Stage IV terminal incurable adrenal cancer warrior!
My inner warrior trait is FEARLESSNESS!
I was 35 years old when I was diagnosed with Adrenal Cortex Carcinoma–stage IV, metastasized to the lungs. I was a single mom with two little boys. Adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare tumor afflicting only one in a one million; there is no cure. The first doctor told me there was nothing more they could do, I was terminal. The next told me he could treat me but he wouldn’t because the prognosis for this cancer is so poor. And another told me even if he did treat me it wouldn’t matter- the cancer would just come right back and kill me. That didn’t stop me! I found a team of doctors to treat me and against all odds winning! I’ve been fighting for my life for a year and half now. This battle includes 3 major surgeries over the span of 7 months and 7 different chemotherapies over the span of 8 months. I will win. I will beat cancer because I am a warrior.
Actively fighting cancer doesn’t stop me from living a full life! I still go running, hiking, lifting and spend every second I can with my children. I make the most of today because tomorrow is never promised.
My secret special power would be to be like Captain America where I could take my weakened body and strengthen it. I would also patriotically serve my country.
Please share YOUR warrior story, you never know who it may inspire!
I was recently going through both my mother’s and father’s boxes in our garage. My mother’s stuff has been collecting dust for many years, however my father’s boxes are still pretty fresh as his passing was recent. In many of the boxes are letters I had written to my Dad, letters he had written me, pictures of our family and voice recordings of messages my brothers and I left him while he was in the seminary (my father was a ‘second vocation’ priest). I always shed tears when starting this process, but as I go through these things I am also able to smile because the pictures are priceless.
When I think about both of my parents physically being gone and having to rummage through their things, it is very EASY to focus on the negative thoughts: both my parents will not be around when I have a child, my father will not be able to baptize my children, I cannot call my dad anymore on my long drives and share recent adventures, I cannot tell my father physically how proud I am of him nor I will not have a mother to help me with my children or give me advice on what motherhood is all about. All of these thoughts when I say them aloud bring me sad, however I can choose to look at this situation differently and find HAPPINESS.
I am able to look at all the letters my father and I wrote because he kept every single one…it meant so much to him. I had wonderful parents in my life, the pictures make me smile at the memories we had and I will get to raise my children from beautiful examples of parents I had who were 100% committed to one another and their children. Now, I get to think about and write about what my Dad would say to me while on my long drives. I get the quiet time I so badly need every day to help me maintain balance in my life.
In Rick Hansens’s article, Taking in the Good, he advises against suppressing negative experiences in your life- rather let them happen. I let myself grieve my father and my mother. Rick mentioned to foster positive experiences, take them and have them become part of you; savor them. Another thing he mentioned was that you have the ability to literally re-wire your brain. For example when a strong memory is activated, you can CHOOSE to add something more positive to your mind. Your amygdala and hippocampus – important parts of your brain for feeling and memory – will start to activate and associate with a new neural pattern. That is pretty freaking cool!
A habit I have developed after meditating is writing in my dedication of the day in my journal.
I have recently started to write down all the positive things I can think about in my day and about my life-whatever comes to mind really. Through the actual process of writing them down, I smile, and the re-wiring happens. Going down my usual rabbit hole of self pity or self destruction happens less and less now as my brain goes to what is good. It doesn’t necessarily make me any happier in the moment, however it does allow me to ground myself and stay away from the dreaded rabbit hole of self-destruction.
Perhaps this article is mostly about perspective designed to help cultivate our inner warrior, which is a daily process for me. I am ok with my parents being gone because I smile every time I think of them and the fact that they taught me so much. They passed the torch to my brothers and I, as we choose to live life to the fullest- through the happy times and unhappy times. I am creating a habit of taking in the good in every situation I can, so join me on this journey! If you loved this article, be sure to sign up for our Warrior Newsletter!
