"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations." ~Charles Swindoll
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YAY!! 2THEHEART BUMPER STICKERS! They are finally here! I've waited over three years to get great bumper stickers and am thrilled with the new ones designed by Anne Goodrich! Order yours for only $3.99 here:
www.cafepress.com/2theheart ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WRITING WORKSHOPS: Get Published! This eight-week workshop guides you in perfecting your manuscript through to the publishing process.
Creative Writing! We now have two four-week workshops with in-depth exercises and guidance on bringing out more creative writing. Both the original CW Workshop and the Advanced CW Workshop begin next Monday and run four weeks each.
More info on all workshops here:
www.2theheart.com/WritingWorkshops ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I happen to know and love this family and am touched to be able to share a part of them with you.
"Angel Cassidy"
by Jenn Borjeson
When my husband Jeremy and I had our son, Trevor, on July 23, 1993, we thought that life couldn't get any better. Trevor was a perfect angel. When he was about four months old, Jeremy and I decided that we'd like to have another baby, seeing how it was so "easy". Trevor rarely got sick. He slept through the night at six weeks old and let anyone who cared to hold him, do so.
I spent my second pregnancy playing with him and dreaming of having another perfect baby, which I instinctively knew would be a girl. Around the time I was entering my seventh month of pregnancy, I had an ultrasound. The technician asked me if my son had been born with a lot of hair and I laughed and said no, that everyone in both of our families was born bald! She replied that this baby was going to break that tradition, something I thought was odd but not worrisome.
Cassidy Rae was born on April 22, 1995 - weighing nine pounds and measuring 20 1/2 inches long. Sure enough, she had a crop of dark hair - but the hair was only on the top of her head, and when I first saw her all covered in fluids and her hair matted down, it looked like a beanie cap on the top of her head. I still wasn't feeling anything but absolute joy to finally have my daughter! As I was recuperating in the recovery room, a doctor came in. "Don't worry," he said, "we'll schedule an appointment with a dermatologist and a specialist, but she seems like she'll be fine." WHAT? He then explained to me that Cassidy had a large hairy nevus on her head. I soon found out that a hairy nevus is a type of birthmark, and that many people are born with them on their face, their torso, their legs - or their head.
When I took Cassidy to her pediatrician a week later, I was told that there was a one in ten chance of the nevus developing cancerous spots within it. The nurses, as well as the doctor, all looked and acted nervous around me. I was devastated. They may as well have told me that my baby was going to die. My pediatrician made an appointment for us with the head of the dermatology department for about two weeks later. In the meantime, I cried all the time. Cassidy cried all the time. I got to saying that she was "colicky" but now I think that she felt my fear, my horror, my absolute grief. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't play with Trevor. All I could do was cry and imagine how we'd deal with it when Cassidy died. But the worst part was I couldn't say this aloud, or I knew it would come true. Jeremy was also devastated, but he refused to believe anything other than that she'd be "fine." He'd hardly even discuss it with me, just telling me that everything would be fine. I wanted to believe him, but between the post-partum hormones raging through my body, and the fact that I wasn't sleeping, I pretty much just wallowed in my own self-pity.
Then we met Dr. Kates. He was the most wonderful doctor with the best personality I've ever, to this day, had the pleasure of meeting. Dr. Kates told us that the chance of Cassidy's nevus developing cancerous spots within it was more like one in one hundred than one in ten. He also told us that because of that chance, if the nevus was on any other part of her body, they would simply remove it. But because it was on her head, and because it was so large, we decided to monitor it very closely instead.
Dr. Kates treated Cassidy like his own daughter and every time he told us our options, he would say "If she was my daughter, this is what I would do, but she's your daughter and I respect your decisions if you decide to do something else." He convinced me to stop looking up Cassidy's condition in medical journals, which only give worst-case scenarios and were only terrifying me. He told us to run our fingers over her scalp every day to check for bumps, or growths, and that if we found anything, to notify him immediately. When we left his office that day, I finally felt an enormous weight being lifted off of me. My heart began to beat again.
Six months later, we noticed a "bump." We took Cassidy back to Dr. Kates, who performed a biopsy - it came back negative for cancerous cells. We continued to bring Cassidy to see Dr. Kates every three months, and gradually increased the times between visits. We now only bring her when we are worried about a new spot or have a question for him.
Looking back, I'm astonished at how much we've both grown, Cassidy and I! She is almost 8 years old now, she's adventurous and strong-willed, she has a charming personality and a wonderful sense of humor - she is constantly making us laugh. I still can't imagine my life without her. The difference is that now I don't even think about that possibility. Most days, I don't even think about the fact that she will always have that risk, that horrible one in one hundred chance. Instead, I dream about her first boyfriend, her prom, going to college, having children of her own - the same things I dream about Trevor doing. More than anything, I am so grateful for Cassidy's continued health. It's something that we never take for granted.
Jenn Borjeson copyright 2003
Jennborj@aol.com Jenn Borjeson is a freelance writer who lives in Massachusetts with her husband, 2 children, and 2 cats. She is an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator and is addicted to rubber-stamping! She does volunteer work for Hugs & Hope (
www.hugsandhope.com) and is also a Chemo Angel (
www.chemoangels.com). Her previous 2theheart work includes "ChemoAngels," "My Dad," and "Playing Games." You can see her inspiring web site (a 2theheart 'Make a Difference' recipient!) at:
www.geocities.com/jennborj/index ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PATRIOTIC PINS! Show your support by proudly wearing one of the many lapel pins created by US Pins. The new Space Shuttle Memorial pins are now available, as well as the yellow Support Our Troops, many unique 9-11 pins, Flag Heart with doves and other collectible pins that show your American Pride.
http://www.qksrv.net/click-404250-9486958 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Letter Box:
Dear 2theheart,
Heavenly Father knows our needs even before we speak them. No coincidence getting that mail! Many of us out here know who sent Joce the mail. What a blessing in our lives are the people who write these lovely stories and what a blessing in our lives is the ONE Joyce prayed to! Thanks Joyce for taking the time to write this story. It touches the heart strings. Well it surely touched mine. Nice work.
