Significant Experience

3 Pages 697 Words

I am learning, both through observations and first-hand experiences, that
there are many mishaps in life which seem to be unexplainable and unfair,
and yet have devastating consequences. Disease fits into this category. Its
atrocity does not stem from the fact that it is a rare or uncommon
occurrence, since illness and disease pervade our lives as we hear numerous
stories of sick people and come into contact with them each day. However,
there is a marked difference between reading in the newspaper that a famous
rock star or sports icon has tested HIV positive and discovering that your
own mother has been diagnosed with cancer.

Undoubtedly, the most influential people in my life have been my mother
and father. It is to them that I credit many of my accomplishments and
successes - both inside and outside of school. Throughout my childhood, my
parents have always fostered and encouraged me in all my endeavors. At all
my sporting events, spelling bees, concerts, and countless other
activities, they have always been front row and center. My parents, in
conjunction with twelve years of Catholic training, have also instilled in
me a sound belief in a loving, caring God, which I have come to firmly
believe. It therefore should not come as a surprise that the news of my
mothers sickness would greatly alter my entire outlook on life. Where was
my God?

My mother, in fact, had been aware of her condition in the spring of my
junior year in high school. She deliberately did not inform my sister or me
of her illness because she did not want to distract us from our studies.
Instead, my mother waited for the completion of her radiation therapy
treatments. At this time, she brought me into her room, sat me down on the
same wooden rocking chair from which she used to read me bedtime stories,
and began to relate her story. I did not weep, I did not flinch. In fact, I
hardly even moved, but from that point onward, I vow...