What is a “mother”? A mother is one who ‘cares’ for her children. It’s so tough sometimes to be a mother, knowing the right things to do. Knowing if its time to give a tender empathetic hug or kick butt. It’s especially hard to know what to do as a mother when caring for your sick child. I wanted to share my story with you, mother-to-mother, caregiver-to-caregiver, in hopes of inspiring you and you me.

Motherhood began a little unexpectedly, but I took my role seriously. I love being a mom. I have three amazing children, two of whom are not children anymore…but they will always be my babies. Being there to hug your children and steer them straight, kiss their booboos and tuck them in at night. Everything went as anticipated being a mother, until my only daughter was diagnosed with cancer at only 16 years of age. There are no words to describe the level of fear and desperation!

It was so hard being a mother of a child with cancer. Watching her suffer. Getting so sick from chemo. Holding her hand while she was being poisoned, knowing what was ahead: severe nausea, vomiting, hair loss. And the aftermath?! My daughter, Ryan, was ripped away from her life…no one to relate to. Most friends went on with their lives and those who stayed back to try and support her, weren’t equipped at such a young age, to know how to support their friend. Not only did Ryan lose part of her teenage years, there was still all the long-term health risks associated with chemotherapy ahead. I was so worried for Ryan.

Then of course, as a mother, there was trying to be there for my other children. Trying to help them understand it all. Adjusting schedules to try and make life for my other children as “normal’ as possible. There was nothing normal about the experience whatsoever. I was trying to do this all as a mother, out of a place of bleary exhaustion. I put on a brave face on all day for each of my children, and saved the tears, the out-and-out bawling, for nighttime when my children were asleep.

And we all celebrated when my daughter finished her treatment, thinking, “Thank God that’s over!” and moving on to bridging the gap. Making plans for trips, and really grasping LIFE, with a new sense of just how precious life is…with a new sense on how valuable moments with my daughter are. A year later, feeling confident that cancer was behind us, we got smacked with the diagnosis of a recurrence and prognosis of high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant.

Like an automaton, I went into action mode. I knew what low-dose chemotherapy looked like, there was no way my precious daughter would be subjected to high-dose chemotherapy. It was simply unimaginably terrifying. I poured myself into research, going days without sleep, desperate to find an alternative. Desperate to save my daughter from the horrors of chemotherapy…or worse. There was so much information to syphon through, foreign medical jargon to interpret, and many therapies with promises of cures. One therapy stood out amongst the rest based on a simple principle: Our bodies can heal themselves!

I quite my job to become a full-time juicer! If I wasn’t juicing, I was out going from place to place to find organic produce and bizarre supplements, as these items were not as available back then. The learning curve was steep. Plus, while my daughter loooves her green juices now, I literally had to force feed them to her at the time. The difference was incredible though. Within weeks my daughter’s complexion brightened, her energy levels were through the roof and she looked and felt so healthy.

The new round of tests came in only a few short months after starting her juicing regimen. Cancer was gone! The story doesn't end there...and Ryan continues her journey to staying healthy and dedicating much of her time helping others do the same.

I’m sharing this story with all the mothers and other caregivers out there, because I believe so strongly that most diseases can be avoided. I hope to inspire you to take your health seriously and your children’s health seriously. We live in an era of toxic overload. It’s too difficult for our bodies to keep up and we need to give our bodies the extra support it needs to be able to fight and heal the way our bodies know how to. And truly…I would never wish my experience, my daughter’s experience, nor my entire family’s experience on our world’s biggest enemies. So with love, I share my Mother Story.

Please share your mother story as your gift to me and other mothers. My gift to you, a free juice on Mother’s Day and a big discount for all mothers who want to give to themselves or give to another mother the gift of health: We are offering 15% off all juice cleanse packages for the rest of the month of May. Simply use discount code: MOM.