Dear Lauren,
A year ago this evening your father and I laid on our respective cots in your hospital room as we watched you take transfusion after transfusion anxiously awaiting morning so we can have some answers. Seeing that our only options were a rare virus or Leukemia based on your original blood work, we prayed hard that night that the C word wouldn’t be uttered the next day… but it was. Our world was rocked. Our Angel, the sweetest little girl was facing Cancer. I felt my heart skip a beat and my legs give as the Doctors laid out your treatment… And the urgency, that’s what killed me. You were just twirling around the living room to Mickey and now we’re sitting there scheduling your first surgery. At 16 months old, without even knowing it, you were traveling down what may be the toughest journey of your life. And with every new medication/procedure, you haven’t lost your smile- I love you for that. Now at two, you’re stronger than most people I know, including myself. You actually had to hold my hand for my flu shot – thank you 😊.
People ask us all the time how we can handle going through this, but we know that we’re just there for the ride. You have control of the wheel. And when it becomes hard to manage, we hold you a little tighter and kiss you a little more. My hope is that you look back at this one day and realize what an amazing woman you are. You have touched so many lives already, and you can barely speak. I can’t wait to see what you do once you’re writing!
So for all the scars you have to bare, wear them with pride. It’s a reflection of how strong you had to be to beat cancer!
Love you muffin 💛
Mom