Peace, Love, and Sunshine

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End of May 2017-July 4th 2017


Now what? Surgery. Chemo. Rinse. Repeat.
I had a great surgeon, Dr. Adkins was who did my partial colectomy. He took 12 inches of my colon, 26 lymph nodes, my appendix, and part of my crappy metabolism. After the biopsy, I was staged at Cb. Late stage, but still treatable with further medicine. Insert chemo. But, that’s not until July 5th...you have to wait. Muhahaha

In the meantime I healed from surgery. That took six weeks. My mom came down from Wisconsin to help. She bathed me, fed me, and did my gardening. She became really close with my friend David. He would always tease me and say he was going to be my future stepdad. LOL

My friends from church and work did fundraisers to help us meet our out of pocket. My insurance started the day before I went to the hospital; talk about a miracle! I don’t know what we would have done if it weren’t for our friends and family. Insurance covered last year at 100%. 700k. We only owe a tiny bit from a surgery last year. And..a lot from this year, but we’re not stressing. At the end of the day money is just money and life is way more important.

Recovery time was difficult. I’m not going to pretend to be tough and say I didn’t struggle, cause man I did. Depression was constantly knocking at my door. My family was incredible and you’ll hear more about them shortly, but I felt like no one truly understood what I was going through. Insert Missy, Seyi, Kali, Deneen, Cindy, and Bryan.

Missy was battling breast cancer and was like a mom to me growing up. I spent a lot of time with her and her family on the softball field. We traveled all over the US. Some of the best memories of my childhood were on the softball field with her daughter. Having Missy to look out for me and just to listen and full well know what I was feeling before I even did was a blessing. Missy is a fighter and she shared a part of her spirit with me. I really believe she was in my life for this time. She once said that no matter what you’re going through you are a survivor. Every day you wake up, you are surviving something. Missy is a light in this world.

Seyi...man, I love her. I think of her as an older sister. Seyi went with me to more than one appointment. She made sure I was asking the right questions and getting the right referrals. She was a life-line. Seyi is beautiful from the inside out. She radiates knowledge and grace. She, to this day, reads all my blood work haha. Everyone needs a, Seyi.

Deneen, my mentor and dear friend. Moved 3 hours away and still came to see me in the hospital whenever she could. She helped make sure I became the woman God wanted me to be. She helped to guide my path and showed me just how beautiful a thing family is. She gave me the best foot rubs in the entire world. I love you, Dee.

Kali and Brian were the only other young (under 50-the normal diagnosis-age) colon cancer fighters that I knew. Both were diagnosed at stage 4. Kali lost her battled, but fought with more grace than anyone I’d ever witnessed. She was known to actually have fun during her chemo sessions. That is a rare thing. Her faith was as bright as her smile and the words of encouragement and understanding that she shared with me will forever be in my mind. Brian is fighting every. single. day. To have someone to talk with who can relate to my struggles is great, I hate that he is going through this with me, but I am so grateful for the friendship that we are building.

Cindy. I LOVE HER. Cindy is a rock star in my world. She lights up every room she walks into and draws people in. I aspire to be like her. Rusty and Cindy have been dear friends of ours for over 6 years now. We’ve hung out with them on vacation and see them at church almost every Sunday. Cindy has fought several diseases throughout her life; some curable, some treatable and others that are not. She offers a well of knowledge and I know she is always praying for me.

These people have impacted my life directly and indirectly. I don’t even know if they realize how much, if I’m honest. Well, now they know. Community is important, friends. You become like the company that you keep. If you want to live your best life, my advice is that you surround yourself with people who are living theirs.

Peace, Love, and Sunshine,

Erin

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