Yahoo For Margo

April 26, 2009
Margo’s chemo celebration went well, but since Thursday’s chemo she says she has not felt this bad since the first chemo. Tired, antsy and nauseous mostly is how she describes it. When Margo woke up on Friday morning(the morning after), she had slept a good 8+ hours and she commented that if this continues she will be thought of as a ‘lay-about’ since she was not up and doing something. Only Margo would dream of saying this. We determined, after the fact that we neglected to give Margo a priesthood blessing as we have done prior to the previous five chemo treatments and that this is why she has struggled so much with this last treatment. As we were going in for chemo, I read to Margo the eulogy column that Ann Coulter wrote for her mom who recently passed away from ovarian cancer. We shed a few tears as we read these tender words. As you may know, Ann Coulter is an ultra-conservative pundit, writer and commentator. The column is in itself very touching, but there are several sentences that she wrote about her mom that could just as easily have been written about Margo.
“ ….her most notable characteristic was her constant, unconditional love. She was a love machine, spreading warmth and joy wherever she went. Every time she’d see me, even after a few days’ absence, she’d hug me as if I had been lost in the Himalayan Mountains for the past twenty years. …Even on the rare occasions when I’d be cross with her, she’d completely forget about it, and within 10 seconds would be telling me what a wonderful, precious daughter I was.
….Everyone wanted my mother to be his mother. I am sure everyone thinks he has the perfect mother, but we really did. Since I was a little girl, friends, relatives and neighbors would bring their problems to Mother. She had a rare combination of being completely moral and completely non-judgmental at the same time – (the exact opposite of liberals who have absolutely no morals and yet are ferociously judgmental.) You could tell Mother anything, get good counsel and not end up feeling worse about yourself. Several of her friends sent us notes last week, calling her a ‘gentle lady’ and remarking that she never had an unkind word for anyone. Whenever the rest of us would be making fun of someone – trust me, always for good and sound reasons – Mother would somehow manage to muster up a defense of the miscreant. Father would always smile and say, “You mother defends everyone.”
She was, in fact, such a ‘gentle lady’ that I had to go to her doctors’ appointments and hospital visits with her and be her Mother Lion. If officious hospital administrators had told mother to get off the gurney, go outside in the pouring rain and stand on one foot for three hours before the doctor would see her, she’d thank them profusely and apologize for being such a bother. “
Now tell me if that doesn’t describe Margo almost perfectly? Anyway we are looking forward with great anticipation when she will feel good again. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is not a train. When we spoke with the doctor on Thursday, I asked, now that the treatments are through, what does that mean and she said that 75% of patients respond favorably to the treatment and your mother is one of those that have been cured. She could be the poster child for chemo treatment for lymphoma. That doesn’t mean that we don’t watch and follow-up but for all intents and purposes we are past the worst and have been the recipients of a great blessing. I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood and the faith and prayers of friends and family. I am not sure how I could ever articulate the profound gratitude that I feel.