ÎÒÕæ²»ÄÜÏàÐÅÄã˵µÄÄãµÄÄêÁä(I¡¡can't¡¡believe¡¡you¡¡tell¡¡people¡¡your¡¡age)

¡¡¡¡¡°ican'tbelieveyoutellpeopleyourage,¡±myfriendcommented.

¡¡¡¡hey,idon'tmind.really.infact,ilovemyage,becauseeverysinglebirthdaymeansmorethanjustpresentsandchocolatecake.thedayiheardtheword¡°cancer¡±spokenbymydoctor,mylifeturnedupsidedown.

¡¡¡¡¡°ihaveatestonmonday,¡±isaidfoolishly,thinkingthatthedoctorwouldpostponesurgerysoicouldace1myhumanitiestest.whatididn'trealizeisthatiwaspreparingforthebiggesttestofmylife.

¡¡¡¡withinhoursidiscoveredthatididhavecancer.ithadspreadtomylymphnodes2.ilearnedat32yearsofagetofacemortality3.everytimethedoctorsenteredmyroom,theywalkedinwithbadnewsandonemorespecialist.onewhitecoatmeantcancer.twowhitecoatsmeantchemo4.threemeantradiation.fourmeantdetectionofanotherpossibletumor5.

¡¡¡¡atonepointfivedoctorsstoodaroundmybed.itseemedfittingbecausethestatisticsdroppedtoa10%chanceofsurvivingfiveyears.onedoctorforeachyearimightlive.

¡¡¡¡therewereamultitudeof6reasonstostickaround7ª²ª²ahusbandof12yearsthatilovedawholelotandthreebeautifulchildrenthatwerecluelesstotheplight8oftheirmomanddad,butwhogavemedailystrengthintheirinnocentloveandhandmadegiftsthathungonthehospitalwall.

¡¡¡¡tothisday,istillhaveacrayonpictureofmerestinginbed,withalargeheadandlargerlips,withathermometer1stickingoutofmymouth.thewords,¡°getwellsoucancomhome¡±wasmymantra2.

¡¡¡¡i'mthankfulforcancerinmanyways.doesthatsoundcrazy?iwouldn'twishitonanybodyandidon'twanttogothroughitagain,butitwasateacher.ithelpedmetotreasureeverysingleday.itforcedmetoprioritize3mylife.thingsthatwereonceimportantseemedfoolish.itpushedmeofftherollingwheelthissocietycallssacredandletmepursuethedesiresofmyheart,insteadofmywallet.itgavemetheabilitytoseelifeasfragile,notonedaypromised.itallowedmetotreasuremythreebeautifulchildren,whosometimesbroughtheartª²achealongwithjoyastheygrewup,whoareallnowincollegeandcannowspellbeautifully.

¡¡¡¡whenihitmy5thyearofsurvival,ileftmyjobtowritefulltime.idecidednottowriteonemorewordaboutanythingthatdidn'tmattertome.itwasastepoffaith,butitmadeperfectsense.cancertaughtmenottolettheopportunitiesofyourheartpassyoubybecausewearenotpromised¡°oneday¡±or¡°someday.¡±onmy40thbirthday,irodegocarts4with30ofmyclosestfriendstocelebrate.thenumbers4ª²0hangingacrossthewallwereabeautifulsight.

¡¡¡¡icelebratedmy10thyearofsurvivalonaboatintheamazonintherainforestofbrazil.isatonthetoplevelandwatchedthesunriseandfromsomewheresodeepinside,ithankedgodfortheopportunitytoexperiencelifethroughfacingdeath.

¡¡¡¡yousee,lifehasbecomeaseriesofcelebrations.lastmonth,icelebratedmy13thyearofsurvivalandembracedmy44thbirthday.nextmonth,richardandiwillcelebrateour24thanniversary.leslie,myoldest,turned21lastyear.mytwinsare20.allyoungadultsnow,allrunningaftertheirowndreams,becausemybout1withcancertaughtthemtoo.ilookatmyfriendandanswerherquestion.doimindtellingmyage?absolutelynot.i'llshoutitfromtherooftops2.i'm44!i'mthankfulforall10grayhairs.

¡¡¡¡whenilookinthemirrorandnoticethesmalllinesappearingaroundmymouthandeyes,idon'tcallthemwrinkles.icallthemopportunities.

¡¡¡¡everylinewasplacedtherebyasmilethatcreasedmyfaceª²ª²anexperience,largeorsmall,thatcamefromlivingthisgiftcalledlife.(byt.suzanneeller)