Emunah was our anchor

MY

story starts when I was 13 years old, carefree and sociable, enjoying life and all it had to offer. One summer day, my mother asked us to join her in the garden. She had something to share.

I was young and naive, incapable of grasping how a single conversation could change my life forever. I felt only curiosity.

And then my mother told us she had received a diagnosis from her doctor. She didn’t share details. She so badly wanted to protect us and shield us from the bitter truth and dire prognosis. Later, I discovered that her illness was Stage IV melanoma.

In an instant, I grew up. The things that had once felt so important to me — DMCs, parties, and friends — fell away, forgotten. All that mattered was cancer, chemo, radiology.

My mother didn’t believe in hiding her illness. She told us that it was better for everyone this way. There would be no stares or no whispers behind our backs. I had nothing to be ashamed of. Hashem had given us this challenge, just as He does every challenge that we face.