Personal story: You couldn’t have a better story of determination and survival - by Tiasha Gregg » Awareness Mth

Discussion

September 29, 2009

Personal story: You couldn’t have a better story of determination and survival - by Tiasha Gregg

Anonymous The Enid News and Eagle Tue Sep 29, 2009, 09:42 PM CDT

My mother’s story of survival didn’t start when the tumor was removed, it started when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Two weeks before Christmas in 1996 my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. She had a grapefruit sized tumor in her right lung. If they had found it two weeks later she would have been terminal. They put her on the strongest chemo and radiation therapy they could to shrink the tumor to an operable size. In April 1997 she went to surgery. They gave her a 50 percent chance of making it out of the surgery alive. If she did, there was a 50 percent chance she would lose her right arm.

Even though they lost her once on the operating table, she made it through the surgery, and it was a success. They took out the upper lobe of her right lung, her right clavicle bone, re-sectioned three ribs and scraped out most of the tissue and muscle of her right shoulder. Mom went through months of healing and recovery and then extensive therapy to regain use of her arm. Now she can do everything with it she could do before. We rejoiced on the five-year anniversary of her being cancer-free. We knew what a miracle it was she still was with us. I don’t know any one as strong as my mom.

I say her story started with the lung cancer because several years ago she was diagnosed with cancer in her right breast. They found a couple of small spots on her annual mammogram. It was the same rare, fast-growing cancer that was in her lung before. She had a double mastectomy and eventually reconstructive surgery. To this day she still is cancer-free.

I never imagined a world with out my mother in it. It never occurred to me it could happen until she was rolled away to a surgery she might not make it through. I know I am extremely lucky to have her with us. I know several people who are not so lucky. My extraordinary mother is Sheresa Gregg who lives in Enid. You couldn’t have a better story of determination and survival than hers. Her presence here is a gift from God he just wasn’t ready to take back yet.

Tiasha Gregg

Text Only

Awareness Mth

Search Results

Discussion

Personal story: You couldn’t have a better story of determination and survival - by Tiasha Gregg

Site Map

Contact Us