Often in the chronic illness world, we get upset at the things that cancer patients may get a pass on that those of us with other invisible illnesses don’t.
I have had the ability to know strong women fighting cancer in my life from my cousin Sara to friends. The only difference is that they have all survived.
Aunt Brenda did not.
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| Brenda and her Tim at our wedding |
She spent the better part of my time in the Schultz family battling breast cancer. She kicked it to the curb once, only to have it come back.
She had periods of time where her fingernails were falling off and she even had a stroke.
The thing about Brenda, though, is that she always bounced back cracking jokes. She was, up until the last day I saw her, always the life of the party.
It might be easy to assume that the party has ended with her passing, but I know she’d be pissed if we said that.
This afternoon, friends and family will get together and drink in her honor. I’ll definitely throw one back for her.
In the guinea pig parenting world, we talk about our loved piggies crossing the rainbow bridge to fields of hay and snacks. If that heaven exists, I’m sure Brenda is trying to construct piggie bathrooms and explaining why that’s better than going everywhere.