The Mommy Speaks...

What does one say, do, feel when told that your daughter, your baby, your first child has a terminal disease? How do you keep moving when the world seems to spin out of control and your shoes are made of cement? How can you possibly believe that anyone in the world could have ever felt how you feel now or gone through such a terrifying ordeal? These are the things that whirl around in my head during my every waking moment and most of the moments that I should be sleeping.

Now I know the answer. You just do. You just go. You just move.

In my case, I was lucky enough to have a big push in the form of my 2 bossy, overeducated, and generally AMAZING older siblings. I know where to go, and I mostly know what to do. I have the opportunity to fight for my daughter's life and thats exactly what I intend to do. How fortunate am I to have a loving and supportive husband to join me in my efforts to thwart this enemy we call Hurlers. And with our army of family and friends we will go to the greatest of lengths for our Gracie.

Nothing about my journey with Gracie has been very easy, from conception it seems that we have dealt with one battle after another, but this bumpy journey has been filled with all the love and happiness that a mother could wish for. And as far as I am concerned, its not going to stop now.

With the help of the folks at the University of Minnesota, I intend to share a long lifetime of love and snuggles and smiles with my precious baby girl. My Gracie is a fighter, and so is her mom. So we will leave for the frozen north next week with fear, but mostly with hope that we can give our daughter the best life possible. That is what being a mother is all about.