Holy Cow- It's Been 4.5 YEARS? Dad's 4.5 Year Cancer-Versary. 4/5/2018

I think the title says it all- HOLY COW! Y'all, today marks 4.5 YEARS since Dad's seizure. A day we consider Dad's "Cancer-versary". 

We still can't believe it's been 4.5 years- as it all seems like FOREVER ago that we heard those words "malignant tumor", and it also seems like just yesterday that we sat in the ER trying to figure out exactly WHAT was going on with Dad. 

We've learned a lot about ourselves these last 4.5 years. 

I've personally grown spiritually in ways I didn't think I could- as this journey had me shaking my fist at God for the first 6 months or so, and yet He never left my side, no matter how angry I was. No matter how much I questioned this journey. 

It's pretty amazing to find that someone can love you SO much, that no matter how angry, no matter how hurt, no matter how upset you are with them, they never let go of your hand, or your heart. My personal relationship with Jesus Christ has given me a new sense of comfort in this crazy world. I still get anxiety over scans, or when Dad has a headache, or days when Dad is confused- but I've found this peace with it all- that it is what it is. That we've been given FAR more time than we were ever promised- so at this point, we've figured it out before when things looked bad- I have no doubt that we will figure it out again IF something happens in the future. 

The last 4.5 years were nothing that we imagined our life to be like before Dad's seizure- but that's what is so interesting about life, it's never what we expected. 

We have a new normal. And sure, there are many things we wish were different. We wish Dad had more strength. We wish his speech was where it was before his seizure. We wish Dad NEVER had brain cancer. 

But IF these things were different, if Dad was never diagnosed- I wonder if our relationship with Jesus Christ would be as strong. I wonder if we would be HAPPY to take lots of family pictures for every special occasion. I wonder if we would appreciate life as much as we do.

These last 4.5 years have us celebrating SMALL victories- and we pray the next 4.5 years (and more!) will have us doing the same. We are so proud of Dad for his unbelievable amount of strength and determine- and we are equally as proud of Mom for her strength and determination. These two have shown us all what it is like to have complete faith in time when faith seems no where to be found. 

This weekend we get to celebrate Dad's 4.5 YEARS as a brain cancer SURVIVOR by attending one of our favorite events, Run For The Rose. It's a little 5k that is doing such BIG things in the brain cancer community. We are praying for good weather and for all to have a great time. We are so blessed that we've raised over $5,000 this year alone, and are bringing 70 participants on Dad's team. We thank each of you who have walked with us in this journey, thank you all for helping us BTHO Brain Cancer!