Megan O.

About Megan O.

I would like to nominate my mom, Mindy Canterbury West, as caregiver and quite frankly mother of the decade. In 2004 when I was 11 and my brother was 13, my dad was diagnosed with advanced stage prostate cancer at age 44. He was given just a couple of years to live. Looking back, it was a blessing that my dad was a stay-at-home parent and my mom worked full-time to provide for our family. At the time, however, it was difficult – my brother and I often had to try to take care of our dad when he was very ill after chemo before our mom came home from work. Now that I am grown, I see that my mom made a huge sacrifice to leave us, giving up precious time, everyday so she could provide for us. My mother worked all day only to come home and take care of her sick husband. On the weekends, she sat at the computer researching new therapies, and always accompanied him to clinical trials in California. My mother maintained a sense of normalcy for us at such a sensitive time in our lives, never letting us see how scared she was. She was and still is our rock. My dad died in December of 2007. His last years were comfortable and happy because of my mom. Thank you for giving me the chance to lift up my mom, like she has lifted us up during hard times.

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