Team Haley Ovarian Cancer Awareness

Please follow Haley on her new blog! http://fromfightingtothriving.com/

December 17th 2015 is a day I will never forget. This day changed me forever. This day I received the news that my soon to be wife had stage 3 C ovarian cancer.

I remember sitting in the waiting room and seeing bald people reading magazines waiting to be called to see the doctor. That was the moment it hit me that Haley, myself, and her parents were waiting to see a cancer doctor. Things were happening so fast I didn’t even realize that our appointment was with an oncologist. “Haley Houston” said the nurse at the door. My heart started racing faster than if I had just run a marathon. I still tried to think positive that maybe Haley had a small mass that needed to be removed. We went into one of the many rooms they have and silently waited for the doctor. The doctor came in fairly quickly keeping her head down as she sat on her stool. When she looked up at us and then up at Haley I knew she was about to tell us bad news. The doctor’s eyes began to become red and irritated. Tears were building up in her eyes. I could tell she was having a lot of trouble getting the words out. Then she said it. “I looked at your scan….and from my experience it looks to me that you have ovarian cancer….it looks to be advanced as well….it looks to be stage 3”. My stomach dropped, my body went numb, and my legs went weak. The doctor continued the bad news. “In order to treat this cancer I will have to remove your uterus and both ovaries”. The pit in my stomach started hurting even worse. The doctor explained more about Haley’s new diagnosis for the next 15 minutes but to this day I would not be able to tell you a word she said. The doctor left the room to get Haley’s new prescriptions. As soon as the door closed I cried harder than I ever have. I have never experienced fear like that; a fear where I didn’t know what to do. Haley was sobbing and scared to death. I remember walking out of that doctor’s office like a zombie; completely unaware of my surroundings. As if life was fast forwarding out of control and I couldn’t stop it.

I pray that no one has to go through what Haley and I have. This is not supposed to happen in your early 20s and 3 months from your wedding. Our dream in life was to have children together. Haley and I’s greatest fear for the 7 years we were dating was that something would happen that would prevent us from bearing a child together. I couldn’t believe that it actually happened. Not only was Haley’s ability to have children taken away but she is also fighting for her life. I can’t imagine what she is going through. I’m having a hard enough time having a front row seat to her pain and heart ache.

I tell people all the time to go home and hug your significant other and to just think how quickly something could happen to them. I tell them to be grateful for everything in life because things can change so fast. I love Haley more than I can put into words. I am doing this Ironman race for her because I want to raise awareness to this awful disease. Everything is so focused on breast cancer, so I want to make women more aware of ovarian cancer. Please help me accomplish this.

From the bottom of my heart I thank all of you.

Love,

Taylor