Taking Care of Cancer
Taking Care of Cancer
If I could sum up taking care of cancer into two words they would be, emotional and real. Honestly unbelievably REAL. If you have never had to look cancer in the eyes I hope and pray you never do.
My grandmother- Bettie Mundorf, age 80 fighting multiple myeloma. My gosh is she a fighter.
I have been living with my grandmother for two years now, and I never thought I could love someone the way I love her. When people say they would do anything for the people they love, yeah that's no joke. There haven't been many days that I have spent away from here since she was diagnosed with cancer, and from the very beginning it has been nothing short of an emotional roller coaster. Seeing someone you are so close to suffer, fills you with more emotions than you thought were humanly possible. For me the worst days are the ones were I am sad because being upset makes me feel like the most selfish person in the world. What in the heck am I crying about? I am young and healthy and still have a lot of life to live. Why should I be sad? I think I get the most emotional when thinking about how scary this journey must be for her, and how many things she must be feeling. She has been strong for all of us. Never whining, never complaining, never asking for anything. She is someone I aspire to be like. Some days for her are harder than others, and yet you would hardly be able to tell. She is the most loving and giving person there is, and even being sick she stills wants to make everyone else happy.
She is not a fan of having her picture taken, or getting up early- especially since she has been sick. So what do I do? I come downstairs early with my camera and ask her if I can take pictures of her hands. She reluctantly said yes, but would do anything to make me happy. When I showed her the pictures, her reaction was less than thrilled with all the wrinkles she has gotten. To me her wrinkles don't represent old age they represent the 80 wonderful, trying, loving years she has lived. And I can guarantee she has lived them to the absolute fullest. A wife to one man her whole life. A mother to six children. A grandmother to 19 grandchildren. In my eyes she has earned every wrinkle on those hands and I hope that one day I can show all the life I have lived in wrinkles. Those are hands that have felt love, pain, and lose. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I love those wrinkles.
Seeing someone you love battle cancer makes you find a new appreciation for getting out of bed everyday. I wouldn't trade anything in the world for the time I have gotten to spend sharing good and bad days with her. Our relationship has only gotten stronger than I thought it could ever be and is something that I will hold onto and cherish forever. She is teaching me all about the kind of wife, mother and person I want to be. Hope you look forward to more pictures of my Sweet Darlin to come!
