Overcome By Giving Back

Elizabeth’s Story

Written by: Elizabeth Martinez

Cancer was never a well-known word to me growing up. As an adult I had come to find out that it is a bad disease that was never good news to know if you had it. Overall, it was a lot to deal with. Me being the person that I am, I wanted to help anybody no matter what. And I did!!

I did Relay for Life a couple of times to go out and help. It was a great experience to get involved to honor loved ones, survivors, and those still fighting their battle with cancer. My thoughts were always running with emotions to know how such a disease could cause all this pain and hurt. But my heart was full and grateful to be a part of a fight against CANCER. In 2013, I and my coworkers in Harbin Clinic Urology, decided to get involved with a fundraiser. We played flag football with the Powder Puff Foundation who sponsored programs that helped patients and families affected by cancer. We did not win the game that year, but we got BEST dressed. The UroNators (our team name) played three more events for a great cause. We were always ready to get our team going strong to help those affected by cancer.

I never thought cancer would ever hit so close to home. In late 2014, my aunt was diagnosed with cancer. She had a tumor that connected her stomach, vagina, and colon. It was hard for the family to take in the thought of her having cancer. She was still young, and we had hopes she could fight this cancer. She did treatments and finally had the tumor removed in September 2015, all in hope she would be cancer free after all the fighting she had to through. However, that December, her cancer was back and became worse. My aunt was not looking forward to going through treatment again, but she knew that she had to try it for her children’s sake.

My grandmother was the main caretaker of her and her three children. I saw my grandmother push her prayers more and more for her daughter to be healthy again. She never gave up on hope that the Lord was going to cure her baby daughter from cancer. On April 11, 2016, my grandmother went to the hospital and found out she had esophageal cancer. A large tumor was found, causing pressure on her tube which prevented her from eating or drinking. Doctors were surprised that she had come this far. We were all in shock and so upset that cancer had hit our family once again. My grandmother made the decision to not fight back because she knew whatever the outcome was, her faith in God would not waver. Being the selfless person that she is, she had prayed to the Lord to give what was left of her life to her daughter. She wanted her daughter to be able to raise her own children and to be there for them.

My grandmother decided to take a stint placement shot to see if it would help her. She knew the outcome of treatment, and she really did not want to endure what she saw her own daughter go through. At the same time, she did not want to leave her family. I knew there was something in her that she did not want to give up the hope; she had to fight this cancer. While I was with her during pre-op, she held my hand and said whatever happens, everything will be fine. She had to be put on a ventilator after her surgery due to some pressure on her lungs from the stint. Our days afterwards were not so promising because of the dependence she had on the breathing machine. A few days passed, and she was off the ventilator, and she was happy it was over. She never wanted to have that machine on her again. Just one day after being off the ventilator, she was left with no choice but to be put back on it again. The following day, the doctor came to let us know that my grandmother was not going to make it. There was nothing else for them to do to help her. No one was ready or able to accept the fact that she was no longer going to be with us. My loving grandmother, the one who raised me, my family’s strength, my family’s center, gained her wings April 26, 2016.

My aunt took her passing the hardest out of all of us because she depended on her for everything. She had no hope or courage to continue her fight with cancer after losing her mother, but she had to fight as her mother wanted her to for her children. As a family, we tried to help her continue her life and be strong. It just has never been the same for my aunt. No one could ever do or care for her like my grandmother did. She no longer wanted to suffer with the fight and be sick all the time. She ended up on hospice to continue her quality of life. My aunt had asked me to take care of her children, and she knew I would do my best to follow in her and my grandmother’s footsteps in taking very good care of them. It felt almost like it was a natural thing to do to take in my family and help. It was a challenge for me, but it was the right thing to do for my family. My aunt lived exactly 7 months after the passing of my grandmother and joined her on December 26, 2016.

2016 was not a good year for me. Losing two of the closest women in my life was the hardest thing I ever had to face. It has been a great change for my family and me. I’m not sure how I hold up sometimes, but I DO! I think of my grandmother a lot and all of her faith she had to get through rough times. She seemed to have pulled through it all. I always wanted to be like her, and I now have a heart full of faith and lots of prayers as she did. I know I felt emptiness the day she left this world, but I know she would want me to continue her faith for my family as she did for us all.

My first fundraiser football game, my kids asked me, “Mommy, why do you play football?” I gave them the best understanding of cancer and let them know that I was helping others affected by cancer. Now, my kids ask, and I will tell them, “Mommy plays for US now!” Summit Quest was the organization that we sponsored for our fundraiser games. They have reached out to my family with a lot of support through the hard times we have faced. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for being a supportive group and being so kind to me and to my family. We love Summit Quest, and we are so blessed to be a part of this great organization.