Tammy's Story

Tammy's story
February, 2001

Tammy is Kath's daughter. Read Kath's story.

If you get to know someone with cancer very close or if you get cancer yourself, you have to have friends and family because I think the person with cancer cannot be strong and a fighter unless the people around that person are strong too.

Fred (Kath's husband) writes:

It's strange to sit and ponder the thoughts of a child's mind. One's heart is moved to tears and at times bewilderment To look deep into untarnished eyes not yet dimmed with the sights of an often sad world. We little understand these small fascinating creatures we call our children. Full of dreams and hopes and the aspirations that could only be born of one so young. And why am I so bewildered? Because I too was once a child.

Below is a story written by my step-daughter as an assignment for her English class. She is 14 y.o.

Here I am in my seat and I've been told to make it short and sweet.
It may not be nice or pretty but for me I ask please show no pity.
I have made my choice on the turning point of my life.

It all began when I was living with my dad. I had lived with him for most of my life. My brother and sister had gone down to Melbourne to see my mum for the holidays. I had to stay with my dad because it would cost too much for us all to go down there.

After they came back, my mum said she wanted me to go down for 3 weeks. The night before I went down, my cousin stayed over and was going on about all this stuff, that my mum had lung cancer and I was like, "Nah that can't be my mum, she is fine." When I got down there they all looked happy, but now I think it was just that I had gotten there ok.

When I was getting ready for bed and I was just about to say goodnight, my mum said to me that she had cancer. I thought it was some sort of bad joke that everyone was playing on me.

The next day I knew that it wasn't. I was traumatized because she really had cancer and because I was the last to find out, besides my five year old brother (2 y.o. at the time) who was too young to understand.

The following year I moved to my mum's house.

Some of you might know me from Year 7. But did you know the whole story? Well now you do and so do I. My mum has still got cancer and we are going to Melbourne on Tuesday so she can have a PET scan because they think it has returned in her lungs. She is very lucky to be alive. She is a fighter, and I hope she has still got a few more years in her.

The point of this very true story is that I am happy to know my mum instead of not knowing her. If you get to know someone with cancer very close or if you get cancer yourself, you have to have friends and family because I think the person with cancer cannot be strong and a fighter unless the people around that person are strong too.

Thank you,
by Tammy

Fred:

To Tammy I say, "I am extremely proud of you. The fact that at a time in your life when tragedy has struck you, your only wish was to help others. God bless you Princess and I wish that I could grant you your wish."

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