Many of you have asked how my kids are doing.  I can't express in words how much they have supported me, stuck with me and have been UTTERLY AMAZING in their acceptance of me and my bald head!  Many days I would run around the house searching for my wig or bandana and they would tell me--"You look great Mom!  GO BALD!"  So, out we would go to Walmart, school, the store without blinking an eye.  They are my little heros!  Here is what Connor wrote at school in 5th grade during one of his writing assignments.

Hey you there!  Do you want to hear about the most important thing in my life?  Well, it was when my Mom got breast cancer.  In this piece I will tell you when she told us she had it, the fun and sad and the highlights.  Now I'm going to tell you about when she told us.

When my Mom told my family (me, Dylan and Kenzie--my Dad already knew) we were all sad but then we said some great words to each other and we all felt better.  After that she told us what was going to happen, when it would start and we all started to feel better for the future.  Now, I'm going to tell you the fun and sad parts.

First I will tell you about the sad parts.  The sad parts for me is when I hear my Mom crying in her room.  So, I always think--how can I help?  Then one day a lightbulb went on.  The next time I heard her crying I went and gave her a big hug.  And it worked.  She stopped!  Some other sad parts are when she talks about what she is going to do next.  Now, I can tell you about the fun.  The fun moments for me are when we get to put her wig on.  (Her hair fell out.)  I like it because we all look different with Mommy's wig on.  I look like a hobo.  Dylan looks like a rock star and Kenzie looks like, well, Kenzie!  My Mom is the only one that looks really good.  Another highlight is when we are in the car coming home from somewhere (church or sports) Mom pulls off her wig and she looks completely different.

Now I will tell you about my family.  First of all, the breast cancer might have been a good thing because it brought our family closer together.  Now we all stick up for each other, help each other and are (most of the time) nice to each other.  I'm so happy that we know that we always have somebody there to support us in whatever we are in.

As you can see, my family and me have our difficulties but we always get through them.  I'm so happy for such a great family that I can always play with, look up to and do everything with.  We are still tackling breast cancer, but guess what, we are winning!

by Connor Derstine 5/10/12 (age 11)