When you think of a Woman of Strength who comes to your mind? My mind goes straight to a dear friend of mine, Anna Gabaldon. We met probably six years ago now at the gym. So when I say this girl is strong I mean strong. She could out lift me and out last me in every aspect at the gym. She was always enthusiastic and energetic. I knew that I wanted to get to know her better to see what motivated her.
I invited Anna to a women’s bible study that she came to. We fast became friends. The first time I ever saw her husband, he was in the hospital. Sal recovered from his illness and started coming to a home bible study group with my husband and I. We all became friends.
That’s when Anna revealed to us that she was a breast cancer survivor. You just don’t know what people have gone through by the words they say at the moment, the pictures they post or their always present smile and constant faith. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month I thought it was a great time to share her journey with you all.
Anna was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 40. She went in for her first mammogram and that’s the time that the tumor was found. The cancer had spread to several of her lymph nodes. She had a lumpectomy on the one breast that the tumor was found in. Once the procedure was done she started on her chemo and radiation regiment.
Anna spent 6 months doing her chemo regiment and 9 weeks of radiation. This in itself is not an easy feat but remember I said this girl is strong, she continued working through the whole treatment period.
The first chemo treatment she had she got really sick afterward. She remembers laying in bed to sick to do anything when the Lord prompted her to spend the time and worship Him. Anna describes the moment, “As I worshiped, I prayed, Lord let me sleep and get rid of the nausea. As I worshiped I could feel the presence of the Lord with me. The next morning the nausea was gone and I never got sick again from the chemo.” Anna went on to say “the hardest part of it all was that I was still working because we needed the income, but I wasn’t feeling well.” But in her selfless attitude she said “I was happy I could still work because my husband needed me to.”
The radiation made her tired and the chemo caused her to lose her hair. “It wasn’t horrible, but our identity as a woman is with our hair. But I coped,” she said. She chuckled as she told me, “really the worst was losing my eyebrows and eyelashes!” She said she wore pretty scarves over her head and an occasional wig to “dress up.”
Her daughter Brianna was 16 and son Christopher was 12 at the time of her diagnosis. When I asked her what she missed the most during that time she quickly stated “my momma time with my kids.” To help her kids deal with the unknown if “mom is going to die” or comfort her young son, Anna said her and her husband Sal spent as much family time as possible. She said to reassure them “hugs and praying to God for healing were essential.”
I asked Anna what she thought she learned from this experience. She said, “the Lord taught me He is the Lord over all things….even cancer. Our job it to have a relationship with Him and trust Him in all things.” Anna says the experience of going through a cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery has completely changed her. “It has totally changed me. The Lord brought me closer to Him. I know in all things small and big He will be with me. His promises became so real for me.”
Ann has continued to live her faith and trust the Lord with the big and small. This past year she had another “big” in her life. She lost her dear husband of 31 years, Sal, to COVID19 last December. She continues to lean on God and worship Him through this loss. I am constantly in awe of the grace and love that she has shown to all those who surround her in times of great challenges. As she grieved Sal’s loss, she invited friends to her home and celebrated the relationships that she still had in us. Anna graciously let us pick out a piece of her own jewelry to take home to remind us of how thankful she was for us! Melt my heart, I did a lot of crying that night. This Woman of Strength was not thinking of her own self but grateful to all of us. Anna told me she would like to take family pictures in our sunflowers this year. She said “we are still a family and need to do this.” The Lord has given her strength beyond measure. I aspire to live a life as full of gratitude as Anna.
Anna is a still dedicated to getting her annual mammogram and is an advocate for all women to get a regular check up. It saved her life. Friends make the appointment. Sometimes the unknown doesn’t feel as scary as the known, but her first mammo was the one that saved her life!
I hope you are encouraged and inspired by my friend Anna. So many of you have experienced your own journeys in life that were challenging and hard and heart wrenching but you still keep moving forward. You are my inspiration! Each of us can be a Woman of Strength…….we just need to know where the strength comes from…..like Anna does!
Blessings to you friends!
Carrie
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