The Ring She's Wearing Says it All....

Don't let the twinkle in her eye or that beautiful smile fool you. Behind that smile lay a twistedly funny sense of humor, and a ferocious, no nonsense, determination to beat her sworn enemy into oblivion. She was wickedly fierce, a whole lot of stubborn, a bit ornery, and undeniably determined that Metastatic Breast Cancer would not define who she was. Her name was Lisa Sloat. And she was a breast cancer ass kicker to her very last breath.

Lisa was diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer in 2012 after successfully beating early stage breast cancer a few years earlier. Her hip had broken while she slept. The cancer returned and metastasized to her bones. She learned that day that she'd have a long journey of treatments and surgeries ahead of her, but that didn't stop Lisa. And it didn't squash her uncanny ability to laugh in cancer's face. 
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Lisa came into my life in early 2014 when she enrolled into our Road to Resources program. I remember thinking to myself, if I was a beer drinker, she'd be a fun lady to sit and have a beer with. She was gritty and she was tough. Looking back I think that's why she thrived all these years. We shared many late night conversations, long text messages, celebrations, and even a few cries. 

Lisa with her new car.

​What inspired me most about Lisa is that she never once was dying from Metastatic Breast Cancer - she was living with it. She was in a car accident which broke her cancer-compromised leg and required multiple surgeries to repair --- she went out and bought a brand new car. Despite being in palliative care, she bought a house with a fenced in back yard for herself and her two fur-babies. Why? Because as far as she was concerned, she was LIVING and breast cancer wasn't going to dictate how she lived.

But then she got the news a few weeks ago that the last of her treatment options had failed and she should start making her final plans. Those plans included a trip to Disney World with her best friend. She fought tooth and nail to be well for that trip; though her body had other plans for her. Despite a lengthy stay in the hospital, they sent Lisa home on hospice. And you know what she said when she got there.....

I didn't come home on hospice to die. I came home to rest so I COULD FIGHT!"

And fight she did --- until her very last breath last night surrounded by friends and her two fur-babies. 

Rest in Peace, Lisa. Your ring says it all.

***Note: The photographer, Lisa Otto, is not the same Lisa in this story.