By Veronica Love
I remember the birth of my daughter, Logan Love, as if it were yesterday. Our little girl, almost 5 months old now, arrived two weeks early on January 30, 2014. Logan’s grand arrival was extra special for our family as she was born about three years after my triumphant battle against breast cancer.
Here’s a little rewind for those of you who may not be familiar with my story. When my son, Declan, was two and a half years old, I was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or cancer in the milk ducts. Hearing the “C” word was a tough pill to swallow. For those of us who have battled cancer, we all know how it feels when you find out your diagnosis and what surgery entails (scared to death).
Luckily, my cancer was caught early and it didn’t spread. It took two surgeries including a bilateral mastectomy to remove the cancerous cells along with radiation treatment to keep them from coming back. Through it all, I was so fortunate that I didn’t have to undergo chemotherapy because my husband, Justin, and I still wanted to have more children.
The road to recovery was a slow, bumpy one. Radiation completely zapped my energy and left burns on my skin. I couldn’t hug my son as much as I wanted to because the burns on my fragile body caused too much pain. I spent most of my days in tears. It was by far one of the lowest points in my life. Looking back now, my recovery is nothing short than a miracle. Yes, I can confidently say, “I survived this bump in the road called cancer.”
Fast forward three years later, we are the proud parents of a beautiful, healthy baby girl named Logan who was born at the Pavilion for Women. We absolutely adore her to pieces and so does her big brother, Declan, who is now 6 years old. She has brought so much joy to our family.
Logan is truly a miracle. After completing my surgeries and radiation treatments in 2011, we were a little apprehensive that I would even get pregnant. Our oncologist recommended we wait two years after the radiation treatments to even try. To our surprise, we were pregnant with baby #2, or so we thought.
Our excitement quickly turned into sadness when we found out it was an ectopic pregnancy and not viable. With the immense pain I felt from the loss, I wasn’t sure I would be emotionally ready to try again. Half a year flew by and my husband and I decided it was time to take a chance and be grateful no matter what happened knowing we already had a beautiful son.
Today, we are the proud parents of two wonderful, healthy children. We are truly blessed.
Here’s the point of my story. Despite the challenges we may face on this journey called life, and no matter how bumpy and twisted the road may be, we must always stay positive. Yes, I know it’s easier said than done, but trust me on this.
Every challenge you encounter only makes you stronger, and sometimes wonderful things happen at the end of it all.