2019 Paint the Paper Pink

2019 Paint the Paper Pink Lincoln Daily News October 2019 Page 49 because she was close to her mom and she needed her mom to be alright. Michelle and her husband Todd have two daughters, Alaina and Sophia. At the time of Mary’s diagnosis, Alaina was only about seven years old. When it came time to tell the girls that grandma was sick it was kind of a shock how well they handled it. Michelle attributes a lot of their composure and understanding to the Relay Recess program done annually at West Lincoln-Broadwell School. With that program, Alaina was already informed about cancer, and was coming home and talking to Michelle about various things such as how to avoid skin cancer. Mary said that the response from the girls was really kind of matter-of-fact, “It was almost like I had the flu or something, so okay, take care of it.” Mary said she did wonder how the girls would respond to her loss of hair, but again, they took it all in stride. She said that it became their habit to rub her bald head. “It was like I was their little Buddha or something. They were the ones who brought the rays of sunshine into my life when I needed it the most. The fact that they accepted me the way I was, it was a real asset for me.” Mary’s cancer was invasive ductile cell carcinoma. She said her surgeon was top notch and kept her well informed. He encouraged her to take her time in making her decisions. The surgeon had hoped to do a lumpectomy on the three spots, but they were far apart and he determined that his best recommendation would be a mastectomy. But he left the decision to Mary and when she told him she was opting for the mastectomy he did the typical swishing of his brow and said “Whew,” indicating he was relieved by her choice. Mary said she also opted not to have the reconstruction surgery afterward. She said it was a decision she made carefully talking with Charlie, Michelle and others about it. Most importantly was the reassuring words she received from her husband. Charlie had assured her that he did not covet her breasts more than her life, and he wanted her to be healthy, and feel complete in her own right. Michelle noted that the intimate conversations she and her mom had would fringe on the edge of comical, and the two laughed out loud about it at their interview, sharing a secret between mother and daughter and leaving the rest to imagination. Mary noted, “At my age, it didn’t seem important. I’ve never been a vain person.” She said that of course, she wanted to look Continued n