Kicked in the Nuts and the Woman Equalitive

My life has been a complete whirlwind the last few months. Or as my Dad says, "We are being kicked in the nuts over and over again." Obviously, I am a female and I do not have nuts. The only female comparison I can compare to this rational is being punch in the boob during certain times of the month.

Or a mammogram; where a heavy steel plate is slammed into your boob over and over again.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

And as I make that comparison, I realize it's pretty fitting for what my family is going through at the moment.

About a month ago, my mom revealed to us that her doctor found something in her right breast during her annual mammogram. And being the person my mother was, she had known for quite awhile and waited to tell us until she had conclusive results; which she now had. She has 3 lumps in her breast, all of which are cancerous.

Are you imagining that foot retracting slowly, then forcefully thrusting forward towards your nuts? Yeah after the summer we just had, it's pretty good imagery.

Obviously, we were all very upset. But that quickly turned to extreme anger.

How is this fair?
Haven't we suffered enough?
Given enough?
Lost enough?
Grieved enough?

We just watched my Aunt--my mom's sister and the closest person to her and us--die after a horrific battle with cancer, only to now watch my mother potentially go through the same thing. I know people say life isn't meant to be fair, but Jesus God this is a lot to handle!

But....I think what we went through this summer has mentally prepared us for this; a hard-won lesson, but meant to prepare us for future hardship. We've been through this--the worst of it in fact--and we know what to expect. We know we need a game plan. We know we need a stress-free environment and positive energy around her. And we know the road is going to be tough. But we are strong; stronger because of what we went through. I'm actually pretty proud of how we have all taken this news; yes we cried and were very upset, but we got it out of our systems and now are on survival and positivity mode. We are not dwelling on what could be, but focusing on recovery. It's the only thing we can do at this point.

My mom will be having a mastectomy and immediate reconstructive surgery on the 24th. It was a hard decision for her to make--one that my Dad wasn't too happy with at first--but it's the best preventative for future reoccurrences. It's an 8-hour long surgery, which blows my mind a bit. She doesn't let on, but I know she's scared--more for us than herself. I catch her every so often just staring into space with a sad look on her face, and I know what she's thinking and I know the only person in the world who could ease her mind isn't here. And it's the one person she needs more than anything. It kills me that she isn't here to talk her through this. But I know she'll be holding her hand through the surgery. At least I hope.

I'm not going to say, "I hope things turn around soon," because I've learned better. Once one thing ends, something else comes creeping up to replace it. It's a constant circle. Instead, I hope we continue to stand strong and be what my mom needs. And if anything else happens--which most likely it will--we'll continue to face it together.

And ice our nuts thoroughly for the next swift kick.