A Tribute to my Sister Michelle Coleman: Michelle was a beautiful and strong woman both inside and out. She lost her battle in life yesterday... She fought a hard road and took it in stride.... Oddly, she looked at me as being her big sissy and thought I was always so tough when TRULY she was in fact the strongest, most courageous woman that I have ever known. Michelle was very modest in telling her story to people because she felt that she had to just do what she had to do - she did not speak much of what happened to her at age 13 because she just wanted it behind her.... So now I feel compelled to tell her story. Michelle was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma (which is a cancer of the lymph nodes) at age 13. She had to have her spleen removed and undergo of several series of radiation treatments. I remember her crying one day that it felt like her tongue was choking her because it was so swollen with the radiation....I gave her ice chips and she was so great full for the relief that she had gotten and that she could swallow again. Fast forward to her getting pregnant with her baby girl Ariel. Michelle had difficulties getting pregnant with Ariel and even in light of her cancer history, she elected to take hormone shots to try to conceive a child with her husband Brian. Brian and Michelle were graced with a beautiful baby girl Ariel Coleman on March 6, 2006. Michelle and Ariel have been inseparable, she called Ariel her shadow. On December 30, 2013, my sister was once again faced with a diagnosis but this time it was breast cancer. The radiation treatment that had saved her life back when she was 13 years old had caused her to develop a right breast cancer. Once again, MY SISTER, stepping up to the plate FACING DOWN YET ANOTHER DIAGNOSIS OF CANCER, Michelle elected to remove both of her breasts because she was not about give CANCER another SHOT at her life with her family. She had her surgery in February, 2014 and all seemed to go well. She kept her spirits high after having this very complicated surgery and in going through her reconstruction process, she would refer to her breasts as foobs meaning her fake boobs..... She kept things light about her diagnosis, wearing T-Shirts that said things like: pardon the appearance, we are under construction..... Or Why yes they are fake, because my real ones tried to kill me....She made everyone around her feel that she was GOING TO BE OK!.....Essentially what she was doing was comforting us and making light of her situation because I know in her heart of hearts, Michelle was very afraid that her cancer had spread. My sister was found at home yesterday morning unconscious and not breathing. She had had her lung tapped last week and when it did not help her breathing, I was terribly worried for her. Her baby girl Ariel found her unconscious in the bathroom and while her husband Brian began CPR, Ariel called 911 for her mommy and was a very brave little girl!!!..... Unfortunately, they could not revive my sister. I think she had finally thrown in the towel and said Im not taking anymore of this. When we arrived at the hospital, we received the results that they did in fact find Cancer Cells in the lung fluid removed during her procedure last week. In speaking with her wonderful doctor, Dr. Eric Blomain, he feels that the breast cancer had metastasized into her lung ..... Although all of our hearts are lost right now, in losing Michelle so abruptly..... I truly believe that she would have died a thousand deaths if she were told she had ONCE AGAIN YET ANOTHER CANCER..... Quite frankly, being the martyr that she was, I think she left us all so quickly so that we would not be tortured in trying to get her to do things that she had no interest AND NO INTENTION in doing. She had told us all, if she was faced with another cancer, chemo would not be an option because she simply was not interested in it. I thank GOD today, even though my heart is broken, that my sister NEVER DID GET that 3rd diagnosis of cancer. She was spared the suffering of all the anxiety that would have come with that and for this I thank my Lord and Savior...... May he welcome my sister into his Kingdom with open arms and may she be greeted with all of our family and friends as well as her beloved dog Ali to comfort her. Michelle you were one of a kind, never to be replaced, never to be forgotten and your family pledges to take care of your Ariel and to help mold her into the wonderful, beautiful person you would want her to be. We will help your beloved Brian through this. God Speed my baby sister......Love you always and forever until we meet again....... Love you Sissy...
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 11:05:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015