Counting on angels
I’m 70 years old.
I lost my husband, Earl Mohr, to cancer March 7, 2006. His funeral was March
11.
On June 7, 2006, I fell eight feet from a roof and broke my back. I was
hospitalized for a week. In October they removed my body cast.
I had some frailness in my body. I thought it was from my back injury, so I started
to exercise some.
On Dec. 6, I went to Des Moines to spend Christmas with my sister, Ann Leeves.
I didn’t think I could spend it at home without my husband and with painful memories.
The next day, I woke up at 3 a.m. with terrible abdominal pain. I called my sister
at her job, telling her I was awful sick with pain. She came right home. The swelling
increased in my stomach, so she took me to the emergency room in Ankeny, Iowa. The
doctors ran some tests. They thought I had a hernia. They wanted a surgeon to
examine me at Mercy Medical Center. I was beginning to really worry.
I had more tests. They said my blood wasn’t normal, so after the pancreas, liver
and gall bladder tests were normal, they did a dye test to check for tumors.
I had Stage 2 ovarian cancer with three tumors: one tumor on the left ovary,
another large one in the fallopian tube, one on the uterus. There wasn’t any history of
cancer in my family as far back as I can remember. I only had my sister with me when I
was told the diagnosis. I had lost a classmate with the same cancer.
They called in a specialist, Dr. Turner. She gave me hope, and then my sister
told my family the bad news.
There wasn’t time to be scared, I guess, no time to think or worry. I was
scheduled for surgery on Dec. 11. My family drove from Grand Island to be with me.
My surgery was minor compared to what some went through. I was dismissed
from the hospital on Dec. 17 but did not come home to Cairo until Jan. 7, 2007.
God chooses what we go through. We choose how we go through it. I was put on
four prayer chains: at the Ericson Methodist Church, a Lutheran church in North Platte,
the Cairo Methodist Church and a Lutheran church in Burwell. Rev. Lambert’s visits and
phone calls were also so helpful.
My son Lee Mohr and his wife, Robin, were with me through chemo after the
surgery. I had six treatments in three weeks. I lost my hair and had vomiting.
April 30, 2007, was my last chemo treatment, and so far I’m cancer free.
When I hear the word “cancer,” I shudder, remembering the pain, the nausea.
You want to help others in their fight for a cure.
I did it with friends, family, doctors, prayers and not ever giving up.
We have angels. They are all around us. You can feel them in your strength and
courage.
UPDATE MARCH 1, 2009:
After surviving ovarian cancer, Donna said God chooses what we go through; we choose how we go through it.
“I use a stair stepper. I get blood work every four months, a body scan once a year. Life is great. It is so great.” Donna has been cancer-free since April 2007.
Tags: Donna Mohr
