An Amazing Brave Woman!

Though this is not what my blog is about, I wanted to share this amazing and brave woman's story, which also somewhat explains my absence to the blog lately. I think this is a very important subject today and that her story should be shared....

My husbands grandmother, Peggy Bell, has been fighting multiple types of cancers for more than 20 years. She has so very bravely fought and beat leukaemia, breast cancer and lung cancer twice!! At the beginning of 2012 she was told she had spinal cancer which they found because she kept fracturing her spine.



Henrietta "Peggy" Bell (Bubba) and Kaylee..Aug. 2012

After she so bravely went through yet another round of chemotherapy, she was getting dizzy and was seeing doubles, she had mentioned this to me at my sister-in-laws baby shower (picture on right). The doctor had told her it was probably from the cancer treatments and medications she was taking. It began to get worse and so she went to her doctor again, and they found that she had brain cancer.

Like the amazingly strong woman she is, she kept fighting this terrible illness and went through more radiation and chemo until her body just couldn't take anymore. Her blood cell count was too low and so they had her take a break in treatment to see if it was working as well as let her body recoup.

We were waiting for the test results and Gram ended up in the hospital with constipation which we thought was just from her medicines. Yet, we come to find out she now had colon cancer too!

She asked to be sent home. Gram told us all that she was waiting for her newest great grand baby to be born. My husbands sister, Julie, delivered her baby Audrey on November 29, 2012. Gram Skyped and saw the baby the following night and the next morning passed away taking her last breathes with her wonderful husband Kenny by her side along with her daughters Sandy (my husbands mother) and Lynette.

Henrietta "Peggy" Bell was a wonderful wife, mother to two, grandmother to two including my husband and a great grandmother to 4, which includes my 3 who knew her as "Bubba", who lived a pretty amazing life. She also had a life long friend that she would want me to mention, Carol, whom she worked with at the hospital. They stayed best friends until the very end.

She was a nurse, in fact one of three nurses that ran what is now Excela Health Latrobe Hospital. Peggy did her job well, so well that she is still remembered there by the current workers.

When Gram wanted something done, she went and did it 100%. Like when she wanted to marry her husband of 52 years, he was in the military and was notified that he was going on leave to get married and was sent home. Peggy arranged the whole thing!!

She told you how she felt no matter how it made her sound. She was true and straight forward, never giving you anything but herself.

Peggy wasn't selfish. She had a huge heart and would do anything for not only the people she loved, but would help anyone she could. Gram volunteered at the Leukaemia Foundation, not just as a donation either, she gave her time and energy to help those going through such a terrifying struggle. She did this before she was ever diagnosed with any type of cancer.  Among this, she always volunteered at her church and other organizations too.

My husband Nathan and his sister Julie were very close to their grandparents. Our daughter Kaylee was especially close to her Bubba. Kay was with her a lot when she was a baby all the way up until September last year she would go over and spend the day with them.

Last, I would like say that Peggy Bell is the strongest, bravest, motivated and kind hearted person I have ever had the pleasure to meet let alone be a part of her family. She went through so much and yet no matter what she kept fighting, no matter the toll it took on her.  I am proud to be able to say that I knew her and we will al miss her so very much.

I am glad that Peggy's fight is over and that she is finally able to rest. But, I am also mad that after all the battles she had won, cancer is what took her in the end. Rest in Peace Gram.

Thanks for reading!!!
~S.Overly