Before I moved back home, I was supporting my mom by sitting with my mom during her chemo. She used to pray the St. Peregrine prayer during her chemo treatments. I got my mom a St. Peregrine coin from the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe when I was still living in La Crosse. St. Peregrine is the patron saint of cancer patients. She brought the coin with her to chemo and made the Sign of the Cross with it before she said the St. Peregrine prayer.
At the end of July, my dad, brother, our family friend Paul and I went down to La Crosse to move the rest of my stuff out of my apartment. We stopped to pick up the moving truck and Paul and I waited while my dad and brother went inside. Paul and I were talking and I told him I thought God wanted me to move back home, because of my mom. He told me he thought that was a good way to look at it.
Once we got back to Richfield, Paul’s wife Anne and their daughter Katie stopped over to see my mom and helped us unload the moving truck. I was glad my mom was up for visitors. As were unloading the truck, Deani, our neighbor who lived kitty corner from us at the time, stopped over. She asked how my mom was doing. I don’t remember much from our conversation, but I remember crying and Deani said she was praying.
Supporting My Mom When She Went Back to Work
August came and it was almost time for my mom to start working again as the secretary at Blessed Trinity, which is where I went to elementary and middle school. I walked over with my mom to help her get organized, because I didn’t have a job lined up yet. Back in April, my mom and I were running errands when I was visiting and my mom bought some folders, because she needed them for the school year. I remember thinking, “I wonder if she’ll be well enough to work?” However, that clearly the last thought on my mom’s mind.
One day when I was in helping my mom, her friend and coworker Judy told her she had endometrial cancer. I was sad to hear that, especially since Judy had already been through breast cancer. Now she and my mom were going to be going through their own cancer battles together.
The school year started and my mom worked full time while going through chemo. She tried to get her appointments as late in the day as possible so she wouldn’t have to miss as much work. I often came in to help her out. Sometimes, I filled in for her while she was at an appointment. My mom knew I was frustrated about not having a job lined up, but she was grateful I was there to give her hand. One day, she told me she didn’t know if she would have been able to get everything finished if it weren’t for me. Despite not having a job, I was glad I was supporting my mom at work.
Supporting My Mom in Appointments and Treatment
My mom had also been consulting with a doctor at Mayo Clinic. Surgery wasn’t an option for her, because her tumor was wrapped around a major artery. However, the hope was the chemo would shrink the tumor away from the artery so she could have surgery. Her tumor hadn’t grown, but it hadn’t shrunk, so my mom started a round of a different kind of chemo.
As a result of the second kind of chemo, my mom ended up with neuropathy. During the second round of the new chemo, my mom’s blood count was high enough to have treatment during the second week. With the first round, she couldn’t have treatment the second week and had to wait until the third. However, having treatment the second week took a lot of out her and she wasn’t feeling well enough to go to Mass that weekend. I went to the sacristy to get a pyx from Deacon Mark, so she could have Communion brought to her.
I kneeled down and prayed in Church before the start of Mass. While I was singing the opening song, I almost started crying thinking about my mom. Thankfully, I held up fine for the rest of Mass.
A New Look
My mom was wearing hats at work, but she eventually decided she wanted a wig. She had me research some places online and we found a place in Bloomington. I emailed the owner a picture of my mom with hair, so he could find wigs similar to her natural hair color, cut and texture. He was extremely helpful. My mom wanted me to go with her to buy a wig, so we went after she got off work.
I went back to the salon with my mom and they had a few wigs picked out for her. My mom took off her hat, so the woman who was helping could measure her head. I started crying when I saw my mom was nearly bald. It was another reminder she was sick, so I turned and looked the other way. My mom found a wig she liked that fit, so she was able to leave with it that afternoon.
I drove my mom back over to school so she could get some things taken care of before parent teacher conferences. My mom had to talk with one of her coworkers Mrs. Kalbfell when we arrived. Joe, one of the grandsons of my mom’s friend and coworker Judy was helping out Mrs. Kalbfell until his mom, who’s also a teacher at the school, arrived. Joe was so sweet when he saw my mom with her wig.
“Looking good and I’m not lying,” he said.
Then, Mrs. Kalbfell noticed and complimented my mom on her wig. My mom and I talked later about how nice Joe’s comment was, and how he was probably more aware, because his grandma had gone through breast cancer and was now fighting endometrial cancer. His comment really boosted my mood.
