Family

Family should be the place of comfort, a place of safety, a place where you feel like you can tell your family anything and they would help you find your way through your problems. Is it like this in every family? No. On the outside this family looked like a perfect family, everyone got along great and everyone was happy with everything that they had. Even though they had struggles it seemed like they were totally content with everything that they had, and that they would get through the struggles together as one family.Well this family has had a struggle every since their youngest daughter was born. The daughter was born with a clef pallet and a whole lot of other problems. This is a story of the life of this family, but more specifically heir daughter Christina and the trials she has gone through.

Married and had 4 kids. All beautiful even the one Christina with the clef pallet. This family had gone through so much already and had had to go through so many surgeries and medical procedures that someone that didn't know them would be surprised that they live in such a nice house that they are living in now. As you soon read about all of the struggles that this family went through, you will think, who is the mother, the mother that was able to hold this family as close together as they are now. The mother of this family is my first grade teacher, and now someone that I would consider my second mom.

When I was in first grade my sister was in fifth. My first grade teacher's daughter Christina was also in fifth grade. My sister Naomi and Christina became best friends and I love them both very much. I always thought "Wow, Christina must be so lucky to have such a wonderful mom and such a nice dad." Little did I know what was going on on this inside of my first grade teacher's hear and her husbands heart.

A few weeks later, I overhear my sister and my mom talking about the same thing about how everyone thought that their life was so good. Later on that night I ask "What's wrong with Christina's family mommy?" After that I got a pretty big explanation that Christina's dad had left the family, and that Christina's mom and dad would be getting a divorce.

Years pass and everyone is getting used to them being apart. Christina and her mom went on a trip to Florida for a couple weeks to visit her grandparents. While she was there, she had a dream that she told her mom about. "Mom, last night I had a dream that I had cancer." "Oh Christina, you don't have cancer don't worry about it." Life went on but Christina seemed to always be tired. Finally they went in to see the doctor. The doctor came out and said those two words that nobody wants to hear. "It's cancer." Christina had stomach cancer, and it was bad. In a couple of weeks Christina and her family were off to Texas to get treatment and to see if there was anything they could do to heal the Cancer. There was one thing that they thought they might be able to try, but it was risky considering Christina had had at least 16 other surgeries in her life and isn't in the best health condition. They decide to try this procedure any way. What is this procedure? Removing the stomach and hoping that her other organs would form a new stomach.

In less than two weeks the family was off to California to get the procedure done. The surgery day had arrived and evryone was anxious, worried, scared, and excited for the results of the surgery all at the same time. 18 year old Christina comes out of surgery, and it was a success. Christina stayed at the hospital for a few more days to make sure that it worked and the cancer was gone. The cancer was gone and the family was doing great. During this whole process the whole family had an amazing attitude and were always positive. Christina should be an example to all of us of how even though things are tough we CAN get through it.