Mother’s Fight with Cancer
I am learning, both through observations and first-hand experiences, that there are many mishaps in life which seem to be unexplainable and unfair, and yet have devastating consequences. Disease fits into this category. Its atrocity does not stem from the fact that it is a rare or uncommon occurrence, since illness and disease pervade our lives as we hear numerous stories of sick people and come into contact with them each day. However, there is a marked difference between reading in the newspaper that a famous rock star or sports icon has tested H.I.V. positive and discovering that your own mother has been diagnosed with cancer.
Undoubtedly, the most influential people in my life have been my mother and father. It is to them that I credit many of my accomplish-ments and successes-both inside and outside of school. Throughout my childhood, my parents have always fostered and encouraged me in all my endeavors. At all my sporting events, spelling bees, concerts, and countless other activities, they have always been front row and center. My parents, in conjunction with twelve years of Catholic training, have also instilled in me a sound belief in a loving, caring God, which I have come to firmly believe. It therefore should not come as a surprise that the news of my mothers sickness would greatly alter my entire outlook on life. Where was my God?
My mother, in fact, had been aware of her condition in the spring of my junior year in high school. She deliberately did not inform my sister or me of her illness because she did not want to distract us from our studies. Instead, my mother waited for the completion of her radiation therapy treatments. At this time, she brought me into her room, sat me down on the same wooden rocking chair from which she used to read me bedtime stories, and began to relate her story. I did not weep, I did not flinch. In fact, I hardly even moved, but from that point onward, I vowed that I would do anything and everything to please my mother and make her proud of me.
Every subsequent award won and every honor bestowed upon me has been inspired by the recollection of my mother’s plight. I look to her as a driving force of motivation. In her I see the firm, enduring qualities of courage, strength, hope, and especially love.
I, of course, knew my mother as a mother. As I have reached adulthood and become a mother myself, I have also known her as a friend. My mom shared much of herself with me, and I saw sides of my mother as she struggled with her cancer that I had never seen before, especially her strong belief in positive thinking and the importance of quality of life. I was privileged to know so many facets of my mother, but certainly I did not know all. There were parts of her life that I didn’t see, relationships that I didn’t know about. Last night, at the wake, so many stories were told to me about my mom’s strength, courage, humor, kindness, her quietness, her loyalty as a friend. It was so special to hear of these things that my mom said and did, to know some of these other parts of her life. I hope that her friends and family will continue to share these stories with me and with each other so we can continue to know and remember my mom.
Although illness narratives are not novel or new, their prevalence in modern popular literature could be attributed to how these stories can be relatable, empowering, and thought-provoking. Susan Grubar is the writer for the blog “Living with Cancer”, in The New York Times, that communicates her experience with ovarian cancer (2012). In our LIBS 7001 class, Shirley Chuck, Navdeep Dha, Brynn Tomie, and I (2016) discussed various narrative elements of her more recent blog post, “Living with Cancer: A Farewell to Legs” (2016). Although the elements of narration and description (Gracias, 2016) were easily identified by all group members, the most interesting topics revolved around symbolism as well as the overall impression or mood of the post.
There are rare cases, when society has to make the tough decision to overlook a person's basic rights for the good of the general public, Mary Mallon is one of these exceedingly rare cases. Mary Mallon was a carrier of Typhoid fever, because of this she was denied her way of life and her passion. Typhoid left an abysmal impression on Mary’s life, but she did not let let sickness define who she was. Mary left a lasting mark in her own subtle way, her life was more paramount than meets the eye, she opened the eyes of scientists all over the world and taught the world a near impossible lesson about never giving in.
When I was younger, I remember feeling as though I lived in a bubble; my life was perfect. I had an extremely caring and compassionate mother, two older siblings to look out for me, a loving grandmother who would bake never ending sweets and more toys than any child could ever realistically play with. But as I grew up my world started to change. My sister developed asthma, my mother became sick with cancer and at the age of five, my disabled brother developed ear tumors and became deaf. As more and more problems were piled upon my single mother’s plate, I, the sweet, quiet, perfectly healthy child, was placed on the back burner. It was not as though my family did not love me; it was just that I was simply, not a priority.
The video, “Cracking the Genetic Code,” brought for forth some great interest in knowing that the medical field and technology has advanced so much that we can know our own genetic code and if we will or develop a certain disease. But aside from the interest, the video also brought forth some heartbreaking moments for the patients in the video that have had their lives turned around due to medical illness. For example, Megan Sullivan, who was a fully functional young woman and started showing symptoms of Huntington’s disease during her college years, which reduced her functioning to where she can barely even speak for the interview. It’s hard seeing somebody that young go through those huge obstacles, or in the case of Catherine Ellton, who, in a way, was forced to speed up her life in a
Thesis: The use of alternative medicine in autistic kids should include medical supervision in order to avoid overdosing, internal bleeding, and organ failure.
One fateful day at the end of June in 1998 when I was spending some time at home; my mother came to me with the bad news: my parent's best friend, Tommy, had been diagnosed with brain cancer. He had been sick for some time and we all had anxiously been awaiting a prognosis. But none of us were ready for the bumpy roads that lay ahead: testing, surgery, chemotherapy, nausea, headaches, and fatigue. Even loud music would induce vomiting. He just felt all around lousy.
Autism is a complex condition that lacks an established method of prevention thus there is a need for research to identify its possible causative factors. Identification of environmental factors is the first step in preventing and mitigating risks by primary prevention. [1] Statistical estimates show that one out of every 88 individuals in the U.S. is diagnosed with autism. The condition may be defined as a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder that first becomes prevalent in an individual during his/her early childhood. Consequently, autism results in a patient experiencing a life that is marked by the ongoing challenge of its negative effects on communication and interaction with others. The disorder is debilitating for the patient and immensely challenging for his/her family. An initial diagnosis of autism occurs as an individual is noticeably unable to achieve certain early childhood milestones in terms of communication and socialization. Furthermore, while the incidence and the prevalence of autism also tend to rise on an ever-increasing basis, public health concerns over the diso...
Dickson, Keith. "The Wall of Uruk: Iconicities In Gilgamesh." Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 9.1 (2009): 25-50.
George, A. R. The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.
Sandars, N. K. The Epic of Gilgamesh. London: Penguin, 2006. EText Books. Web. 3 Mar. 2010.
“Gilgamesh." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2013): 1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
In the 1940s researchers in the United States began to use the word autism to describe kids with emotional and social issues. From the 1960s to the 1970s scientist focused on treatments such as LSD, electrical shock therapy, and behavioral change techniques A History of Autism. (N.d.). Autism can be diagnosed at an early age of eighteen months. There are different stages categorized of autism. As of today in the United States one in sixty-eight children are diagnosed with autism. That is one in forty-two boys and one in one hundred eighty nine girls. Boys have a higher chance than girls. This year’s research showed that there has been an increment in children with autism, and they don’t understand why this is increasing.
Once the crying commenced, my mother called me, telling me that my last grandma had gone into the hospital. She collapsed in her apartment and was rushed to the emergency center. I had no idea what to do. I felt like God was just condemning me and attacking me for some reason. I went into this deep depression and I didn’t want anyone to talk to me, if they did, I would simply start crying.
Gilgamesh is “two thirds” (Epic 61) god, and, as a result of this, lives with a sense of invincibility. The idea of death, of ceasing to exist in his temporal form, does not originally frighten him, as it does Enkidu, who is able to grasp the true nature of existence because of his bestial side. Though Gilgamesh is aware that “only the gods live forever” (71) while men’s “days are numbered” (71), his understanding of his place in the cosmos is limited. Gilgamesh is unable to comprehend that though he is