Sorry I haven't updated on here much lately but here's the latest... also check out www.facebook.com/georgiaonmymindt18 for more...

Did you see my daughter on the cover of the Newnan Times-Herald?

That article was awesome, and we are so happy to help build awareness of Trisomy 18. Yesterday so many of our friends and family came over and showed their support and love. And so many people got to hear our story.

One part of our story that I'd like to share more about is Georgia's grandparents.

Everyone says she got her fight from her parents, but it's really her grandparents that are the true fighters.

Georgia looks so much like my father to me... and they have a lot in common. They're both stubborm, they both have incredibly rare illnesses to fight, and they both love to beat the odds. My dad's story is a long one, and one that is very emotional for me, but definitely worth sharing. What my family has gone through in the last decade definitely helped prepare me for my daughter.

My father's first tumor was discovered when I was in my second semester at UGA. It was attached to his right lung, and they did surgery immediately. They called it lung cancer at the time, because that's what tumors on your lungs are usually, and didn't give him a great prognosis. I remember crying in my dorm, thinking that my dad wouldn't see me walk down the aisle. My family was devastated... but we vowed to fight, and fight we did. When the tumor was removed, along with a lobe of my father's right lung, they discovered it was neuroendocrine carcinoid cancer. They had never seen this type of cancer attack the lung, and they even did case study's on his unique situation. My mom nursed him back to life that summer, and eventually my dad returned to work, running a scooter shop/motorcycle dealership locally.

As the years passed, more complications came and went. The stress of cancer on his body caused issues with his heart and his digestive system. His body physically started to cave under the amount of effort it took to fight, but my dad's will to live didn't. About five years ago, they found more cancer in his right lung, and chose to remove it entirely, but they kept finding more, and now it has spread to his bones, his liver, and most of his lymph nodes. He is undergoing a treatment that only helps slow the growth, but the side effects are terrible. In theory, my father shouldn't have much will to live, and it seems like he should be living in a hospice at this point, but not my father.

My dad only quit working about a year ago. He had to close the shop, but he is a stubborn man, and with my mom's care, he continues to be a part of our lives and hasn't had a stay in the hospital for some time. He not only lived way past what time the doctors gave him, but he walked me down the aisle... something I never thought I'd have. I never was angry about my dad's cancer, because I knew God has kept him here way longer than any of us would have expected. God has let him live to see his first grandchild be born, and that is incredible. To be honest, telling him about Georgia's diagnosis was the most painful part, because I knew how much it'd break his heart. Our family deserved some happiness, and instead, we were met with another fight. But if anyone was prepared to fight, it's us.

My mom has always been such an advocate for my dad and his illness. She knows more about neuroendocrine carcinoid cancer than most medical professionals, and she taught me to do my homework and always fight for what's best medically. My father has shown me that anything is possible, and doctors don't know everything. Sometimes God works in strange ways, but I believe that our story shows that there is hope in the darkness.

My mother-in-law is also fighting stage four cancer, and she is so inspiring. This is her second battle, and she has been such a positive light of hope in everything. She is brilliant and smart and such an activist for others.

Sometimes it's the most wonderful people who go through the worst things. I think maybe God thinks that our family is built from a different caliber of strength. I think God knows he needs us to help others when they feel weak.

And I hope it does.

I hope that when you have a bad day, you think of my father, my mother-in-law, of my daughter, and know your bad day may not be so bad.

I hope that when you feel tired and weak, you find inspiration in them to be strong.

I hope that never lose your faith.

My father's greatest words of advice to me have always been that the hardest thing to do, is usually the right thing to do. And every day in our lives is hard, I'm not going to lie. But I know we are doing what is right.

And sometimes, every once in a while, God gives us a moments in which we are so grateful for some reprieve that we forget all of these burdens we carry, and we are just so filled with happiness that none of this exists for are second. We forget about cancer and hospitals and tests and we live in the moment. And that is just as important to our survival as all the medical treatments.

When our family is together, we laugh. We smile. We enjoy each other and we are filled with such gratitude to even have each other in our lives.

When is the last time you really appreciated all you have? Or do you take those early morning moments in bed with your loved one for granted? Do you take for granted the sound of their voice? What about the sound of their breathing?

I will never take for granted the sound of my daughter breathing.

My mother would say to my dad, through all his hospital stays, "Just breathe," and now those words echo so much deeper now. I have them tattooed over the the right side of my chest, where my father has the scars from his surgery, and now I'm even more glad for the reminder every day.

Just breathe.

And don't ever stop fighting. Don't ever give up hope. Because when it's hard, it means it's right.

💙

#ilovesomeonewhoisrare #trisomy18 #fuckcancer #georgiaonmymind #smf #justbreathe