My mom was such a special person. She was strong and independent and always took care of us. She took care of both of her parents when they were sick. Back in may of 2000 my mom was diagnosed with Papillary carcinoma which was thyroid cancer. I remember coming home and she told me she needed to talk to me and I could tell by the look on her face it wasn't good. She sat me on her lap and told me what the doctor said and I busted into tears. My mind went back to my grandma who died from cancer in 1994 and I was so scared I was going to lose her. I was already going through a break up and trying to get my grades up and that was one more thing I had to worry about. I remember feeling like my whole world was falling apart in that moment. I already lost someone I loved and cared about and now my mom has cancer and all I could think about is losing her too. My heart couldn't handle it. All I did was pray every night that God would heal her. She went in for surgery and the doctor cut her neck open and took out one side of her thyroid. After the doctor got the results back she had to go back in and they removed the rest of her thyroid along with lymph nodes. I remember walking into her room and she was in so much pain and it broke my heart. I hated seeing her like that. After spending about a week in the hospital she finally got to come home. They had to do another scan on her and there was only a few cancer cells left. So he had her swallow this radioactive pill at least I think that's what it was. And that was going to kill the few cancer cells that were left. She had to clean the toilet everytime she would use it and had to be careful. It felt like an eternity waiting for the last results and the outcome. When she went back in to see her doctor after the last scan he told her he got it all and she was cancer free. When she told me that it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I was so happy. God healed her. He answered my prayers. After that she went on to live a good life. Until December of 2011 when her speech was sounding slurred and her hand was swelling up. I took her to the hospital and they thought she had a stroke so they sent her to therapy. After a few months she was getting worse and not better. So she went to see a neurologist. They ran tests on her and told her she had ALS. I didn't go with her that day and when she got home I went next door and I asked her what they said. She told me. I asked her what ALS is because I never heard of it. She told me to look it up. So that's what I did. As soon as I read that it was a terminal disease I had to leave the room and went up to her bathroom and busted into tears. I told myself no this is not how I'm supposed to lose my mom. This is not happening and I couldnt accept it. My mom wanted a second opinion and before she could go get one she was having trouble swallowing food and we took her to the hospital. They admitted her and they ended up putting in a feeding tube. We had told them what the neurologist said and they ran their own tests while she was in there. The day after she was admitted they ran the tests before her surgery. After she was out of surgery I got to go back and see her and she was crying. I grabbed her hand and held it and put my other hand on her head and told her it would be okay. I was holding back the tears. A couple of hours after she was brought to her room all these doctors walked in. The words I was dreading to hear. They confirmed the diagnoses of ALS was right. She had it. I had to walk out of the room and walked down the hallway in tears. I came up to this window and all I could see was a few clouds and blue sky. With tears running down my face I just stood there praying asking God to give me a sign my mom would be okay. I pulled myself together and walked back to her room and I was sitting on the bed next to her and we took some pictures. As I was sitting on the bed I looked out of her window and I had to take a picture. This cloud looked like Jesus kneeling down to pray. I knew that was the sign I had just asked for. In that moment I knew even though I was going to lose my mom that she would be okay. That didn't help my broken heart. I knew in that moment that every minute with my mom was precious. So I made as many memories with her as I could. I took pictures so we would have those memories. It was so hard watching her suffer. The day I lost her shattered my heart! I lost my mom and my best friend. The one who was always there when I was heartbroken that somehow always managed to put those broken pieces back together was no longer there. In that moment I realized she was gone and I knew my heart would never heal from losing her. There is one thing that will always stay with me forever. Before she lost her ability to talk she looked at me and told me I was the wind beneath her wings. That was one of her favorite songs. So everytime I hear that song I think of her and I cry. I'm the one who took care of her. It was such an honor to care for the woman who took care of me growing up. She was always there. Then one day she wasn't. She was gone and left me broken and alone. I would have gladly taken her place if I could have just to save her. I just wish I would have had more time with her. I will always keep her in my heart forever. She may be gone but she still lives on in all of the hearts of the people she's touched. Her light will always shine bright....