My goal every morning is to make sure my two feet hit the floor no matter how good or bad I feel because not everyone is fortunate to have the same blessing. As a mother of three little girls, Madisyn-age 6, McKenzie-age 9 and Briana-age 11, I have too much to be thankful for. They are my very best friends and give me the motivation I need to keep going.

Every year I make a vow to complete five tasks. The first, make it to my next birthday in March. Second, live to see my three girls complete school for the current year. Third, be around and strong enough to celebrate their birthdays (two in August and one in September). Fourth, see them off to the first day of school for the next school year and last but not least, fight to live happily through the holidays so I can make the same vows the next year.

Back on August 16, 2011, I was hit with the scariest news of my life...”You have cancer.” I could not believe it. I struggled on whether I should cry or not and then realized that everything happens for a reason. I became more intrigued with the battle to defeat cancer rather than the cancer itself. At that time I had my husband, my sister and my brother as additional support. I was ready for war. After a successful treatment for 18 months, which included 18 rounds of chemotherapy, a bilateral mastectomy with the removal of 25 lymph-nodes and 35 treatments of radiation, I began to be hopeful because I thought I had beaten Satan. Fast forward to May 2013. I woke up in agonizing pain. Couldn't walk, could barely move. After taking over-the-counter medications for a few weeks without success, I decided to go to the emergency room. Hoping for a simple diagnosis such as a pulled muscle or something along those lines, I left with nothing. I went to my oncologist for follow-up scans and my life immediately went in the direction I feared the most. My cancer had returned and this time it was Stage 4. It had progressed to my liver and bones and within months my brain and now my spleen.  I immediately looked at my children and it took everything for me not to breakdown. They cried and I had to be the tree my branches needed. My feelings were no longer important. I knew my children needed their mother. Are daily tasks hard? Yes. I still have to make sure the girls are cared for and while I get overwhelmed, I feel if I give up, I am doing a disservice to them.

They need me but lately I have seen that I have needed them more. I make it my mission to not allow my girls to see me complain. I try to keep a smile on my face. I battle pain daily but the joy of being able to share my story with women I encounter makes the pain worth it because they get a chance to see that cancer has no boundaries. 

Fast forward to today. I am still battling with the disease. I have weekly chemotherapy treatments and bi-monthly targeted radiation treatments for the tumors in my brain. There are days where I am too weak to function but I cannot let this stop me from taking care of my responsibilities as a mother. My biggest problem is my pride. I have an issue with asking for help and believe I can be Superwoman and do things by myself. My children are very involved in what is going on with me and I don't like to anything from them because the last thing I want for them is to be afraid. I fight for my life daily and want to make sure that I leave a great mark on my children that is filled with great memories. During the month of October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we wear pink for 31 days to show our support of the mission to find a cure for the disease. We have participated in walks in North Carolina. We have weekly Mother/Daughter days. We also have days where each girl gets to spend 15-30 minutes with me  doing any in-home activity of their choice with just she and I. I also make it my mission to write  a letter to them in a journal to remind them of my love for them and how special they are. I give this journal to them monthly and have them write me back. This has been one of the greatest pleasures because it is something they can always reflect back on when I leave this earth.

Lately I have been under a lot more stress and feeling down more than usual I have had to deal with things from all angles and I want to make certain that the stress I am feeling is not reflected through  my children. I am looking forward to spending the holidays with our family in any capacity we can. For the past two years I have been trying to teach them the true meaning of Christmas that way they are not always looking for gifts. Instead, I want them to reflect back over the past 11 months and think about the blessings they have had and the fact that there are children that are not as fortunate. I want them to think more about giving back. For me, it's all about raising young, smart women and creating memories and traditions they can share with their children.

Meet the family: https://video214.com/play/XxTMY8lRn7NaI4o9uf8YZQ/s/dark