Mark Everett Kelly/CKMagicsports

View Original

Living As A Cancer Survivor - When Family Fails Each Other - Part 1

The blog entry I'm about to write is the most painful text I've ever written. One thing a person should be able to count on is family. Family creates a unique bond of memories, events, and real-life circumstances that, in most of us, produce comfort. I apologize for splitting this into parts, but this is an ongoing story. In writing this, I do not want to promote blame, accusation, or create a side of which to agree. 

Mark Everett Kelly is survivor of Rhabdomyosarcoma.

My purpose is to show that everyone deals with family issues. No family is perfect, and my perspective is just that. I'm sure my sisters' opinions are different than mine. Please keep my family and me in your prayers.

Going through cancer treatment, my mother was always by my side, fighting for her sons' life. Many times she took on the entire hospital if there was any chance her son was in danger. Over the years, she mentioned disappointment in my ability to share her role and others in my family (my Uncle John stayed with me in transplant for a few weeks and was a vital part of my recovery) in helping me get through my treatment.

I listened and felt terrible if that was indeed the way I came off. I made a point to specify the role my sisters Laura & Michelle, brother Matthew and Uncle, played alongside my mother in surviving transplant during the awful summer of 1991.

Since my divorce finalized in 2018, I have provided care for my mother, who will be 82 in September, who suffers from Parkinson's disease. She was also kind enough to allow me to do so and not fork over the rent of which I could not afford to rebuild my life.

On March 22, 2020, at approximately 5:30 PM, the outside of our apartment caught fire. The blaze went up like someone poured lighter fluid on it. I grabbed my dog Sammy and ran out the front, then ran back in the house to get my mom. However, she was already out of the house, having gone to the pharmacy about 20 minutes before.

See this social icon list in the original post

The fire destroyed my room and made our apartment and the apartment upstairs unliveable. The only damage done was to my belongings, as my closet, filled with documents, clothes, back-up disk drives, and medication, was destroyed. The firefighters told me, my room was soaked, and I did not know if my computer and electronics would work due to the damage.

I hate to leave you all in suspense, but before you all get bored, I need to break it into two. As I mentioned at the start of the blog, this is an ongoing story. Please keep my family and me in your prayers.

WHERE TO FIND ME

I can always be reached by email (CKMagicSports@gmail or LivingAsACancerSurvivor@gmail). Please see the links below to follow me or contact me on social sites. I welcome (need) more followers and supporters. Please do not be shy about sharing your thoughts.  

NEED SUPPORT? 

Please reach out to me or anyone in the beautiful support groups on Facebook, Reddit, Tumblr, or other social sites.