I'm pretty sure the person I'm about to talk about wouldn't mind that I talk about her. I won't share her "personal identity" just to keep things safe and private!
My parents gave me the good fortune of selecting the perfect Godmother for me. She might tell you that she doesn't practice Catholicism and that she hasn't been to Church in years and so on. And those are supposedly key factors when we parents choose our Godparents for our kids. However, in my case, my parents chose this person and I can say without hesitation she is by far one of the most genuine person I have met and truly has shown me by action how to be a good person and good friend. When life got tough for me, she told me that I was to call her anytime I needed to talk and she didn't care if it was in the middle of the night! She said this to me, when life was throwing curve balls at her. She truly puts the needs of others before herself.
My Godmother is like having two big sisters.
I think God likes to test her Will and to see how far He can take things with her. I would have cried "Uncle" at least several years ago if not long before - but she gets up every day and has the attitude that life is great! She has an infectious laugh and a smile that lights up a room. But more importantly she has a heart of gold!
A couple of months ago she was realizing that her memory was not quite what it used to be. After several months of this continuing and even getting worse, she finally sought medical attention. Given the challenges that life has thrown at her over the last several years, the initial though is just that she was depressed and just mentally exhausted. She knew that wasn't the case and she persisted with doctors and finally a doctor agreed to do a scan of her brain. She walked into the test only to be admitted to the hospital that very same afternoon, and in ICU of all places. Turns out she had a brain tumor, and that was what was causing her memory lapses. Less than a week later she was operated on and the tumor was removed after 10 hours in the operating room.
The doctors had told her before the surgery that many do not make it through the operation, and she shared this with me. I had this horrible pit in my stomach and I swear to you I don't think I prayed as much in my whole life than for her to make it through the surgery. I couldn't dream of a day where I couldn't call her up and chat. That would just be too sad to even think of so I quickly put it out of my head. I can tell you, I got nothing done that day she was in surgery. I sat waiting by Facebook waiting for the details of her surgery but more importantly to hear that she made it through.
She made it through what seemed like flying colors! She was alert and speaking shortly after surgery. The doctors had told her and the family that they didn't expect her to be able to speak after the surgery and that it might take a while for her to speak again. She came out of surgery telling stories! Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but she did speak shortly after the surgery (that same day) to the amazement of her doctors. I couldn't have been happier for that news.
Not all the news was good, however, you see she has cancer. A rather rare form of cancer that is found in the brain and is quite aggressive. One that doesn't come with the best odds of survival. The upside is that the cancer is only in the brain. So this is the only battle she is fighting.
When most woman cry about having to have their head shaved for major brain surgery, she laughs and asks if anyone wants to see her beautiful bald head! Let me tell you, her beautiful warm smile that lights up her face is really the only thing people see anyway! And she looks great in a turban (post surgery wound dressing).
I had the pleasure of talking with her today. We talked for at least an hour and it was wonderful. She is less than two weeks post major brain surgery to remove an aggressive cancerous tumor and she's been cleaning house, closets to be specific! She threw a party yesterday for 50 people! Isn't that amazing? I can tell you I had two c-sections and I wasn't up cleaning my house let alone throwing a party 2 weeks after the fact!
I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that nothing is going to stop my Godmom from living life to the fullest!
We talked about her cancer and when most people would be lamenting their misfortune (I know I probably would be one of those people) she was telling me how cool and fascinated she was with the type of cancer she is dealing with.
In a couple of weeks, she will begin the journey of trying to combat her cancer. Her prognosis is unknown at this point. I ask that you who are believers in a higher Being and Divine Intervention, please pray for her as she walks this journey. Pray for her and for all of those who love her - the list is long!
St. Jude hasn't let me down so far. I'm publicly asking him to take special notice of my Godmom and if he could put in a good word with the Man Upstairs - and maybe please suggest a total recovery and total elimination of the cancer she is combating.
To you my Godmom - if you read this. I love you!
Colleen
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