Survivor

When your a 27 years old ,married with a 2-year old and 4 1/2 months pregnant, life is full of so many possibilities. You don't worry about cancer and really don't worry about breast cancer since you are the youngest of four girls and have absolutely no history of cancer or breast cancer! My world was shaken to the core when I got the phone call on a Monday night at 9:03 p.m. from my doctor that wanted to come to my house to tell me in face to face that my biopsy came back and I had breast cancer. Its is amazing how fast a person's life can totally change in a matter of minutes. The "phone call" telling me I had breast cancer and would have to have a mastectomy asap was like listening to a dream. I immediately spun into a fog, wondering who was going to raise my two year old son(that was the apple of my eye) and what was going to happen to the child I was caring. God made it possible for me to get into the top oncology surgeon and the most wonderful oncologist the next day(which is unheard of)to go over my case. I was the one that they all shook their heads at in disbelief. I not only had been diagnosed at such a young age with a tumor in my breast but I was in my second trimester. After much review and consideration, five days before Christmas I checked in the the hospital at 5 a.m. on a Tuesday morning to have a radical mastectomy on my left breast. I was sent home two days later and I was terrified! A survivor named Molly Meisenhamer(this is the most wonderful lady that is the survivor that got Race for the Cure brought to Memphis)called me and was such a wonderful ray of hope! She is just one of the wonderful people that I have been so blessed to get to know because I had breast cancer. At that point in my life the more survivors I met the stronger I got. I want to be one of those strong people that will give someone hope to fight to live and know what a blessing we all are. I did end up loosing my beautiful baby. I was given chemo for 7 months(which was such a journey). I was told that even though my tumor was not estrogen positive I would not be able to have another baby since the chemo just kills your eggs. I am so humbled to tell everyone how blessed I am. My two year old baby is now a 6'3 a wonderful 17 year old and I DID have another baby. Her name is Madison and she is 11 and so full of life! I walk because I CAN! I walk because if I can just give that one person hope it is all worth it! I walk for my sisters and my mom who questioned why did the baby(me) get this disease! I walk because God has given me everything and then some!!!!God is good all the time! Lets rock in San Francisco Melons!

Paula Gartrell