Survivor

This page is dedicated to my mother. In Sept. of 2009, she discovered that she had Breast Cancer. Since then, she has fought through chemotherapy and persevered through radiation, and now she almost done with reconstructive surgery.  It has been a long hard battle, but we have made it through and now she is CANCER FREE! Praise the Lord!
This spread really only covers chemo. I made it before she finished radiation. But even as she finished chemo we were pretty sure she'd be cancer free in no time and was well on her way to being a survivor.

As always, here is the full page spread view. And then close ups.

There aren't many embellishments. But the two ribbons at the top are just that, pink ribbon that I made in the shape of the awareness ribbon. The heart at the bottom is pipe cleaner, or chenille stems, whatever you want to call it. A a small 'Hope' 3-D embellishment sticker.
The tags are from a sheet of die cuts that I don't where I got them from, as usual, sorry. Or I just used a piece of pink paper.
In case you are wondering what they say:
Title piece- "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you." Jeremiah 29:11
The big one on the left- "Post Surgery: Drugs are good all the time, all the time drugs are good."
The one under that- "Survivor Socks"  (her socks say 'survivor')
Top middle - Chemo Treatments
Middle Bottom - New Years 2010
Right - "Well honey I don't care, I ain't in love with your hair, And if it all fell out, well I'd love you anyway"

'Survivor' is cut out of foam. The 3-D stickers say, Beautiful, Love, Special, and Happy Day.
The long text on the side is a poem I wrote, posted below if you're interested.

Here are a few close ups. And then the poem.

 My sister shaved her head too when my mom had to shave hers since it was all falling out.

We wore colored wigs, and my Dad wore a regular woman's wig, to church one day for fun and so that my mom wouldn't feel so weird about wearing a wig.

Here is the poem.

Fighting the Fight - Cancer

It's okay to shed your tears
And talk to those who lend their ears
It's bigger than us but no one's fault
Your pointed anger must come to a halt

Of course we know it isn't fair
Why should she lose all her hair?
The Red Devil* runs through her vein
there's no more to lose so where's the gain

Fatigue hovers like a dark dark cloud
Nausea screams at her oh so loud
It's a constant battle day in day out
Finding out what faith is all about

It's times like these, you watch on with fear
Waiting, hoping that there is good news to hear
She puts on a good face and tries to stay strong
Pretending that nothing, nothing is wrong

Deep inside the roots of fear grow
But as gloom hovers above it's good to know
Never far from her side but for a short while
He is always there to make her smile

Holding her hand, hugging her tight
Fighting the fight with all their might
They'll make it through, it'll be okay
God is with them everyday

God hears the prayers that are from the heart
Every family and friend helps in part
A small deed here, a word or two there
She's beautiful even without her hair

Heavy with despair, the sky is dark
But hope shines through, it makes it's mark
Every good and perfect gift is from above
God gives us peace, he sent his dove

Time will tell, We can only wait
But our God we should not hate
He has a purpose, he has a plan
This will make us a stonger woman or man

We will prevail, just look to the light
Don't give up, keep fighting the fight
Don't lose hope and don't lose your faith
God has control of this cancer, this wraith

God has this battle, it's in his hands
Despite what it seems we're not in sinking sands
There is a lesson here, one we should learn
A piece of God's wisdom we have a chance to earn

Just look on the bright side
This testimony you should not hide
Trials and tribulations let you share
God's grace and the power of prayer

Just trust in him, he knows what he's doing
We've got our paddle, we're still canoeing
We've not been stranded, we're not alone
The Lord our God is our cornerstone


*the Red Devil is what they call one of the chemo treatments cuz it's red and it's one of the worst ones