I really don’t know where to begin, but I just have to start somewhere I guess. On October 14th, 2013 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I underwent two surgeries over a period of 10 months and radiation. It is a frightening, life-altering experience to have cancer, but I received counseling throughout and was very determined to come out the other side for the sake of my daughter, my husband and my own well-being. As I was finally beginning to feel good again, in April of this year, 2015, my beloved mother died unexpectedly after a brief illness. One month later we had to put her dog down. He had been part of our family for 19 years. Now we are in the process of selling my childhood home and the feelings of loss are unbearable. My father died almost 14 years ago. I found him dead in a pool of blood. He died of a heart attack, but the trauma of finding him like that haunts me to this day. It just feels like so much loss over such a short period of time. I have tremendous support from my husband, but he can only do so much. The grief is suffocating. I feel completely alone without both parents, and losing their home means losing my childhood, my safe place. I journal a lot and I’m trying to find things every day to be grateful for instead of spending each moment filled with torment and self-pity, but it’s never easy.
