think rainbows

We, my mom, my brother and I, were talking over at lunch today about some of our unforgettable experiences over the previous years. I can’t really remember how it started, until my brother and I was left at the dining table and started talking about the time when my mom was hospitalized during 2003.

My mom was diagnosed with colon cancer during the year 2003. We were lucky that it was diagnosed early, stage 1 or 2 I think; unlike the usual stage that colon cancer is diagnosed, around stage 3 or 4 which is already critical. (Ma, correct me if I’m wrong, haha!) We were on an outing that summer, then my mom suddenly complained of severe stomach pains when we got home. We brought her to the hospital and after some tests that was the result, and it needed to be operated as soon as possible.

I was in third year high school then, my brother was in his 2nd year in college. I knew cancer was a very serious matter, but while my mom was at the hospital, it didn’t felt like it. Yes, we were seeing her in pain before the operation, and that time I felt sad because I wanted it to go away, I didn’t like seeing her that way. I even didn’t want to go to the hospital anymore just because I didn’t want to see her like that. We just needed to wait for the time of the operation to come, and I knew that it was going to be okay after that. My mom’s sisters, our aunts, talked to us while our mom was in the operating room. They were explaining to us our mom’s condition, since they were the ones who constantly talked to the doctor while we were at the hospital. They were very serious, they were asking us if we were okay, and were telling us to stay strong.

I didn’t know why but it seemed like me and my brother was unfazed by what was happening. It felt like we had great trust and confidence that our mom was going to be okay. (Thanks to Him I guess. :) ) It almost seemed like we didn’t care, but we were just not feeling any kind of nervousness or whatever. I knew that the tumor had to be removed, and we were praying that it would be negative, and then my mom would be okay after that. Luckily, our prayers were answered; the operation was successful, the tumor was negative, and my mom was okay. Except for the complications she had when she started the preventive chemotherapy, which we successfully overcame too, I can say she’s been a strong cancer survivor for 7 years running now.

Then my brother asked what if the opposite happened; what if we lost our mom, what could’ve happened to us. I told him I might not have been able to go to UST, he might have been a working student, my dad would probably still be working abroad, and we would probably have been left here at home, just the two of us. Thinking about it makes me very much more thankful that we still have our mom with us, and our dad, and that our family’s still complete. I have always thought of my mom as if not the strongest, one of the toughest mothers out there. She’s been through a lot but I did not see her give up. I should probably give credit too to the people who have raised her, and helped raise her, because if not for them we wouldn’t have this wonderful woman as our mother.

As an end to this post, once again, Happy Birthday Mama! Enjoy your special day! :)

P.S. I’m better in expressing my feeling through my blogs. I may not be as expressive in person as I am here to my mother, but I’m pretty sure she knows how much we love and appreciate her. :D

And to all the other mothers out there who are also battling or have survived the Big C, like some of my mom’s aunts, keep it up, we’re proud of you. Good job! :D (This almost sounds like a Mother’s Day post!)