Dolores McCloskey, My mum for me is a truely a hero and here is why... ❤️
In March 2011 my mum, Dolores McCloskey was diagnosed with Cervical cancer. I was just about to turn 18 at the time and studying for my a levels. It came as a big shock to all the family. My mum had been showing different symptoms and going to the doctors for over a year before she was diagnosed. When she was diagnosed the consultant told her that she had the Cancer in her body for over a year and he was surprised she didn't collapse. They told her they could cure this Cancer. This just showed from the very start that my mum had the strength of a fighter. Following this, my mum started her treatment at the City Hospital Cancer Centre Belfast. This started with 8 hour long chemotherapy sessions. She also received 36 session of radiotherapy also. My mum was determined that she was going to beat this cancer and after many infections and sick nights we got the call in October 2011 to say she had the all clear. The smiles beamed from our faces and it was like God had granted our wish. We thought that this was the end of this heartbreaking experience but sadly this was only the beginning. In December 2011 my mum went to the hospital for a check up and a scan. The consultant revealed that there was shadows on her lungs. They weren't sure if the cancer had came back or not. They told her to go and enjoy christmas and they would call her back after Christmas. In February 2012 they called my mum back and broke the news on her that she had lung cancer. In a short space of months it had returned. This time it was completely different, they told her that this cancer could not be cured it could only be treated. As a family we had to take the good from bad and we were glad that they could give her treatment. So my mum started her chemotherapy and radiotherapy again. This time she had less sessions of radiotherapy and her chemotherapy started at 4 hours a session and over time went down to 2 hours a session. In September 2012, me and my mum both attended her hospital appointment to see how her body was responding to the treatment. It was not good news that day. I asked the doctor was she putting a time limit of my mums life and her reply was "If your asking will your mum be here in 6 months I would say yes but if your asking if she will be here in a years time I'm not so sure". This was hard to hear with being still very young, but I knew I had to be brave for my mum. They asked her did she want to continue her treatment and she said "yes I do not want to leave my children". I also have an older brother and sister. When we got back home my mum put her arms around me and said "Stacey what will you do if anything happens to me". That's a day in my life I will never forget. I knew what exactly I had to do. I had to be brave and strong and get my mum through this. For the next year my mum tried her best to fight this illness and she was doing an amazing job of showing us how brave and strong she was. In the summer of 2013 my mums treatment stopped to give her a break and to let her relax. This was the best I had seen my mum and no one would have thought she even was sick. She really did look brilliant! On the 15th of October 2013 my mum was given the news that the treatment hadn't been working as expected and the cancer had now traveled to her liver. She was given a few months too live. After that my mums health was not the best. A few weeks later in November 2013 my mum was admitted to hospital. Her health was going down hill and she lost a lot of weight due to the fact she could no longer eat properly. On the 28th of November my mum was moved to the Northern Ireland Hospice where he was made comfortable and given the proper pain relief. Sadly on the 5th of December 2013 my mum passed away. I want to share this story because my mum was a truly amazing woman and I want to inspire other to be as brave as she was.
