Navy Daughter Surprises Mother After Breast Cancer Diagnosis

We can’t even imagine what it must be like for those people who send out their loved ones overseas to defend their country. Parents, siblings, spouses and children stay at home, waiting for a phone call or a message to check in on who ever it is on the other side of the world that they miss so much. It can be months before they ever get to see them again, but it turns out that sometimes soldiers can ask for an early leave so that they may surprise their family for something big. Sometimes it is something sweet, like a wedding or a new family member. Other times, it is for something bitter.

Still, family reunions are the best. When you get together with a loved one after spending so much time apart can be very good for the soul. We can’t deny we have shed a tear or two while watching those bitter-sweet reunions caught on camera. Whether it is a parent reuniting with their children or siblings catching up after a while, moments like those really pull on our heartstrings. But this one goes far beyond that.

An Navy veteran has been separated from her family since December 2017. It’s only been a few months, but by that time, her mom had been diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. The vet was unable to be there for her mom’s partial mastectomy, chemo, and radiation, which was undoubtedly hard on them both. So, with a little help from her sister, a trusty partner in mischief, the military gal was able to make plans and some home unannounced, in order to surprise her own mom after she felt better.

"My little sister is in the Navy and has been for about a year now. The last time my mother and father saw my sister was Christmas 2017. In between this time my mother was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. She had a partial mastectomy April 6, 2018 and was told she would have to have chemotherapy and radiation treatments. She had a Mediport placed one week prior to my sisters arrival.

“My sister and I had decided about March that we were going to surprise my mother with her coming home. So we had to tell my mother that she couldn't fly to see my sister because she was working so much and didn't have any leave time. When I picked her up from the airport, I hid her in the backseat of my car so no one saw her while we were driving home and got everyone to eat lunch together. I walked in first with my sister crouching behind me and when my mother first saw her she lost it."

Their hugs and happy tears are worth more than a thousand words. “I told you I’d meet you,” the daughter tells her mom during their long embrace. Not a dry eye in the room; any room. Our thoughts go out to this brave young woman and her beautiful family.