There is something special about every mother.  A mother is not just one who conceives and gives birth to a child; a mother can also be an adoptive mother.  A lady can mother others even if she is not related to them.  A mother cares for her children like none other can do.  She endures much through providing for her family’s needs.  She is the one her children can come to for anything.  She loves and gives to others selflessly, never expecting anything in return.  We take our mothers for granted sometimes, thinking they will always be here with us.  However, sometimes life’s circumstances take us where we never wanted to go.

Selena Parks’ mother was the type of mother that was always there for her family.  She served God wholeheartedly.  She nursed for a living, genuinely caring for the people she worked with.  “That was a big part of who she was,” says Selena.  She worked hard, always providing for others.  She truly showed love and care for people, especially her own family.  In spite of all she did, Cedelia Sims was diagnosed with cervical cancer in November of 1998.

Cedelia was dealing with some other health problems which led her to the doctor.  After many tests, the doctor ran a blood test with certain cancer markers.  The markers gave the doctor clues about what was going on inside her body by testing specifically to see if there are more of certain substances in the blood, which would be the clues they would need to determine if the person had cancer in their body.  There are different ones to test that can tell where a person’s cancer is located. 

Cancer does not choose whom it will attack.  The National Cancer Institute’s website says they estimate over 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and a third of them will die.  (www.seer.cancer.gov)  Even with the treatments we have available in this day and age, cancer still kills too many. 

The American Cancer Society says that cervical cancer once was one of the most common causes of cancer death for American women, but because of the increased use of the Pap test, the cervical cancer death rate declined by almost 70% between 1955 and 1992.  It is estimate that about 12,170 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in 2012.  (www.cancer.org) 

Cancer does not just affect the person who has the cancer, but entire families as well.  Cedelia went through a lot and it took a toll on her family too.  Not knowing it at the time, Selena says her mother was given about a five percent chance of living.  Selena had just gotten married about three months prior to her mother’s diagnosis and her younger sister Lacey was still in high school and living at home at the time.  Selena says the battle with cancer didn’t just wear her mother down physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually as well. 

The family may not have battled the physical part of the cancer, but they battled the emotions that came with it.  They battled the fear of losing their mother.  They battled the questions of “Why?”  Like what usually happens when something tragic occurs, at first they were all in a state of denial.

For several months, her mother underwent chemotherapy and radiation.  Many people prayed for her and for a reason they do not know, one lady in their church prayed specifically that she would not lose her hair from the treatments.  God answered that prayer and Cedelia never lost her hair, even though she had already bought a wig in preparation for it.  She did not know about that lady’s prayer until afterward. 

She never really completely gave up hope, even with such a slim chance that she would live.  Selena says, “I admire her because she’s been through so much.”  She says it is her mother’s faith, prayers, positive attitude and courage that she really admires.  She says her mother didn’t complain a lot when going through the ordeal.  Thankfully in March of 1999, Cedelia was proclaimed cancer free.  “Obviously God healed her….she was pretty sick,” Selena says.  “She’s a survivor.”

The battle was not over even when she was pronounced cancer free.  Due to the high volumes of radiation treatment she received, she has ongoing health issues today.  It prevents her from being able to return to work full time.  Nursing was never just a job to her; it was a calling and a ministry.  She worked about thirteen years before being diagnosed with cancer. 

Selena also had the calling and is a nurse in South Baldwin Regional Medical Center’s emergency room.  “It’s what we feel like God’s called us to do,” Selena says.  Cedelia is still able to work part time for the same family practice she worked for before she was diagnosed.  She still follows her calling.  She continues to form relationships with her patients, because she sees nursing as her ministry.  She genuinely cares for each person she comes in contact with, and through that, she can express love to others.

Health problems related to the cancer treatments are not the only current struggle Cedelia faces.  For about the past seven years, her husband has also had severe health problems and she takes care of him.  She continues on doing what she does, caring for people.  She serves in ministry inside her home, in the doctor’s office where she nurses, even all the way overseas.

Every year Cedelia goes on a mission trip with her church, First Baptist of Foley.  She uses her nursing knowledge to work on the medical team.  She will soon be going on her fourth trip to Romania.  Ahead of time she helps in the preparation of medical supplies, including medications.  She also recently got home from a vacation in the Holy Land of Israel with the church and her daughter Lacey.

She has always been involved in her church.  She sings in the choir and teaches Sunday School.  She also has always been involved in children and youth ministries.  Her faith plays a major role in her life, and it was her faith that kept her going through all the cancer treatments.  It gave her the perseverance to endure and to live. 

Cedelia is grateful to be a cancer survivor, but we must also remember the ones who have lost their battle with the disease.  On this Mother’s Day, we should celebrate our mothers and remember all the mothers that have passed on.  Even though they may be gone from this earth, their legacy remains forever in the hearts of their children and those for whom they cared.