I came home from school one day in 5th grade to find my mom laying on the couch. I knew she hadn’t been feeling the best for a week or so, but this day she seemed different.

I went to dance and came home to find my grandparents at my house. I knew something was up right away. When I heard the words “my cancer is back,” my jaw dropped to the ground.

I was 10 years old; at that age, hearing the word cancer, the first thought that came to mind was “is Mom going to die?”

That night filled with tears, hugs, lots of prayers and phone calls to family, we knew it was time to fight.

It wasn’t just my mom’s battle, it was my family’s battle, we would support each other and do everything in our power to beat the cancer. Time went on and my parents made multiple trips to Bethesda, MD, where my mom became part of an experimental trial at the National Institute of Health.

She also had a surgery there to remove one lobe of her lung, where part of the cancer was located. Months went on…waiting for good news…and only the bad news came.

My mom’s last trip to Maryland was cut short when they told her the cancer had spread to the brain…I knew that wasn’t good. Now that the cancer was in the brain she was kicked out of the experimental trial so there was only so much they could do for her.

Time went on and mom continued to fight for her life, always with a smile on her face of course. Her body became weaker and weaker, I’ll never forget the day she fell, even with the help of a walker, my dad and my aunt. We had to call an ambulance…..and later realized that would be my mom’s last day in our house.

After her second night in the hospital, my dad took my sister and I into a room, a room that I still can not stand to walk by in my hometown hospital.

“Mom’s hours with us here on Earth are becoming limited,” I’ll never EVER forget when those words came out of my dad’s mouth. We cried, we hugged and we tried our hardest to stay tough going back into mom’s room. Just two sleepless days and nights later, our whole family filled the hospital room and I stood right by my mom’s bed side as I watched her take her last breath, something no 11-year-old should ever have to do.

Because my mom was a teacher and very dedicated to our school, Kuemper decided to call off school on the first day so everyone could attend my mom’s funeral. That next week I had to return to school and walk by my mom’s old classroom every day. I can’t even explain how hard it was to see a new teacher there and slowly see all of my mom’s things disappear.

Life was hard and 10 years later the challenge is certainly not over. My mom truly was my best friend, she supported me in EVERYTHING and always had the BEST advice. She wasn’t there for prom or high school graduation, won’t be here for my wedding or even to meet my kids someday, BUT not every family has to go through this.

Relay For Life is one of the biggest things I can participate in to keep my mom’s memory alive. My mom was extremely involved and dedicated to our community Relay For Life and after losing her I knew I had to continue my involvement in her memory.

Together, I know that we will make a difference and some day I hope our kids don’t even know what cancer is.