Cora

Stage 2, Maine

“She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails”⁠
Elizabeth Edwards⁠

I never knew how much quotes or words could inspire….until I was diagnosed with hormone positive Stage 2A breast cancer in 2015. A good friend sent me this quote in the form of a picture, and it’s something I look at EVERY day.

A decade of loss and challenge had given me the tools I needed to face the ultimate challenge that I was given on that April evening…..my challenge was to not just live, but to THRIVE through my cancer. I took those tools and coping skills, and I dove head first into this “shite storm”, that would in some ways become the best thing that ever happened to me.⁠

I know…..you are thinking….what the feck is wrong with this woman. But hear me out….I totally adjusted my sails, I learned to navigate through the storm, while at the same time becoming an advocate for others in the process. I became an improved version of myself post cancer, and found out things about myself that I would never have guessed possible.

I found out I had a way with the written word, despite the Nun’s telling me I was “shite” at writing…and I found out that I was the strongest woman that I know. I was able to channel the Irish Warrior Woman so sprinkled through my country’s folklore and my Celtic heritage.⁠

We all have the warrior within….and when faced with a battle….we fight!