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Shelly Son doesn’t need a month to remind her about breast cancer awareness. The longest-tenured member of the Sea Gals lives with it every day.
That’s because her mother died of breast cancer when Son was 8 years old. It came as a shock, obviously, but also has served as inspiration during her life after she lost her mother.
“When I was little, I held a really big grudge. I didn’t really understand it,” Son said. “As I got older, I got really bitter. But I came to terms with it.
“People who live lives that haven’t been challenged don’t have a well-rounded picture of what life is really like. Unfortunately, I had to learn to live with hardships at an early age. And I think it helped me a lot because I was more open to things that happen. I know that life is going to take its twists and turns, but I was able to be OK.”
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and the Seahawks will play their final pink-trimmed game of this pink-themed month on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals at CenturyLink Field. To mark the occasion, Son was asked to share her story:
“People ask me, if I could change the past, and have my mother still be alive today, would I?
“I remember… I was playing with her wigs that she had purchased to cover her balding scalp from chemo. She had told me repeatedly not to wear them! Shaking her head, my mother called me over to her hospital bed and embraced me harder than she had ever done before. As usual, I tried to wiggle out of her hug. She told me she loved me more than anything, kissed me on the forehead and instructed me to go downstairs to the cafeteria to get a pudding pop.
“While downstairs enjoying my frozen treat, she died. That was the last time I ever saw her alive. I was 8 years old when she died of breast cancer.
“I was angry at the world for a very long time. I couldn’t understand why I had to be the person to live these cards that were dealt! Not a day goes by that I don’t miss her. That I don’t ask the question, why me? That I don’t wonder what my life would have been like if she was around today.
“Soon after, I realized that I wasn’t living the life that she would have wanted. Would she be proud of me? She taught me the most valuable lesson with her death, and that was to believe in yourself and that you have to work hard to make your life possible. Life was going to throw out curve balls and I had to grow and move forward. Most importantly, I realized that throughout every event in my life, she was there, in my heart. That as long as I was alive, she would never be dead. I pushed myself and worked harder than I had ever to make her proud of the woman I am today.
“People ask me, if I could change the past, and have my mother still be alive today, would I? I thought long and hard, and as much as I love, honor and miss my mother, I would have to say “she is always with me, and even though breast cancer took her away, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Her passing has made me stronger.”
The memory of her mother’s death is punctuated with tears. But Son realizes her story might be able to bring comfort to others.
“I just hope that this can help people who maybe are struggling with how to deal with this,” she said. “You never really get over it, but you definitely grow from it.”
The way Son has dealt with it, and grown from it, definitely would make her mother proud.
Source: Seahawks.com
That’s because her mother died of breast cancer when Son was 8 years old. It came as a shock, obviously, but also has served as inspiration during her life after she lost her mother.
“When I was little, I held a really big grudge. I didn’t really understand it,” Son said. “As I got older, I got really bitter. But I came to terms with it.
“People who live lives that haven’t been challenged don’t have a well-rounded picture of what life is really like. Unfortunately, I had to learn to live with hardships at an early age. And I think it helped me a lot because I was more open to things that happen. I know that life is going to take its twists and turns, but I was able to be OK.”
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and the Seahawks will play their final pink-trimmed game of this pink-themed month on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals at CenturyLink Field. To mark the occasion, Son was asked to share her story:
“People ask me, if I could change the past, and have my mother still be alive today, would I?
“I remember… I was playing with her wigs that she had purchased to cover her balding scalp from chemo. She had told me repeatedly not to wear them! Shaking her head, my mother called me over to her hospital bed and embraced me harder than she had ever done before. As usual, I tried to wiggle out of her hug. She told me she loved me more than anything, kissed me on the forehead and instructed me to go downstairs to the cafeteria to get a pudding pop.
“While downstairs enjoying my frozen treat, she died. That was the last time I ever saw her alive. I was 8 years old when she died of breast cancer.
“I was angry at the world for a very long time. I couldn’t understand why I had to be the person to live these cards that were dealt! Not a day goes by that I don’t miss her. That I don’t ask the question, why me? That I don’t wonder what my life would have been like if she was around today.
“Soon after, I realized that I wasn’t living the life that she would have wanted. Would she be proud of me? She taught me the most valuable lesson with her death, and that was to believe in yourself and that you have to work hard to make your life possible. Life was going to throw out curve balls and I had to grow and move forward. Most importantly, I realized that throughout every event in my life, she was there, in my heart. That as long as I was alive, she would never be dead. I pushed myself and worked harder than I had ever to make her proud of the woman I am today.
“People ask me, if I could change the past, and have my mother still be alive today, would I? I thought long and hard, and as much as I love, honor and miss my mother, I would have to say “she is always with me, and even though breast cancer took her away, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Her passing has made me stronger.”
The memory of her mother’s death is punctuated with tears. But Son realizes her story might be able to bring comfort to others.
“I just hope that this can help people who maybe are struggling with how to deal with this,” she said. “You never really get over it, but you definitely grow from it.”
The way Son has dealt with it, and grown from it, definitely would make her mother proud.
Source: Seahawks.com
