Tomorrow

Tomorrow, January 22, 2008, is a very, very special day. A day I have been waiting for... longing for... PRAYING for.

Tomorrow, my friend Susan (a.k.a. "Whymommy") is having surgery. A double-mastectomy.

Tomorrow, she will become "Cancer-Free".

It has been a long, hard road for Susan. It has been a Fight for Life.

And fight, she certainly has. She endured the long, hellishly intense course of chemotherapy that shrank her tumour to an "operable" size, with all the courage and stamina of a prize-winning champion. And through it all, she was generous enough to share her experience with us. She set herself a personal goal: to spread the word about Inflammatory Breast Cancer to as many people as she possibly could, with the hope that no other woman; no other FAMILY; would have to go through what she and her family have.

I cannot even begin to put into words the lessons that Susan has taught me over the past year-- not just about cancer-awareness, but about Living. Loving. Trust. And most of all, Grace.

This incredible woman, to me, is Grace, personified.

Today, on her blog, Susan has written:

Thank you for all your prayers, well wishes, positive thoughts, healing energies, and everything else. I am going into surgery confident, strong, and with the knowledge that I am not alone. You have come through for me. You have encouraged me and given me strength when I did not feel strong. Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for being my friends. I have one thing left to write and post before my surgery - a short account of the story of how this all came to be. I’ll leave it up while I’m in the hospital, and WonderDaddy or Stimey will post updates on my condition as comments to tomorrow’s post.

Thank you all. For everything.

Please pray for me one more day — for strength. For healing. But most of all for clean margins — that the surgeon can remove all the cancer from my body successfully. It’s the only thing I need.

Susan, my girlies and I will be praying for you today, tomorrow, and every day. You are in our thoughts, and in our hearts. You can do this-- just as you have endured the journey to this point. We continue to be with you in spirit, every, single step of the way.

Here's to you, Sweetie... You did it!!!

We are so very proud of you.

xoxoxoxo Candygirlflies and Girlies 3