"An Awakening"

by Karen Rice
(Houston, Texas)

When I was diagnosed with Breast cancer I reacted like many do; first thing came to mind was "a death sentence". However, I found out later it was truly "an awakening" for me, especially when I received bad news again later down the line. I was dianosed with "colon cancer" last year, but still alive to tell about them both. I first began asking God, why? Why would you do this to me? What had I done so wrong in life to have this placed upon me? But suddenly, I knew that I was going to be OK.

I also realized that I was about to face a new beginning, new hope, do and see more with a whole new prospective on life. When I think of the "gift of life" my Savior has given to me, I know that I will develop and gain strength from all my experiences. Even with all the current complications I now have to live with, and with the struggles I've dealt with all my life, I still feel truly Blessed. For a while, I wasn't happy with the way I looked after my surgery, nor the pain that I have to endure every day. I have what the MD's are calling "Post Mastectomy Pain Syndrome"/and Neuropathic Pain" (a severe nerve damage), along with Lymphedema.

But one day I decided to snap out of it. I thought about the individuals that are no longer among us. I also realize that there will always be someone worse off than I am. I only lost some skin, who am I to complain, "I still have my life". I was shown just how blessed I truly am , during one of my many surgeries. Something so very strange, so peaceful happened; something of a true miracle, I knew I had to write it down. I turned my experience into a poem and I called it "Peace". I took that poem, along with many others I had written during my Breast cancer period and created a book. I was blessed enough to have it published and it's called, "True Simple Poems of Life, Faith and Survival". I know that many may not believe it when they read that certain poem, but it really happened. I felt that I experienced something from the other side, during that moment.

I'm hoping that anyone who has the opportunity to read my poems get out of them, what in placed in all of them. My poems are from the heart of a cancer survivor, as real as any could ever be. I never anticipated becoming a writer, I just became one. I felt that evil entered my body, tried to take it over, but God interfered with that plan; he has his own time and plan for each one of us. I truly believe when you survive a horrific tragedy or a horrible disease as cancer, it's for a reason, you have a purpose and I want to live and find out exactly what that is for me. The experiences I've had to endure are what gave me insight to form the words of my poems.
With the words and phrases of each poem of statement, I wish to make a positive impact on someone who's ill or otherwise hurting. I hope it gives them the strength to embrace their life in a whole new way. I recently had another inspirational children's book piblished called "If Only I Could Fly, said Mattie-bee" and I'm working on my third. See, that's what I'm all about now, "inspiration".

I would have never become a writer, producing inspirational stories, if I had not gone through all that I did. I'm a true example that you can survive cancer, not once, but twice, if you get to it in time; not saying that it will all be easy, but you must have a lot of faith during your recovery. This is what my experiences with cancer made of me, "a believer!

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Below are the books I've written so far.

Nephilim Quest -series

Space Witches -series

Creature Wars -series

7 Shabtis -series

Mr Mummific
How I Became a Mummy

Always wondered how mummification ws done? Wonder no more - Mr Mummific reaveals the whole process in this book.

Mr Mummific: Mummies, Monsters and the Ship of Millions