Welcome to the first installment of the Warrior of the Month series! In the video below, an amazing woman named Ashley Linder tells her story of overcoming physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her father, testifying against him at age 9, and wading through the challenges of group and foster homes. She recognizes that she has exhibited tremendous strength and fortitude then and now to be the person she is today. Take a look and be sure to share with others! You can also learn more about the great work Ashley now does with foster kids through her website, www.linderkids.org
I’d like to share with you the Warrior Movement. It’s a project where stories and articles are shared to stimulate positivity, resiliency, and something called post traumatic growth in those that need it.
I started the Warrior Movement for 2 reasons:
1. I am writing a book to help people re-define what it means to be a warrior, and to help them recognize their own strength and resiliency. I hope my story, my struggles, and my journey to overcome those struggles will inspire someone.
2. I am asking for your stories of resilience, and what you feel has made you a warrior. The premise is to share and promote these stories to help those millions of others who still need inspiration. No matter how long or short, please send me your story!
Everyone knows somebody who could use some inspiration, positivity, and resilience in their life! Studies show that 75% of those who have been through trauma are able to express resilience and post traumatic growth. Those who grow after trauma do so because of their ability to ask for help, engage with people who build them up, and get involved in sharing their own story.
Let’s build a source of hope, resilience, and positivity. Let’s turn that 75% into 100%! It costs nothing!
When you look in the mirror what do you see? I see a Warrior. A peaceful one and a vicious one, if needed.
I also see a beautiful lady in mind and body. One who’s loving, imperfect, intense, resilient, proactive, funny, gentle, tall, half blonde, goofy, blue eyed, smart, sometimes even gullible, someone who sticks up for herself, can say NO, faith-filled, pale and freckled, competitive 175 pound badass of a woman who loves to train, be gentle with herself, heal people, sleep, and travel.
The fact that I struggled with bulimia at one point in my life, lost both parents and some friends, served in the Marines, had failed relationships, have suffered with negative body image, anxiety and mild depression at some points in my life does not make me ANY less of a human being, and those things do NOT define me.
Everyone comes with baggage and the more I interact with humanity, the more I realize most of us suffer similarly underneath, though on the surface it may look different. I have needed continual reminders in my life to help me keep perspective. One of my healers, Jim Cahill, always reminds me, “When you lose sight of who you are, you truly suffer. “ Suffering looks like anxiety, addiction, judgement of others, being always overly busy, and self-torment/doubt. It is hard for people to say they are a badass, or that they are a warrior when they lose sight of themselves.
The Truth is there is a Warrior in all of us. I have discovered some of my Warrior, and continue to discover more of it. I am building this movement around keeping perspective and building the fire within. I myself need daily reminders and hope to share, share, and share again with you information on perspective, resilience, and taking in the good. I believe that when we keep perspective, recognize our resilience, and absorb the good around us, losing track of who we are becomes less likely.
Being a top athlete, successful in business, or a even being a wounded warrior or military veteran does not make someone a Warrior. What makes a Warrior is remembering oneself underneath all the baggage and letting the fire burn within in HOW we treat ourselves and others.
HOW do you treat yourself and others around you? How do you be the best Human Being you can be?
Studies show that 75% of those who have been through trauma are able to express resilience and post traumatic growth. Whether they do or not is a different question. Those who grow after trauma do so because of their ability to ask for help, engage with people who build them up, and get involved in sharing their own story.
If you or someone you know can use some inspiration, then join this Warrior Movement! You are not alone!
Goals of the Warrior Movement:
Every human being has an inner warrior. I want everyone to unleash it. This movement is about unleashing the warrior spirit, re-defining ones strength, letting go of perfection, and paying forward the inspiration and positivity delivered weekly.
How you can be involved:
Share, Pay it forward , any and every article, picture, or newsletter posted
Unleash your Warrior spirit in your daily life, starting with how you treat yourself!
Themes Covered in upcoming Articles and Blogs:
Re-Defining Strength: “Strength is not physical, rather it comes from an indomitable will.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Abandon the Perfect: With this movement we want to post what is real, unfiltered, and unposed.
Movement as Medicine: Because I am a Physiotherapist and live in a world of analyzing and improving movement, we will be posting adaptive strength and mobility/stability articles that can help your own body heal and stay healthy for the long haul.
Warrior Stories: Real stories of warriors all over the world, sharing unfiltered stories of resilience.
