Life is What Happens When You are Busy Making Other Plans!

I am survivor of almost 8 years. I am a survivor because God had a greater plan for me than to just continue on in my planned-out life. I was diagnosed in April 2004, saved my friend and colleague’s life too; she was diagnosed in May 2004. We went through treatment (surgeries, chemo, and radiation) together while still running an educational center for the UAW-GM. In the fall of 2004, my husband said, we need to adopt children before we get any older. Through a herniated disk and cancer treatment, I took the foster classes required to adopt a foster child. It was 2 years before we heard anything about children that were adoptable. Before Cancer, we always knew we wanted children, we were quite specific; we wanted a girl and we wanted to name her Elizabeth (my middle name). Well, life is what happens when you are busy making other plans. When we went through the foster classes we said we would like to adopt a little girl 5 or 6. Well, once again, fate happens and 2 little girls had just become available (they were 5 and 6) and of course the 5 year old was named Elizabeth. The 6 year old was named Summer (our favorite season). Both girls had family middle names too. We always say they were named by God through their biological mother.
Cancer taught me not to worry about the small stuff, put my faith in God, and encourage others who are going through the same ordeal as I! Life is never fair, but one is taught after surviving Cancer that life is worth living even more than it was pre- BC. My husband and I are truly blessed by our daughters and would never have adopted them had I not gone through Breast Cancer. In many ways, Breast Cancer changed our lives forever!