Krista Draper

As part of Elite MD’s month long campaign for BCA, we invite you to read stories from some of moms from the Mommy and Me Cancer Foundation. They are all filled with hope and inspiration- and remind us to live every day to the fullest. This Krista Draper’s story:
 

My name is Krista.  After earning my teaching certification, I went on to become a pre-school teacher. I loved teaching because I know how important pre-school education is to the development of children. In 2010, my son was only 1 ½ years old when I was forced to retire due to being diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.  It started as a lump in my right breast and spread to my spinal cord, liver and right femur. I immediately underwent kyphoplasty surgery to my spine.  This was followed by additional surgeries including a procedure to my femur and eventually, a repair of my initial kyphoplasty.  I began chemotherapy in November 2010 and I’ve received chemo intermittently since.

Most recently, in 2017, I had a seizure caused by what doctors discovered to be a massive tumor that spread to my ocular vein.  I thought I was going to die. After surgery, I couldn’t talk and I could barely move.  Two weeks later, I started talking, walking, and was able to move again. After two months of rehabilitation, I’m back to where I was prior to brain surgery.

For 10 years, I’ve been fighting. I fight for my now 9 year old son, Ethan, and for my husband, Andrew who takes care of me and is my rock.  I am inspired by my family and by my faith in God. My son pushes me every day to keep going because I want to spend time with him. Three words that resonate with me are hope, faith, and gratitude. I have hope and faith that everything will get better. I have so much gratitude for my family and all of the people that have been through this with me and perseverance to keep fighting.

To learn more about Mommy and Me Cancer Foundation, please visit www.mamcf.org.