Thanks Doreen!

One of the most amazing people I have met throughout my journey is Doreen. Doreen and I attend church together and I met her within days of my diagnosis. She, like me, was diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age. Early on in my diagnosis, I felt like a deer caught in the headlights. There were so many decisions to be made and not a lot of time to make them. However, my conversations with Doreen always led to reassurance, confidence, and hope for my future. I now have a picture of Doreen and her family on my refrigerator. It is a reminder to me everyday that I will overcome this obstacle in my life and that I will be whole again. My hair will grow back, my breast will be reshaped and resized, and I will live my life strong and healthy. She has become such a great friend and I thank God for her.

Last Wednesday, Doreen gave Charley a book titled The Hope Tree. It is a book filled with short stories written by children whose mother's have been diagnosed with breast cancer. The stories reflect how breast cancer affects a child and a family. The very first story is written by an 8 year old boy named Anthony. He talks about the day his mom received the news. He didn't understand why his mom had been crying all day. However, he knew something wasn't right because his house was utter chaos and it had never been that way before. Because of the chaos, he ended up eating cookies for dinner, his dad put the milk in the pantry, and his sister fell asleep that night wearing her tutu. This story was such a great reflection of how I felt in the days following my diagnosis. My entire world froze in time as watched the world around me continue to move on day after day. I couldn't even think about what I should fix Charley for dinner. Who knows, she may have eaten cookies herself a couple of nights!

Thank you Doreen for this book. It will hold a special place in my heart for the rest of my life. You have been such an inspiration to me and I thank God for our friendship!

Charley reading her new book.


Thank you Doreen! I love it!