2019: We fall Down, But we get Up

2019.. closed out a decade of many rises and falls in a style that was more profound than any other I have experienced. A brief wrap up of the decade goes like this… IIIIIII

-Graduated from college with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UT Arlington

-Led 8 dynamic, intelligent and rambunctious young men into my fraternity (Omega Psi Phi) and made 10 yrs in the frat myself ROO!

-Saw many friends get married

-Met a special lady myself 😉

-Acquired a K9 companion

-Traveled quite a bit

-Made money, Lost money

-Lost a few people

-Gained many pivotal teachings and life lessons

-GREW (except for my hair lol my facial hair and head hair switched places)

But 2019…

Normally people would said it was one for the books.. but I believe this year was a book of its own kind of like how movies/shows have a series from years before but then have a reboot.. yea 2019 was the reboot ….. I don’t really discuss my family life much but I feel that it is necessary to open up that piece of me for now.

Between 2018-2019 my father Tecumseh Graham Jr. was hit by a cancer scare it was a shock to my system but you know us men are so prideful when it comes to being vulnerable were not about that a lot of times but the great thing about his circumstance is that it was thankfully caught so early that it never really got complicated he bravely endured the medical procedures that cleared him of it and did not really cause too many issues for him at all which I can not be thankful enough for and so fast forward he is strong, healthy-ish lol (some food choices I would like for him to work on) but he is doing well and soon will be transitioning into retirement from work THANK GOD, he has more than earned it after working for 30+ years, and providing for us the best way he knows how. Thank you Dad. Can’t wait to see you relax so we can go on fishing trips and just talk about everything we talk about.

April 2019… I am 2+ years on the 9-5 job as a Lead Process Engineer…traveling, making a “good living” by some standards.. things are seemingly going well I was offered a promotion and significant pay raise… working on multiple projects and learning a ton of things in a short amount of time…. Was given the opportunity to spend 2 weeks in LA and really enjoyed the time doing work as well as taking in what Los Angeles had to offer once again not to mention the promotion mentioned before included moving to LA permanently which I was all about……. When suddenly April 11th I am called for a meeting which I thought was routine like any other and except this ended in me being let go from my job… talk about a gut punch it was way unexpected.. so here I am unemployed when just two weeks prior I was pricing houses in a Los Angeles… goes to show you how quickly things can turn on you at the drop of a dime… and while that was bad.. nothing could’ve prepared me for what happened next….

May 2019… I went to my parents’ home in Houston, TX to visit for some reason I can’t even remember to be honest but my parents had left out of town for a few days and again it was like any other routine visit… I was there when they returned home and knew that my mother was going to the doctor the day after they returned but thought it was just for a check up nothing major…. (fast forward).. *Side Note* You never really think certain things are going to occur in your lifetime or within your family because they have not happened… to sum this up.. TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED. Mid-May what my mother and our family thought would be just a routine visit and no big deal turned out to be breast cancer…. So at this point my mother has breast cancer and is being evaluated for everything because my dad had it and caught it early so no big deal lets get it handled except the difference between her and my father was major… my mom had not caught it early… in fact when it was found it was in its Final Stage… Stage IV Breast Cancer… when I was told.. I couldn’t help but burst into tears.. so many thoughts of things she has not had an opportunity experience.. in addition to several other unpleasant thoughts that we normally don’t talk about daily but was now a reality that she was facing. Fast Forward to June.

In the weeks past my mother had been into the Dr. told that she could not be cured and that she was just going to be made “comfortable” pretty much saying there isn’t anything that could be done… crowds of people were coming to see my mom at home as she waited and thankfully was given the option for Chemotherapy as a means to treat her so in the midst of things that was good news that we were given (that she could be treated)…between June and Sept. my mom would go through 6 rounds of chemotherapy which in a lot of cases is more harsh than the cancer itself…so as she embarks on this fight she is continuously visited by people and shown copious amounts of love that she never knew she had.

To hers and our (family/friends) delight. My mother is covered by the blood of The Lord and her faith may have wavered from time to time but it was never broken. With much relief I can report that my mothers’ body responded to the chemotherapy incredibly well!!! She never really got intensely sick or suffered extensively during her treatments and the cancer in her was greatly diminished, and all though there were some physical changes in her appearance which are to be expected my Mother was beating Stage IV Breast Cancer…. !!!!!! … so after her last treatment in September she was evaluated for surgery…all during this time I am still unemployed so I was not really able to travel much as I was not financially able to do much..that will be another blog post of its own.

November 2019.. my mother is evaluated and doctors said that her cancer had shrank but there was still not really much to able to be done due to certain things… but thank God for 2nd opinions… because there was a much different report from her Oncologist. So Nov. 19th 2019 was the morning and day of her surgery…a day of pins and needles.. prayers, scares and wonders. Around 9:30 am I receive a phone call…..

My Sister: “ Mom…. Is doing great!!! The doctors said the her procedure went very well and they were able to remove 90% of her tumor and infected area and that they will perform a few other procedures to prevent the other 10% from spreading and will be taken care by a less invasive means”

That phone call was the best phone call I have ever received. Thus Far.

So currently in Jan 1, 2020. My family came to see my for Christmas and gave me way more things than I deserve.

ALL GLORY TO GOD !!!

-Mom is doing Fantastic.

-Dad is doing Fantastic.

-Sister is awaiting some prosperous news. Also her and her husband are doing GREAT!

-I am employed again lol and I am committed to applying positive pressure all year long.

2019… you tried to break us..but God orchestrated everything for his glory and The Grahams in 2020 will be claiming many victories and my family will prosper tremendously celebrating many joyful occasions.

#Pressure All 2020. That’s my word.

#TecumsehX