Hopeful

So, a little over a month ago, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. It was difficult for me to deal with, especially because I heard it over the phone and this is the first time in my life I've been more than a quick car ride away from my parents. I'd informed a few friends, but mostly kept it on the DL. Not really sure why, but I guess I just couldn't handle posting about it - thinking about it seemed tough enough. The first several weeks were filled with phone calls, mostly comprised of me talking to mom about how she felt and telling her about my life to let her mentally escape for a few minutes, and grilling my dad about details on tests, treatments, prognoses, doctors, etc. She has a moderately aggressive form of cancer, and the first several days when we knew she had cancer but didn't know anything else were very, very frustrating.

Spoke to my dad today, and the good news is that it looks like the cancer hasn't spread, and the therapy seems to be working. So the prognosis is good, and the chances are high that the therapy will destroy the cancerous cells before they spread. Writing about the details of my life and daily goings-on at school seemed rather irrelevant during this time period, but it was a way for me to mentally escape as well.

The fact that I'm going to California for my internship turned out to be rather fortuitous. Even if I end up having to travel, I'll at least have the opportunity to spend a little bit of time with mom before heading off to who-knows-where. I'm looking forward to seeing her now more than ever, and I hope that by the end of summer, she'll be up-and-about enough to come visit me in Chicago before school starts up again. I've raved about Chicago in the summertime to her and my dad, and since I don't know where I'll end up after school, this would be a great chance for us to experience it together.