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| Madeline & her dad enjoying some family time at the beach |
Our sweet Bride, Mattie, was having some symptoms earlier this year and the doctors told her that she should have a colonoscopy. Now, I know whenever I hear that term, I cringe. And Mattie did the same. She was nervous and scared and so Wayne did what any father would do, he stepped up to comfort his baby girl.
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| Wayne, as Father of the Bride at the wedding of his older daughter, Carley |
He decided he would electively have a colonoscopy so he could share his experience with Mattie and provide her some reassurance about the procedure. After all, he was at an age where it is recommended for him to have one anyway.
After doing so, the unexpected happened. He received news that shocked their family to the core: Wayne was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer.
But this is not a family that hides their heads in the sand or sits around sulking and feeling sorry for themselves. They decided that they would continue to do the things they always do and welcomed the joy of wedding planning to help divert their attentions.
Not long after that, Mattie also had a colonoscopy and at the young age of 19, she too had cancerous polyps. So, both she and her dad had surgeries to remove the cancer and Wayne is currently undergoing chemotherapy.
You just never know what curve balls life is going to throw your way. And because of this, the mother of the bride, Cindy, really wanted to share her heart with you:
"I am finally sitting down in peace and quiet to share my thoughts on the day we went looking at venues for Madeline's wedding.
I considered leaving these events out of the blog but as I gave it further thought, I realized that so many others face challenges during wedding planning and might be encouraged by this part of our story.
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| Wayne and Cindy: Parents of the Bride |
I am the Mother of the Bride and my memory of spring is divided into 2 parts. In early March we had our second precious grand baby as well as the engagement of Madeline and Christian. We absolutely adore Christian and are thrilled that he wants to become part of the family.
Just a short time later our world went in a totally unexpected direction. Madeline's dad was diagnosed with colon cancer and would need surgery and then more treatment. We weren't sure what the future would hold for us. We talked about postponing the wedding plans, but realized that hope is what keeps us going and we needed to take action to dispel the dark clouds hanging over the family.
Our wedding planners, Emily and Michelle, arranged for us to go out looking at wedding venues just before his surgery. I think they now realize they met a totally different guy that day, but it was the best thing we did! A wedding is all about the future. It's about sharing joy with loved ones and we wanted to make every moment memorable even though things seemed dark and bleak.
The storm continued as we found out a few weeks later that the bride also had colon cancer even though she was only almost 20. They are both doing fine now and honestly we are holding each day as precious and every step of making Madeline's wedding beautiful is part of our healing from this challenge."
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| Madeline and Cindy |
On many occasions, Cindy, Wayne, Mattie & Christian have expressed to us that having hired a wedding planner has been a blessing to their family. It is a comfort to know that the plans are still progressing and they can tend to the more urgent family matters that have arisen.
The Anderson family is a blessing to Michelle and I and an inspiration for us all. They truly understand what it is to be thankful for what they have and to remain positive in the face of life's greatest challenges.
Here's wishing you health and happiness this Thanksgiving!
~ Emily
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