"Janessa's Journey Through Her
Mother's Eyes"
by Lorraine P Sales and Marie R Ferguson
As close
as any two people may be, our journeys are very different. We
each have our own lessons to learn. It is strange how things
come into focus even when there’s still a blur. We take each
day with what it brings us and embrace the special smiles, look
for the twinkles, hear the laughter and joy, feel the pain and
always reach for more.
This book was written to share the priceless ways of coping
with the many challenges that life sometimes brings us. Janessa
and I have demonstrated how our love for each other has helped
us stay strong and what we did to help preserve our inner
beings. We live our lives by embracing the moment, each and
every moment, and savoring our precious time together while
catching a glimpse of every rainbow that we can. We choose not
to be victimized by this horrific disease. It will not define
our very existence. Together, through our love, we choose to
fight and conquer.
My husband, Albert and I welcomed the use of conventional
medical treatment for our daughter, Janessa, during both battles
against cancer. We accepted the advice from all of her doctors,
and integrated the use of other healing methods, such as:
meditation, affirmations, prayers, gratitude, massages, Reiki
and eating healthy foods.
I searched the Internet and read lots of books, trying to
find new ways of helping Janessa with her pain, discomfort and
illness. In one natural cures book, I discovered that mustard
seeds are great for improving memory and that honey is great for
burns.
The learning difficulties and memory loss, as a result of
the treatments, were challenging, but didn't stop Janessa from
achieving her goals. The stress from not understanding simple
math and English concepts that Janessa knew perfectly well
before chemotherapy and radiation treatment left her feeling
inadequate. To make learning fun again, we spent hours upon
hours playing all types of games that helped sharpen her
cognitive ability.
Because the treatments had
such a profound effect on both her mental and physical
development, I often wondered whether Janessa would ever regain
her social skills. Would she make new friends and be as socially
accepted as she was before cancer? At first, the few friends
that she had were more like helpers who felt
sorry for her. But, as Janessa became more confident,
their relationship blossomed into a true friendship, where each
of them stood on equal ground. Ironically, after her complete
recovery, there were times when
Janessa helped some of her friends with their school work.
Janessa’s progress was a series of small steps. A great
example was when she first returned to her physical education
class, she could barely walk one lap but after months of
training she could easily run four laps. Janessa was
determined to increase her endurance and stamina in order to
keep up with her peers in class!
Looking back, I can't say that it was one particular thing
that helped Janessa get through this journey, but rather a
combination of things. Our family is grateful for the miracle
that allowed Janessa to come this far and that she continues to
progress as well as she does. Because she believes in herself,
there is nothing that she cannot accomplish. Janessa can do and
be anything that she chooses. She accepts whatever challenges
life has to offer and has prepared herself to meet those
challenges head on.
www.JanessasJourney.com