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| We are collecting inspirational stories of breast cancer survivors. If you have a story to share that may comfort others then please send it to us through our Nifty Fifty Breast Cancer Story Submission Form |
Copyright 2011 Teresa Drummond All Rights Reserved |
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| This page is dedicated to Madeline Douty who was a six year Breast Cancer survivor. Throughout her illness she showed great strength, courage and shared much joy, happiness and sunshine with her family. |
| Breast Cancer Survivor Story Page |
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| Not What I Expected Arriving home from a beautiful June Sunday excursion in 2002 with my husband and friends, I immediately knew not all was as it should be and immediately called the Help Nurse of my provider. After weeks of testing and checks, an arduous and sometimes extremely frightening process, I underwent surgery to remove the cancer that infected my uterus. I am one of the lucky ones -- no radiation, chemotherapy, or further surgery was required (thus far) to overcome the cancer. Four months had been lost from my quilt endeavors, but it caused barely a flicker in my creative stream. My dear husband Dave, who had lost his first wife to breast cancer, was with me constantly with encouragement and support in overcoming the cancer, just as he was constant in encouragment, support, and critique of my quilting. So my quilting life picked up and continued as before. September 2009 brought a different pathway with my husband's unexpected death. As is common, much time was required to set aright the legalities and all the paperwork associated with his passing, necessitating the time away from quilting. I had heard ever so many stories about the healing nature of quilting, how amid pain and hurt of various circumstances submerging oneself in the act of quilting brought comfort and renewal. However, it was not as I expected. I could not, simply could not, quilt. Even if I tried just doing one small thing, it would not happen. My quilting was blocked. I waited. Tried again. Nothing. I repeated this for months. My husband had been so intertwined with my quilting experiences, it was like my incentive, my inspiration, my creativity was gone. I let it be. Nearly a year later a family friend requested I make a quilt for her favority charity auction. This friend had been so faithful a neighbor to a family member I could not refuse, and I worried how this was to happen. Because she already knew the contents of the quilt, and the fabrics were fairly much a given due to the charity, I only needed to deal with layout and the technicalities of construction, so I set out. I made myself do it, not for me, but for her. Less than a three weeks later I mailed it off to her. Then I picked up another project, and was able to move ahead with my quilting. Oh yes, I miss my husband's input tremendously -- he had such good ideas. Sometimes I hear his voice when I'm working, and that is so comforting. Maretta |