It’ll be two years in May since I was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. My world was turned upside down this day and all I could think of was my two girls, at the time 7 and 4. I thought about their lives without a mother. There is nothing like a mother and I don’t think anyone can ever take a mother’s place. I thought about their birthday parties, graduations, break-ups, periods with cramps, first kisses, holidays, and love. I didn’t want to miss all that so I made a very important decision that day.

I decided that I wasn’t going to sit there and just feel sorry for myself, that I had to do something about this cancer, and that I needed to do anything in my power to survive because I had to be there for all this and more.



As my treatment started and I underwent major surgery, my reality hit me. The odds of surviving were only 25%, and all I could do was fight to stay alive by keeping a positive attitude and trusting the Lord. As much as I tried to be there for my girls, the chemo just wouldn’t allow me to because the pain was so unbearable that I had to be heavily medicated. Sometimes I would skip the dose and take the pain just so I can have another moment with my girls while they did homework. The biggest challenge was just being a mother, the mother I so desperately wanted to be. As the treatments went on, my body, my soul and spirit were fighting to stay alive for these girls. So as it got harder to fight, I started thinking about the what-ifs. I started thinking of the memories I would leave behind.

I had already been scrapbooking for about two years but this situation added a whole new sentiment to it. I started using this as a method to tell my story. Not only do I want to tell my story, but I want to let my daughters know everything about me and what I thought of them. It’s given me a sense of relief knowing that I was able to write to them and leave wonderful memories in our special books, books that will allow them to know how special they have always been to me.