Websters definition of a hero is A person noted for feats of courage. My definition of a hero is my mom. My mom...makes me smile just talking about her. My mom and dad recently retired, sold their house for a smaller condo, with less upkeep and plans of traveling, enjoying what every couple hopes to...each other. I once asked my mom Why do bad things happen to good people and she calmly answered God never gives us more than we can handle. Little did I know how true those words would be. Bad things happened to a good person. In January of 2013 my mom felt a lump in her lower left pelvis. When she brought her concerns to her doctor he simply dismissed them and reassured her it was fibroids. With continuous problems she re-visited the same doctor in April only to be told two things, 1. It was now a G.I. problem and 2. She no longer had insurance. With that being said, the doctor reassured her it would be taken care of with Miralax and probiotics. She followed her doctors instructions but to no avail, the symptoms continued to worsen and within weeks she contacted her doctor once more, she was told to consult a G.I. specialist. With something just not feeling right, my mom contacted her primary care doctor who then ordered an Ultra sound. The ultra sound showed the unthinkable...two huge tumors located on her ovaries. With one being the size of a softball and the other the size of a cantaloupe. Within 24 hours of the findings, her pain was intolerable. She was rushed to the emergency room and had several tests done. That night she was told it was indeed cervical and ovarian cancer. Survivor mode set in and she was ready to fight! In June the port was inserted into her jugular vein ( this is how chemo is administered ) so she could began receiving chemo therapy before surgery in hopes of shrinking the massive tumors. Not long after her port was put in, she was rushed to the emergency room once again, but now it was the port. The port in her neck had now caused a massive blood clot in her jugular vein. After spending a week in the hospital she was then put on blood thinners which consist of injecting herself daily in the abdomen with a needle for a duration of 6 months. 4 chemotherapies, a major surgery and 6 more chemotherapies later (all without insurance) she was now on her road to recovery...or so we thought. In February of 2014 my mom had her routine CAT scan which showed another tumor. A biopsy was performed and came back positive for a cancer. Now, two more chemotherapies and another major surgery is to follow for my moms journey to recovery. Through out this process St. Josephs Mercy Hospital in Pontiac Michigan has been extremely helpful with insurance but the remaining balance is still unbelievably jaw dropping. With that being said even with BCBS through Obama Care it still is costing over $425.00 monthly with a $5,000.00 deductible and large copays. My mom is a fighter, my mom is a survivor, my mom is a best friend, my mom is a wife, my mom is a mother, my mom is a mimi, my mom is a daughter, my mom is a sister and my mom is an aunt. My mom is amazing....My mom is my hero. Too my friends and family.. I wanted to introduce Denise the gal we are having a fund raiser for with my classmates from Pontiac Catholic High School . .Date coming soon. We are first in need of donations and baskets for the event . Then we will be asking you all to join us. Let us know if you can help in any way help Denise Fleming kick cancers butt! Get ahold of me, Patty, Matt, Jan or Joan., details will follow
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 19:56:46 +0000