My name is Michelle Perry. I moved to Wilkesboro from Houston, Texas. My life in Houston was very busy. I was, and am a home school mom which means in addition to the every day chores of keeping a household running – I also had the responsibility of teaching my children. There wasn’t time to give breast cancer a thought. Sure I knew I should get regular mammograms but I couldn’t get cancer so why bother with the test.
In May of 1999 my husband was transferred to the Corporate Offices of Lowes. My husband and I didn’t want to leave Texas, but we felt very strongly that this move was what God wanted.
After we got settled into a normal routine, I scheduled a physical exam. I did this in order to be placed on my husband’s insurance. A mammogram was ordered. Cancer was found.
In September of 1999 I had a lumpectomy. My slides were read – everything was fine. I started my chemotherapy. Because of God’s intervention, my slides were sent to a second doctor. All the cancer had not been removed. I finished my chemotherapy. I had another lumpectomy in February. Surely everything was going to be ok. But it wasn’t. The slides from the second lumpectomy revealed that my breast had several pockets of cancer. In March I had a mastectomy with reconstruction. Now everything had to be ok. But again it was not. Due to some of the treatments, I have developed cataracts. I will in the near future have cataract surgery.
I know that it was God, not Lowes who brought my family to Wilkesboro. Through all of this I have learned that whatever happens to me – God’s grace is sufficient to see me through.
Michelle Perry, Wilkes County