By Emily Shea ’14 | Staff Writer

March 16, 2012. I will never forget that night. My mom’s two sisters, my cousin, my three younger sisters and I were at my house awaiting news from my dad and mom who were at the hospital.

That night came the news that would change our family forever: my mother had stage three breast cancer.

Picturing my mom and dad in the hospital room is what made the situation more real. I could only imagine; my mom sitting on the bed, my dad by her side, the doctor comes in and tells them the devastating news.

The phone call ended and I ran to my room. The tears began to pour. My first instinct was to call my best friend for some support.

The next day I went to school.

Everything changed. My attention levels, my mood, everything.

In class, it was hard to focus on anything other than my mom and everything she would have to endure from now on.

Once others found out, our whole family received support; although their help was generous, it couldn’t change the fact that my mom was living with a life-threatening illness.

From the 16 weeks of chemotherapy to the 28 radiation sessions and the five surgeries she would have to endure, nothing could keep my focus except her.

School was dreadful. My least favorite class was math and I was not all that good at it either. While my teacher would try and keep everyone focused, it was especially hard for me.

I was an average math student that usually got B’s and the exceptional, miracle of an A, but soon those A’ and B’s became those B’s and C’s because of my lack of focus.

I would try to pay attention, but while I would sit in class, my mother would sit in chemo, hooked up to many different tubes and medicines foreign to me. It was all I could think about.

My first, and only, visit to the chemo center was a traumatic one. Being the worrisome, scared person I was, my experience there was not a good one.

It was the weakest I have ever seen the woman who has always been the strongest.

I could not stand to see so many people in such pain, but my biggest regret was only sitting by her side once.

Worrying about schoolwork, friends and extracurriculars seemed so unimportant compared to the things my mom had to worry about.

Stress would start to build up and that led to the demise of my grades and somewhat affected my social life.

Grades are obviously always important, but it was the least of my worries. Helping my mom around the house became a priority, while homework was left for last. She would undergo surgeries and chemotherapy that left her weak and unable to do things around the house.

Working hard and making her proud was my main concern, but seemed unachievable with the situation I was in.

Of course the worrying and concern continued until her last chemo, but we would all celebrate her cancer milestones. Along with the ending of her chemos, the ending of radiations and the last of her surgeries, celebrations would take place in my family.

October 3, 2012. My mom was cured of her breast cancer. And I, along with my family, have never been happier.

Although her sickness affected us for the time being, everything is back on track. My grades are no longer suffering and neither is my family.

To read about how parents’ illnesses can negatively affect students’ focus and schoolwork, click here.