A Grateful Mother
Recently, we had the privilege of capturing an extraordinary mother, Natasha, and her 3 day old baby girl, Joni Velvet.
This is no average woman.
She is a fighter, she is a overcomer and we think her story epitomises the true strength of MOTHERHOOD.
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"Natasha, you have leukemia".
Words I never thought I would hear. But the reality was, those were the words playing over and over in my ear while on the phone to my doctor. I was in such disbelief that this could be happening to me.
My world didn't feel real anymore.
Having to go home and share this news to my husband was unfathomable.
To know we had built this beautiful life together with our nearly 2 year old son & pregnant with our second; I could not help but focus (and be frightened) of our now unknown future.
Wow! Was this really happening?
The toughest thing for me about having a life threatening illness was having to tell my loved ones. Knowing that you are going to break hearts and see their devastated faces was waaaaaaay too much for me to grasp.
As hard as this was for my husband Steve, together we decided that It would be best to tell our family and close friends only. We sent messages and told our family over the phone. Watching my husbands face when I had told him was more than I could handle; so as selfish and disrespectful as this may seem I had to do it this way. I honestly couldn't deal with doing it myself and I am eternally grateful for such a supportive husband who took that one for the team.
Two years into this journey, today my focus is not the diagnosis but rather the shift that has taken place. I'm in the practice of transforming my mind — thoughts enter and I am learning to let them go. I had to conquer this fear as the uncertainty of the future was all too consuming. Thoughts of me, of my family, the 'what ifs?' haunted me and continued to do so for some time, like a black cloud hanging over me until we had more answers.
I'm not going to lie. The negative thoughts try and sneak into my head most days. Thoughts of what the future could hold and what I could miss, but I choose to let them go and I focus on looking forward to what the future holds for me and my family. It's a perspective.
Now I'm choosing everyday to not dwell in sadness and to be thankful to God for the clouds in the sky, the smell of the ocean, the flowers I walk by, the people around me, my husband and my kids. This situation made me realise every thought is a choice, a decision to be grateful and to not sit in a dark hole of sadness but to enjoy life and what I have.
For me, I was grateful through the experience knowing what it is like to be loved, to be a mother, to have children, to experience the amazing body changing through pregnancy, feeling little shoulder barges and legs kicking out of my stomach and savouring every moment. I am very thankful."
—
Thank you Natasha for being brave in the face of adversity.
"Only a mother can respond to pain with a smile and even more love."
— Unknown
Despite all the hardship that such a diagnosis would have brought, she chose to keep moving forward. She's since had her 2nd baby, Dusty, and now been graced with this third little angel, Joni. Instead of shrinking in fear, she's chosen to bring forth life, to nurture life and to be thoroughly smitten with life!
To every mother out there, and those that are still waiting & wishing to become one, WE APPLAUD YOU...
... for carrying those little lives in your belly for months on end
... for enduring the pain of birth
... for those endless midnight breastfeeding marathons
... for every little seen and unseen act of nurturing
... for overcoming your own challenges so that your children may know life and love
You make the world a better place.
“My world didn't feel real anymore.”
“I'm in the practice of transforming my mind — thoughts enter and I am learning to let them go.”
