Today, as I was calling my mother to wish her Happy Mother’s
Day, it occurred to me how very fortunate I have been to have had Shirley
Grossman as my mom during the past 5 ½ years as I battled cancer. I have paid tribute to a lot of folks over
the years in this blog – particularly my doctors, husband and children. However, the unsung hero throughout this
entire ordeal has been my mom.
I can’t possibly imagine the pain of finding out that your
child has cancer. From the beginning, I
have said on multiple occasions, “Thank God that I’m the one that has cancer
and not one of the girls. I can handle
this as my struggle, but to watch one of the girls go through it – that would
be more than I could bear.” A few years
ago, we had a brief period when we thought that Ariel had cancer and I felt
like curling up in a ball every time I thought about it.
From Day 1, second to Pat, my mom has been my biggest
cheerleader. She jumped into action,
reading everything she could get her hands on about how to beat this disease. She flew down for each surgery that I
had. She came with me to oncology
appointments. She took care of the
girls. She took care of Pat. And – she took care of me. Not just my physical needs, but my spirit,
too. She never is without her necklace
that reads simply “Hope.”
I can’t imagine the fear that she has endured. My rollercoaster has been hers, too. But she has been strong and confident that
I’m going to beat this. I’ve written
multiple times on this blog about this cancer battle being a mental struggle as
much as it is a physical one. I’m
constantly looking for clues that the cancer is going away or that it’s
growing. Every pain in my body I
attribute to cancer growth (Pat finally said the other day, “Eve – you have
pain in your hip because you’re getting old – not because you grew more
cancer.”) Just a few weeks ago, a sharp
pain in my gut had me on the verge of tears for 3 days because the docs told me
that it was possible that the pain signaled tumor growth in my colon (they
eventually decided that it was either a gas bubble or someone with an “Eve
Voodoo Doll” poking at it.) Every scan
creates a huge amount of anxiety. It’s
exhausting. And I know it’s exhausting
for her, too.
But – through it all, she never showed anything but confidence
in my ability to fight this disease and win.
She is so determined. Her will is
so strong that it lifts me up and makes me fight harder. For those of you who know my mom, you know
how disciplined she is – exercising every day, never eating sweets, working
harder than everyone else, always excelling at everything she takes on. Which makes me so lucky to have her in my
corner – fighting this battle along side me.
So – today – I want to pay tribute to my mom and say a
special thanks to her for her strength, wisdom and love. I am so very grateful.
Happy Mother’s Day to you, mom, and to all of the other
wonderful moms who are fighting for their children's health and happiness every single day.
