One year ago today, Tiberius was diagnosed with Lymphoma. JoElls and my world changed within a matter of hours. The chemo began immediately. I can still feel the moment when a surgeon came out and told us it was cancer. We just wept. I didnt believe it at first. Hoping for the biopsy to tell us that it was all a big mistake. He was only 2. But it wasnt. It was the reality of things that we had to face. I was at my weakest. I can never explain to people what it was like when we asked for help and support. How uncomfortable I was with all of it. But the love. I could literally feel love flowing up from the south like a warm wind. Then it was like a hurricane. Our island that we chose to live on started to hum. I remember sitting in a waiting room and just hitting the refresh button on my iPhone. Watching everyones photos switch to the Lightsaber T. Messages coming in faster than I could read them. Then came the fundraisers, the offers of help, the food, people organizing to make sure we were able to get to Miami and back each week. I can never thank my island family enough for holding us. We fought the cancer and we won. The people that emerged from the other side of that fight were different though. It takes a toll. It makes you question every single thing about your life. In some respects, after the chemo was hardest. When youre in the middle of the battle, its all you can focus on. After its done, you look down and see the scars on your armor. You find the flaws in yourself. That is the battle I have fought since then. Im not sure what I would have done without the love of this little rock that sits 90 miles north of Cuba. Before, during and after the cancer. The struggles that we fought publicly and the ones that have happened since that we have dealt with more privately. Nothing is for certain. Not your health, your life, your employment, your relationships, none of it. Dont take a single piece of if for granted. Every breath you take. Every kiss you give your significant other. Every time you hold your child. Every meal you eat. Your life can change at any moment. You cant fear that, but you can respect it. Love each other. Hold each other when they need it. Let go when they need that too. Help someone today.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 14:42:22 +0000
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