"No place but UP"
Mixed media on canvas
16" x 20"
Abigal's Story
When I turned 30 in December of 2007 things were going great. I had just gotten engaged in August. We were starting to plan the wedding for the following September. We were fixing up the house my fiancé had bought. Becoming a grown up was turning out not to be as painful as I thought it might be.
Then I got to my 30 1/2 birthday in July of 2008. This is when two doctors told me the only way for me to live was for me to poison myself for a year. Yes you heard me right. POISON myself. Now why on earth would anyone want to do this willingly? An evil disease named CANCER. That is why.
I had found my lump in April. The lump was tested and the cancer was being ninja like and hiding from the biopsy needle. My surgeon took the lump out and in the middle of the lump was the cancer ninja. The diagnosis was at stage one.
Then she went in to make sure that there weren't anymore ninjas hanging out. Unfortunately, she found quite a few that had made their way into my lymph system. When it was all said and done the diagnosis went from stage one to stage three- with a possibility of a four.
The next step was to go to the medical and radiation oncologists to figure out the best plan of attack. Now what I would soon learn was that not only could the cancer kill me but so could the chemo and radiation. At this point I figured what the heck. I was going to fight the fight with every medical option available to me and keep my fingers crossed.
Chemo started in July. We put off the wedding until September 2009. My fiancé, along with my mother at times, took me to every chemo treatment minus one. He shaved his head before my hair fell out. Then my mother, brother and nephews all had a shaving party of their own in Colorado. My fiancé helped me to shave my head when the hair took a turn towards a bald patchy look. He or my mother, when she was visiting, would get me anything to eat, stay at home with me, and make me laugh when all I wanted to do was cry.
Radiation came next. I was tired and about at my wits end. My fiancé supported me when I finally had to quit work for a month to just rest and do treatment. I know that I kept fighting because my fiancé and my family never gave up. They kept their chins up high and never let it show how scared they really were for me. I know they talked to friends and each other, but it meant the world to me that they never let their sadness add to my own.
This is the hardest thing I have ever been through in my life. I just keep reminding myself if it was this hard for me how hard it must have been for the people on the outside. I can't remember a time when I didn't think “Why is my fiancé still with me??? When he could just cut and run???" I would ask him and he would laugh. He would say "Why would I leave someone that I love as much as you??" Always a good answer I thought.
After all the treatments and fighting with my insurance company (a story for another time) I was done fighting and the cancer is gone. Thank goodness my family is still here and supports and loves me.
One year and two months after finding the cancer and starting a fight for my life I was able to continue on a different path for my life. September 19, 2009 I finally married Jeremy Norton and became Mrs. Abigail Ann Norton. And now on November 20, 2010 we are expecting our first child. I keep my fingers crossed every day that the cancer won't some back. However I know that no matter what happens that my husband and family will be there with me to fight again no matter the outcome.
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