Intriguing: Check Out Why Mom-Of-3 Says Cancer Saved Her Life
To most people, the word “Cancer” signifies death or the beginning of death but there has ‘arisen’ a woman who thinks otherwise; she enthuses that cancer saved her life!
How could that be possible, you may want to ask.
I think you may need to get a good spot to relax, to focus, to read, to enjoy and to digest the story of Emilee Garfield‘s battle with cancer. There definitely is one lesson or the other to learn from her story.
Emilee, a Two-time cancer survivor, and Mom-of-3 took to her Instagram page to celebrate three years of surviving cancer. As a child, at the age of 4, she was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma and later on in her life, at the age of 39, the yoga teacher was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer.
Recounting her ordeals, Ms Emilee said she had thought that she may never wake up to see her children again, but she prayed to God to spare her life.
Sharing the pictures above, Emilee wrote;
”Happy 3rd birthday to me????????
July 11th, 3 years ago today I thought I may never wake up to see my children again???? I prayed “ please don’t let me die”. I saw white light while I was under anesthesia and I thought “this is what it must be like up in heaven”. It was so beautiful and peaceful.???? This wasn’t the first time that happened to me either.
I’ll tell you that story another time. I saw an energy healer. It was crazy. I went to the other side and back for just one quick moment. It’s how I overcame my fear of dying. I was deathly afraid of dying. The fear was so bad that’s all I focused on.
Once I saw how peaceful life on the other side could be, I let go of my fears. I embraced my journey and of course I didn’t want to die, but I didn’t let those thoughts consume all of my energy. I focused on living. This women in the picture, she helped me to. She was my chemo buddy. She sat across from me. She was reading the book, “ The Power of Now”. She said I had to read it. So I did, everyday.
One day I was admitted into the hospital with my bowel obstruction. I was crying, walking down the hall with my IV cart. Who do I bump into? My friend. She was being admitted because her cancer had spread. She was weak, could hardly breathe.
She told me she was dying, just like that. I crawled in bed with her and we took selfies. Made some memories. She told me she was ready to go and that it’s ok. I shouldn’t be afraid. Please don’t worry. She was done fighting.
I remained strong while snuggling in bed with her. The nurses didn’t care. We had our IVs wrapped around each other. I went back to my room later and cried my eyes out all alone. My friend passed away. It was sad, but at the same time it was beautiful.
She gave me the gift of not being afraid of dying. That’s huge. Writing this brings tears to my eyes. I’ve lost so many friends to cancer since I was diagnosed 3 years ago.
I dedicate this day, my birthday of being cancer free and my second chance of life to all of those who have lost loved ones to cancer. Please honor your loved one by writing a comment about them below if you wish.
#cancer #powerofnow #lifeisagift #survivor#hope.”
Early in the year, Emilee shared her story with OrganicSoupKitchen telling about how all she went through durimg her ordeal changed her outlook to life.
She said she used to get upset easily and she would allow people ruin her day, hurt her feelings, and that she was afraid to be herself but now, she has learned that there’s only one life to live, so we might as well live it to the fullest.
“I felt like my world had just collapsed. I thought it was a joke, and that someone had made a mistake. I already had cancer as a child, so I was a little angry and in shock that this could happen to me. To be honest, I never even gave it a thought that I could get cancer again.
What inspired to me take action towards healing was the thought that IÂ was going to die alone and angry. I had more emotional healing to deal with than the physical part.
READ ALSO:Â Brave Widower Shares Heart-breaking Photos of his Late Cancer-stricken Wife To Raise Awareness
There was a moment where the light bulb just went off, or I call it the shift when something inside of me said “it’s your time – it’s your time to shine, it’s your time to change, and it’s your time to make the choice.” I gave myself the permission to heal, to love myself, and in the end that is what ultimately saved me.
That’s my story and that is why I tell people that “cancer saved my life”. Not everyone has the same story, but maybe there is something inside of us that is causing stress, and stress causes cancer.
I didn’t want to die, so I did everything from hiring a shaman to seeing a traditional Chinese medicine doctor to cook bark for me. I tried it all. I learned a lot on this journey and I am stronger because of it.
My outlook on life is different now. I use to get upset easy and let people ruin my day, hurt my feelings, and I was afraid to be myself. I now see that we only get one life to live, so we might as well live it to the fullest. It’s our life so we should do what makes us happy and stop asking for permission from others to do the things that make us the most happy.”
To other people who may be battling with cancer presently, Emilee has this to say to you:
”Cancer saved my life. Trust the process. I am so glad that I had cancer. I went through all of the emotions: shock, anger, depression, loneliness, afraid to die, and it wasn’t until I accepted the fact that I might die that I truly started to live my life.
The happier I became and the more I healed my wounds from the past… I felt more free and happy. Again, this was my story and I know everyone has their own. For me, it was the emotional part of healing that I had the hardest time with.
The physical healing came easier for me because I was yoga and pilates teacher and enjoyed physical fitness. There were days when it was hard to get up and move my body, but I knew that walking would save my life and that is what I started with: a simple walk.
My advice is to live your best life story and make the ending as how you picture it. I said to myself even if I am going to die, I am going to die happy. I shocked all of my doctors and I survived. Not only have I survived, but I am thriving and I have been able to put cancer behind me for once and all.
I use my story to help give others hope. So, trust the process and remember that progress is progress. Give yourself and your body time to heal and try not to be too hard on yourself.
There are hard days and they come and go, but there are good days too. Try to see the good in the bad — and I know that sounds cliche, but it’s absolutely true.”
Never give up, because life is worth fighting for.
Do you agree with Emilee that “There’s only one life to live and that we might as well live it to the fullest?”
Picture credit: Instagram