"...But we get the strength to carry on And build a life of our own making We thank the Lord for each new day And for every breath that we are taking
It's a good life Far from the high life And I thank God that this was my life" - "This Was My Life", Celtic Thunder
Five years ago I got news that changed my life forever. It was a very Grey's Anatomy kind of moment. I was there in my hospital bed and in walked a doctor and about 5 interns and they all stood around my bed while they explained that I had cancer. Of course, they probably weren't prepared for my response, which was to spend the next half hour explaining to them exactly why I couldn't have cancer. You know you're in bad shape when your argument includes the phrase, "Maybe it's just hepatitis." In any case, as it turns out I did, and do, have cancer. Sort of a sucky way to start off 2006 but there you have it. My first treatment was a huge surgery in which almost three quarters of my liver was removed. And so began my cancer journey. My life would never, never be the same again.
I feel that I have much that I could say about the past five years of my life and yet, at the same time, I feel I don't know what to say at all. So I’ve decided to not say much (I know, shocking, huh?) and instead share with you some pictures from the last five years.
Okay, this first picture is actually from the end of 2005 but I wanted to include it. This picture was taken at my sister's house and this trip to see her is really my last whole memory that is untainted by cancer. Soon after arriving home form visiting my sister I was in the hospital and then my whole world changed.
The music is "Cal/Local Hero" by Phil Coulter for Celtic Thunder
Five years! And they have been five pretty good years. Five! And at the beginning of all of this the doctors weren't even sure I'd make it one year. And so I head into the next five years filled with hope and ready to walk through whatever comes my way. No, my life hasn't gone exactly the way I thought that it would but this is my life and, rainiest days and all, I wouldn't trade away a second of it.
"...And looking back on all the years The loves, the sweetness, and the sorrow Have made me what I am today And I'd do it all again tomorrow
It's been a good life Far from the high life And I thank God that this was my life
We can't deny life How it flies by, life And I thank God that this was my life"
Hello, I am Rebecca Thies and I write Even On The Rainiest Day... mostly as an outlet for myself as I make my way through my days with a small, beautiful daughter and a cancer diagnosis. If, however, my journey can in any way help others, all the better. In my life B.C. (before cancer) I taught a special education class for kindergarten and first grade students for seven years and I loved my job. I loved every student I had and they all have taught me many lessons that have come to have even more meaning in my life A.D. (after diagnosis). In January of 2006, when my daughter was one and a half years old, I was diagnosed with bile duct cancer and I suddenly found myself on a road that I had no map for. Since then I have left my teaching job, choosing to take the "pay-cut" of disability, and stay home to be with my young daughter. And so, with my husband, daughter, and a large group of family and friends, I am learning that having to chart a new course in your life may not always be easy but it can bring unexpected gifts and blessings. If I can help you in any way please contact me at rebecca.thies@yahoo.com.