I didn’t want to go through the last two years of my life. I had no choice however because I have kids and they would not let me just give in and quit before it started.
First, the doctors told me I needed a liver transplant and then, within two weeks, they told me I also had stage 4 colon cancer. For me, that was not only a death knell but a surefire way to be in constant pain.
So if left to my own devices I would have called it quits right then. But my kids needed me to live, so after fighting with them, I fought my way through two years of surgeries and chemotherapy and radiation and in addition: an ileostomy for nine of those months. Now I am cancer free and I still have a transplant staring me in the face. The only difference is: now I know I can handle anything.
I want to live enough now to continue dealing with all that is yet to come; because I still have lots to do… books to write, places to go and friends to make.
What did I learn from all of this? I learned something we have all heard already, but really don’t understand until we truly face the end: that all that really matters in life is now… not the past and not the future but right now.