• #CancerSucks


    Cancer has touched my life yet again. As you might know if you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, my mother-in-law passed away October 24th, 2011 from cancer. Her name was Lynn…and I’m her namesake.

    Now, another one of my mothers has been stricken with cancer. B-Cell Lymphoma. Just diagnosed Thursday May 10th, 2012. Penny Mathieu, my dad’s wife of over fifteen years, has run 21 marathons. Climbed mountains such as Kilimanjaro, Rainer, Mt. Blanc. She’s spent her life promoting good health being a nurse in England for many years, then when she came to America with my dad, she worked for the Heart Institute in Minnesota for several years.

    And now cancer has rendered this active woman immobile due to some nerve damage to her spine from a tumor that was just discovered last Monday. Sure, now that some of the tumor was removed she might get some of her mobility back–but it’ll take time and much rehab. Add chemo on top of that…she’s got a mountain to climb.

    Thank goodness she’s climbed a few, huh? She knows she can do it. She’s in GREAT spirits. She’s a fighter.

    Only thing…she was scheduled to ride across Iowa in an annual event called RAGBRAI (CLICK HERE for a link to their site). She obviously can’t ride 480 miles across the state now…

    BUT I can!

    And that’s exactly what I’m going to do. My hubby was already slated to do the ride with my dad and Penny…so, I’m stepping in for Penny. We’re going to make it a fund-raiser as well. So stay tuned for details.

    Please send up thoughts and prayers to Penny and my dad as they navigate the difficult road ahead of them. You guys ROCK!