For Mom, one of the most wonderful humans we know

Our mother has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, grade 2 with HER2+ proteins. The Her2+ proteins cause it to grow and spread faster/more aggressively. This coupled with the other health concerns made for devastating news for all of us to come to terms with. She will be getting a biopsy for a separate lump in her throat thyroid very soon, something we are very concerned about but know must be done. This isn't the end, though. Mom is a powerhouse and has done so much for us through our lives.

I remember going to the park with my mom and sister. We spent nearly every day as young kids at the park or in the backyard. Mom made the backyard her sanctuary and it flourished with so much life that we would not have experienced otherwise. She is quite literally mother nature, almost literally breathing life into the spaces she spends her time in.

Rarely ever did we sit at home and do nothing. Mom made sure we were able to be in extra-curricular activities like dance, martial arts, band, and choir. She afforded us road trips, vacations, and most everything we asked for. Growing up with mom was the most fun adventure I could have asked for, because a great day might have been going to a pool, museum, or going to the dollar movies.

Mom has worked two to three jobs ever since we were young, and still managed to attend band and choir concerts, dance recitals, and other school events. She even worked a few of the events as staff, and she continues to work two jobs as she struggles to know where she will live this coming year.

She drives a car that has looming mechanical issues to and from nearby cities to make money working jobs that still require a lot from her. A physically demanding job at a large pharmacy chain that requires her to unload trucks, stock, and run the cash register at the same time, work that is tough even for someone as young as ourselves. Her other job, a less demanding position in an entertainment center far from home. With gas prices rising and chemo taking a larger toll on her physical well being, energy levels, and overall disposition we have encouraged her to lessen the load and go on medical leave or unpaid leave of absence. 

 

Of course nothing is so simple, and so she continues to work two jobs to this day through her chemo-therapy to pay for treatment on top of all living expenses.

In between treatments and waiting rooms we make idle chat about fond memories and trips to places we've been. Road trips that smelled of pine, fresh air, and rocks. Most of them did, anyways, except for the one trip we went out of the country when we traveled to Cancun. It was all pure luck, someone in the family signed up for a free vacation and we had won somehow! That trip smelled like sunscreen, dry heat, and a jungle-like smell that isn’t quite the same, but rather more tropical. It’s difficult to explain something that you aren’t used to. Here in Texas, we have late summer nights that feel perfect when a slight breeze moves the air around. On these cool summer evenings you could find my family out in the back yard watching fireflies and listening to the song of cicadas.

 

Our mother is one of the most generous, genuine people we know. She is the kindness and love that she instilled in us, giving us the greatest hugs and the most wise advice a mother can give. She is a cool, late-summer Texas night; the vanilla-bean butter lotion that I still smell somewhere deep in my dreamy brain-state. To us our mother is our everything.

She isn’t gone yet, and we are grateful for that, but we need help to get her through this. She has had a dream to see the Redwoods of California, and we intend to get her well enough to make that dream a reality later down the road. You don’t have to donate to help, but it would help make Brenda’s life more comfortable as she goes through chemo, the surgery (removal of mass), and other associated treatments regarding her cancer.

The easiest way to help us is to share this with friends or family. Tell people who might be interested in Brenda's story and follow along as we make record of this experience. Not because it is trying or awful, but a permanent testament that a wonderful mother went through the tests of life in the most positive way possible.

Thanks mom, for all you have done for us.

-Ali and Ian