I see my mother, sitting there in her rocking chair, quietly reading her favorite magazine or looking at the old photo album, with that face expressing so much peace and with a smile that reminds me of the painting of the Mona Lisa as if she was boasting about her past, the one that led her to defeat a deadly enemy that despite its power could not defeat my warrior of life, neither morally, spiritually nor physically. Yes, cancer left her body but not before leaving an indelible mark on her right breast, the one that so often nourished me and where I took refuge to seek comfort in my worst moments.
I have seen the toughest men in the world cry for trivialities and be called 'heroes', my mother overcame a process that from my point of view I consider as agonic because the treatment against breast cancer is extremely exhausting, chemotherapies, radiotherapies, surgeries, hair loss, mutilation of a breast, vomiting, dreadful pain, she overcame all this and more without complaining for a second, nor did she ask for a truce, she assumed her destiny with the dignity of the brave and without leaving her beautiful smile for a single moment.
I confess that when she told me, my sister and my brother that in her body that mortal enemy was present with the intention of devouring her cells until it killed her, I felt that my world was collapsing, that my great pillar was falling, to think that she, my mother, would no longer be in my life is a hard blow that would leave me disconsolate. But she did not give up without a fight, before anything or anyone, she understood that overcoming this obstacle was something that depended largely on her mental strength and the will to live that she has always had.
Seeing how she faced this sea of pain that was her treatment, between ups and downs with her flirtatious face beautifully made up and showing her bald head where before there was a beautiful silver hair, immediately the worries stopped inhabiting my mind and became infected by my mother's joy of living. Every medical consultation, every therapy session, every injection was a step forward in the fight against this damned enemy, which she and the whole family fought fiercely with the strength of love and the example of our beloved warrior.
Today, Mother's Day, I want to give my encouragement to all mothers and women who are fighting against this terrible disease, may they feel in my name and in my mother's name that encouragement that will motivate them to overcome this bitter moment. I know that not all of them succeed in overcoming it as my mother did, but it is clear that the example of struggle they offered in life is unforgettable for their children, who keep her eternally alive in their respective memories. I raise my glass and toast to my mother and all the mothers of the world.
