When our mom turned 42, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Dr. Vaitkevicius, also known as Dr. Vee, kept our mom
alive for the past 22years. Our mom never complained, in fact, she always told us how lucky she was, and that she would
not trade her life for anyone else's. She never once said, "why me?" Our mom did everything to stay alive. She endured
22 years of radiation, radiation implants and numerous years of chemotherapy. We always told our mom that she was
never alone. For the past 22years, once a week, we went down to Harper Hospital as a family for either an appointment
or for treatments.
This was our family secret. Although Dr. Vee asked our mom to be a spokesperson many times, our mom would simply
smile and say, "How could I be a spokesperson when nobody knows that I am not well?" We always referred to our parents
as the Carrington's from the TV show, Dynasty. As we 3 kids were winding down our day, our morn and dad were always
all dressed up, going out to dinner. Our mom never looked ill. She was always dressed up. In fact, people would
constantly tell our mom how beautiful she looked, and she always would say, "1 attribute it to good health."
Cancer taught our family many lessons. Never once did we ever enter or leave a room, or hang up the phone without
saying just how much we loved each other. We never took one single day for granted. Each day, our mom reminded us
that life is a very precious gift — something that should never be taken for granted. During the day, mom was always with
her two girls. We were our own play group. People would always comment that we were never apart. it didn't matter what
we were doing, as long as we were-together, we always had fun. At night, our mom, dad and brother would always be
together.
Our mom was courageous. Each week when she took her treatment, she always told us that she would be ok. The nurses
at Karmanos loved our mom — she brought lunches to them each week. This was our secret life. Our mom never wanted
- people to know that she was not well. After 22years of chemotherapy, our mom's heart began to weaken. She had 2 heart
attacks within the pastyear. Dr. Steven Korotkin told our mom that he and Dr. Vee would both keep her safe.
Having 5 grandchildren meant the world to our mom. They truly adored her. She used to say that they kept her going.
As our family grew, our parents decided that we needed an even larger home than the home that we grew up in. So, for
the past 3 years, our parents and their loving son-in-law designed and built together a magnificent home.
Our mom passed away just 10 days after moving into her new home. Because our mom was not well, we learned so much
about life from her. Our hearts are truly broken now and our pain will always be there.
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