Top: Ralph Lauren Pink Pony Campaign Skirt: Vintage Jacket: H&M Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell
http://www.stylelist.com/2010/09/30/ralph-lauren-enlists-100-bloggers-to-model-for-pink-ponys-10th/
Around a month ago, I was asked to take part in Ralph Lauren’s Pink Pony Campaign, and on the surface for most, it would seem only like a terrific opportunity to collaborate with an iconic American brand. However, within my reality, it is a staggering honor to contribute to a world-wide campaign to help end breast cancer. This is all in part to the subject of breast cancer being a sobering issue for me, as my Mother is a recovering survivor of this particular affliction. Her unbridled strength & determination to fight this disease is beyond an inspiration for me, and her courage in the face of a life threatening disease brings me daily courage to face any struggles before me. It’s for these reasons that I decided to help in any way that I can, and why I’ve decide to use this format to share her story with all of you. It is my hope that she can bring hope to those in need of it, and at the least, help share with the world that my Mother is my biggest hero – a subject long overdue.
So here we go.
It was the morning of December 26th when my mom and dad sat the family down to tell us some news: My mom had breast cancer. Not only did she have cancer, but it was diagnosed three months prior. My mother, being so selfless, had refrained from telling any of her children for fear it would upset us over the holidays. After months of dinners and presents and family, I was left in disillusion and shock. The thought of my mother, one of my best friends, was going through this stopped time in my heart and broke it. And to think that this life-changing information had been withheld from her children to benefit us for the holidays was so absurd, but that’s just how my mom is – always putting her family before herself. The excitement of the season all felt so trivial within that moment and fear quickly began to take hold. How could such a selfless caring person be dealt this hand? We were all terrified at the thought CANCER – MY MOM HAS CANCER – MY MOM MIGHT DIE. At this point, your whole life falls under self-analysis, and the feeling of guilt eats away at you. Could I have been nicer, better, smarter. Etc? And, it didn’t help that my mother kept being so brave & kind that it made me feel less worthy of having such a beautiful person love me unconditionally. For the months leading up to her mastectomy she called ME every day to see how I was doing. To see how I was doing. It was absurd to me that she was fighting for her life, but was more concerned about how everyone else was dealing with the issue instead of freaking out all over the place.
A long story short, my mother had a successful surgery, and her cancer is in remission. The thought of its return looms like, well, cancer. However, her survival & bravery has stuck with me, and no disease can ever eat away the love that I have in my heart for my mother.
Thanks for bearing with me, and hopefully, none of you dear readers will ever have to go through this, and maybe some of you already have. Regardless, you aren’t alone. Millions of people are forced to endure this heartache every year, and hopefully, this Pink Pony Campaign can help to restore life in the afflicted worldwide.
