early 60′s in the deep south. It is hard to believe that in such recent history there was still a great deal of prejudice and racial tension in pockets of the world. The story is told from the perspective of several different women whose lives are intertwined. This is an intense story of how these different women deal with the issue of racism during the civil rights movement. I felt myself getting personally involved in pulling for some of the characters while despising others…all as a result of the skillful writing. I can’t say too much about the book, because I don’t want to spoil the story and outcome. Pick it up and see if you feel as strongly as I did once I finished.
Last year, October, I featured a stories about two moms who are both friends (Bryn Colvin and Lisa Mittleman) both of whom had been recently diagnosed with breast cancer. I felt the timing of the story was appropriate and inspirational because October is Breast Cancer awareness month and these two ladies were great examples of strength and courage. A year later, I am happy to report that both of Lisa and Bryn are thriving and have overcome their disease.
This year, October, I want to share the story of another mom, with three young children, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Many of you already know her….Jori Jellison. Her story is incredibly interesting, because she is completely responsible for finding the cancer, insisting on a mammogram and, basically, saving her own life.
When Jori and I first started talking she shared that her maternal grandmother died of breast cancer when she was only five years old. But, having a history of breast cancer in the family didn’t cause Jori to do regular breast exams. As a matter of fact, she sort of avoided them. Given her family history, she DID have a mammogram at the age of 35, but when that came back clean, she sort of tucked away any thought of breast cancer. Around the time she was 38 years old, something made her think about doing a breast exam, and when she did, she felt a small lump right away. Even after she detected this abnormality, she waited a short time before calling her doctor. When she finally got in to see him, he agreed he felt a small lump, and told her would be okay to watch it for a little while. But, Jori’s instincts took over and she told the doc about her family history- with that information in hand the doctor scheduled Jori for a mammogram right away. The date her mammogram fell on was Friday, February 13th. The day before Valentines and two days after her husband, Jeff, had vocal chord surgery.
The way Jori describes her whole experience from mammogram to diagnosis was “surreal”. Continue reading