Wednesday, August 17, 2011

10 years of unconditional love



I suppose the pictures are self explanatory but if not, we were overjoyed to celebrate the 10th birthday of our dogs this weekend (they are brother and sister).

While you might find it comical or ridiculous that we went all out to have our own little "dog" birthday party in our little family, well that is just it......They ARE our family and our kids. As a matter of fact as I am sure all the parents and moms out there think of their grown children as their babies still, I am no different. hehe On ocassion I will shout out "puppies" and they come running!

Let me tell you the full story though. 6 years after gratefully experiencing cancer remission I was diagnosed with brain tumors. It started out as hearing loss and sadly the slow decline of hearing was not the only problem. My brain is LOADED! There are so many tumors that it has actually been quoted in some MRI reports "too numerous to count".

So that is a pretty heavy issue. On top of that, the disorder which causes my brain tumors is genetic. Not only is my health a consideration but also the health and future of an unborn child. So the consensus was not to become birth parents. Yet that had not sunk in my mind in the beginning.

Within the first couple years my hearing declined rather rapidly as far as hearing loss goes. I was warned that it was a very high if not most certain probability that I would become deaf (entirely with no sound). For most of my life I have been pretty social and talkative.

Harley wondered how this aspect of my personality would be affected. He was saddened that I may find life very lonely (and yes it does take quite a bit of an adjustment). So when my 30th birthday rolled around, he brought these babes into my life that brought me lots of joy as well as motivation for recoveries.

When you are a patient, a pet can give you so much love and fill a big gapping hole which has puntured your heart. When I got them and told my elderly neighbor stricken with cancer for the third time, he chuckled and said "Oh boy! That's just what you need!" I was not quite sure I completely understood the meaning of his words but now I do. He spent his final months sitting happily in the sun stroking his furry feline friend sitting on his lap with a big grin. That is pure joy...to be given unconditional attention and love no matter your disposition, your health, or even your presentation.

As the years went by and I lost all my hearing, went through many falls while losing my balance function and screamed my head off, many tears and fits of rage, days when I either could not get up from the daybed or go outside, days of puking my guts out and more crying, the frustrations of enduring recoveries through 1 radiosurgery and 3 brain surgeries, my babies have always been there to heal my heart. When I have been hurt either physically or emotionally, immediately they have come to the rescue licking my tears away until they turns into outburts of laughter.

So with this 10 year celebration, we say THANK YOU for giving me life and bringing us such incredible joy to overcome the heartbreaks this disorder has tested my family and I with.

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