Category: Childhood Cancer

Culling the Herd: How Relationships with Friends and Family Change When Your Child has Cancer.
Cancer · Chemo Dad · Chemo mom · Childhood Cancer · Family · Friends · Histiocytosis · liver disease · Motherhood · Uncategorized

Culling the Herd: How Relationships with Friends and Family Change When Your Child has Cancer.

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Most everyone starts off on the “fighting pediatric cancer” journey with loads of friends and family.   The second you say the word “cancer,” it’s like you are suddenly the host to the world’s largest love fest.  You have friends you didn’t know you had and your family members all stand up and offer to help,… Continue reading Culling the Herd: How Relationships with Friends and Family Change When Your Child has Cancer.

My Faith and My Daughter’s Cancer
Cancer · Chemo mom · Childhood Cancer · children · Faith · Histiocytosis · Religion · Uncategorized

My Faith and My Daughter’s Cancer

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Disclaimer:   This is not a preaching moment for me to tell you that you have to or even that you should believe in a God or Goddess or Gods or have any faith at all.  I believe in the freedom of religion, whatever that religion might be, and that includes the freedom to NOT have… Continue reading My Faith and My Daughter’s Cancer

Please don’t think me weak.
Cancer · Chemo mom · Childhood Cancer · Histiocytosis · pediatric cancer · PTSD · Survivor · Uncategorized

Please don’t think me weak.

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I find myself thinking those words more often than not in the last few weeks. I’ve always been the bad@$$ in the herd.  The black sheep with the bandana, playing the metal music and not bending to the judgement of others. I didn’t cry for anything, ever.  I didn’t cry when I moved away from… Continue reading Please don’t think me weak.

Tips for Pediatric Specialists: Coping with the Tempermental Relationship You Have with Parents
Cancer · Chemo Dad · Chemo mom · Childhood Cancer · Family · Histiocytosis · liver disease · Parenting · pediatric cancer · Pediatricians · Physician · Uncategorized

Tips for Pediatric Specialists: Coping with the Tempermental Relationship You Have with Parents

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You are a Pediatric Specialist.  You work in an office attached to a hospital, and you are an expert in your field.  You do amazing things.  You know the liver, heart, lungs, bone marrow, and tiny tiny cancer cells better than anyone and you know how good you are. Us parents aren’t trying to discount… Continue reading Tips for Pediatric Specialists: Coping with the Tempermental Relationship You Have with Parents

Little Hands and Living in the Now
Cancer · Chemo Dad · Chemo mom · Childhood Cancer · children · Family · Histiocytosis · liver disease · Motherhood · Parenting · Uncategorized

Little Hands and Living in the Now

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Last night, I held our youngest daughter against my chest  and placed a flannel blanket that her Grammy made for her against her cheek and rubbed, holding the blanket wrapped around her tiny body. She instantly grabbed it with one arm and snuggled her face against it, against my chest, and promptly fell asleep. I… Continue reading Little Hands and Living in the Now

Homage to Chemo Dads
Cancer · Chemo Dad · Chemo mom · Childhood Cancer · children · Family · Histiocytosis · Husband · liver disease · Love · marriage · Motherhood · Parenting · pediatric cancer · Uncategorized

Homage to Chemo Dads

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My husband is a man of many colors, a renaissance man with many cloaks and many talents.  He is humble and kind and doesn’t think much of himself, which is ridiculous, but I can hardly change him or how he sees himself after 14 years.  Much like myself, his soul was marred by our daughter’s… Continue reading Homage to Chemo Dads

Dear Normal Parents, A Letter From a Chemo Mom
Cancer · Chemo mom · Childhood Cancer · Histiocytosis · Motherhood · Parenting · pediatric cancer · Uncategorized

Dear Normal Parents, A Letter From a Chemo Mom

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I am the mother of a medically fragile child.   I have been her mother for 8 years, and for nearly all of those 8 years she has been very sick, recovering, or dealing with the permanent effects of her illness.  She was born with Resistant Multisystem Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, which is a fancy way for… Continue reading Dear Normal Parents, A Letter From a Chemo Mom

The Eggshell Child
Cancer · Chemo mom · Childhood Cancer · Family · liver disease · Motherhood · Parenting · pediatric cancer · PTSD · Uncategorized

The Eggshell Child

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When I was in law school, I remember being in torts class and learning about “the eggshell plaintiff.”  A plaintiff is a person who sues another person in court for injuries.  The Eggshell plaintiff is the person who is injured by something you did, but their injuries are far worse than they would be in… Continue reading The Eggshell Child

Put the Panic Button Down! Back Away from the Panic Button!
Chemo mom · Childhood Cancer · children · Comedy · Family · Histiocytosis · Parenting · pediatric cancer · PTSD · Uncategorized

Put the Panic Button Down! Back Away from the Panic Button!

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When you have a child you think “I’m going to be cool about this.”  “I’m going to not panic over a hangnail.”  “I’m going to understand how to treat a simple cold and get over it and move on.” Total joke. That whole adage about now you freak out over everything for the first child… Continue reading Put the Panic Button Down! Back Away from the Panic Button!

Breakdown of a PTSD Attack for this Chemo Mom
Cancer · Chemo mom · Childhood Cancer · Family · Histiocytosis · liver disease · Motherhood · Parenting · pediatric cancer · PTSD · Uncategorized

Breakdown of a PTSD Attack for this Chemo Mom

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Let me preface this post with this:  Vivi is fine.  My gut says that she’s just teething and in a growth spurt cause she’s eating so much and losing tummy weight and walking now. She has no real symptoms of anything more than normal baby growth stuff. I had a bad PTSD day yesterday that… Continue reading Breakdown of a PTSD Attack for this Chemo Mom