Submitted by Heather Von St James

I gave birth to my daughter in August. I never suffered morning sickness or other difficulties until delivery when our baby came out bottom first. We made the decision to have a C-section, and moments later our healthy daughter arrived. Immediately our “village” that came to meet Lily encircled us. Things were going well until the storm hit.

I was part owner in a salon business and after Lily and I had been home together, I was notified I would be controlling another location. I was not thrilled because I hated being away from her.

Within a month of my return to work, things turned downward. I was exhausted, breathless and noticed a dramatic weight loss. I visited my doctor and after blood work and a chest x-ray, found that I had fluid buildup encompassing my left lung. They ran tests, scans and biopsies and 3 ½ months after giving birth to Lily, I was informed I had malignant pleural mesothelioma a form of cancer that is in the lining of the lung, caused by asbestos exposure.

As I was given 15 months to live, I thought of both my husband and Lily and knew I had to do anything I could do to survive. My husband and I flew out to Boston and by February I was undergoing surgery. I had to spend 18 days of recovery in the hospital and 2 months recovery at home before starting chemotherapy and radiation.

I could not have gotten through any of this without the love and support of our village. Cancer has a way of weeding out people who will be there for the long haul and those who disappear.

While in Boston, my parents took care of Lily. In turn, their own village came out to support them. We also made a new circle of friends going through similar circumstances.

Meanwhile, my baby girl was getting bigger as witnessed through photos e-mailed by my mom. Lily was the reason I was there, fighting for my life. While I fought the battle, Lily was in the best possible place, bonding with my parents.

What I learned in those earlier days shaped where I am now. I didn’t go back to work because it was too taxing and being with Lily was the most important thing. We embrace life as a family and know how precious each day can be. Lily has a caring heart and seeing her give back by donating makes me proud. She has matured into a wonderful little girl and I owe it to the village, the community that helped raise her. The one constant in life is our faith. One of my favorite quotes states “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death”.

Take hold of everything life throws your way. Cancer is a funny thing, with all the tragedy can come good and through my diagnosis, there was good that came out of it for which I am thankful.

ABOUT the Author:

Heather Von St. James is a mesothelioma cancer survivor.  She was diagnosed shortly after she had her first and only child, Lily. Heather and Lily, who is now 6 years old, are living happily in Minnesota and Heather has been cancer free for almost 6 years. You can read more about her story at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance