The saddest day of my live losing my mother

This is one of the hardest hub's I have had to write, I lost my mother to breast cancer two years ago in 2006. I never had a dad really my real father left when I was born and I had a step-dad but that didn't last really long so I guess my mum was both my dad and mum. My mum had a long hard life being sick all her whole life and being poor and only just manage. She even had to swear on the bible just to get a government hand out because there was not welfare when I was born in Tasmania IN 1964, but my mum would always put me and my sister first and the love that my mum showed toward us money can't buy, we were very lucky to have a such a caring mum. It always hurt my heart seeing her sick all her life everything from ear problems, kidney and bladder problems, constant infections, operations, heart problems then in her later years diabebtes and to top it all off she got breast cancer. Having to take so many drugs that her stomach was ruined and there was nothing I could of done about it, money was always tight with all of us but mum was a fighter she took on so much, so many sickness's and illness and she never complained. Mum had lost her younger sister to breast cancer, my auntie found a lump in her breast and the doctors told her it was nothing to worry about but my auntie kept complaining but by then it was to late and it's so Ironic the same thing has happened to mum, but more about that later. Mum spent her life in and out of hospitals she took it on the chin always I really don't know how she did it so well, one thing mum loved was her shopping and a love of collecting Dolls the porcelain ones in fact mum had hundred's of dolls they were her pride and joy in fact mum would always say to me and Veronica my wife now when I go you could sell these dolls and get married. Well when that happen we did sell most but not her most favourite of her doll's and with the money Veronica and I were married least year in Oct 07. I'm sure mum was smiling up in heaven that day I wished mum could of been there for that day but with her being so sick she wouldn't of really been able to enjoy it.

Mum had to have mamograms ever two years all her life because of the risk of breast cancer in our family and for years the results were ok until I say about 6 years ago. A lump was detected in mums breast but the hostipal where mum had the mamogram seemed to think the lump was ok so they didn't do a biopsy or anything but mum knew something wasn't right so when mum went to her local GP she was told that if she had a mamogram then dont worry about it, this is why I hate doctor's. Eventually she had to beg the doctors to do something so in the end they did and was told it was breast cancer she had to have her breast removed and have radiation and chemotherapy, it broke my heart and my family as well seeing mum go through this but again she never complained, Mum had a postive outlook. Seeing mum lose all her hair was hard I mean you see all cancer victims go through this but it dosn't seem real until it hits your own family, then my mum decided to remove other breast as precaution, mum was lucky to have a great surgeon he was very nice to her, she had to have her lymgh glands removed and her arm had to be bandaged up every day and massaged to reduce the excess fliud from building in her arm, this was done daily for her by my then fiancee Veronica and my mums boyfriend Barry. Mum was lucky to have a wonderfull boyfriend who stuck by mum through the years after the things mum went through. Mum then had to have a bone scan a few years ago and was told the terrible news that she now had secondary cancer in her bones and was told to have more chemo, again mum was postive and never complained but I knew this time this was going to be really hard for her. All the tablets she was on and she still had many other illness's at the same time. We were told that the cancer had spread to her liver, like always mum would keep on fighting the cancer but it was taking a terrible toll on her she couldn't eat anymore and by now would always be so tired, she would ring me and break down at this point. Mum use to ring me every day and did so all my adult life that's one thing I miss still today I miss that so much.

Then about two years just before xmas the doctors told us that they could do no more for mum, the doctors didn't even think that she would last till xmas. So mum was living in her own place then she had to move everything into my sister Allison's place and with help of silver chain and Allison she had all the care and love we could give to her in her final xmas. She insisted we all meet at Allison's house and start xmas at 6:30 am with a bottle of wine and watch her 5 grand children who's ages were 2-15 open their gifts and see their faces, this was a wonderfull, happy, very teary day, for everyone had the same thought going through all our heads just no-one would speak the words so not to ruin the day. Our mother was strong enough to see her last xmas then slipped away in her sleep 4 days later just missing the new year, it was very hard to cheer in that year but I take strength in knowing just how much love mum had for all that loved her and that to be happy no matter how bad things may get. You are rich when you are loved.

I dedicate this letter to my mother Robyn Wright and to all other people who have been touched by Cancer.

I WISH YOU ALL HAPPINESS,STRENGTH AND MOST OF ALL LOVE