I first met Margaret and her family when we moved to Pell City in 2005. Her Dad was a preacher and had pastored several churches over the years. Margaret and I quickly became good friends, and almost as quickly, her parents, Curtis and Nell Rush, “adopted” my husband and me and treated us like their family.

Margaret was the sole caretaker for both her parents for as long as I knew all of them. Even while working a full-time job in Birmingham, she provided their care without any assistance or a respite caregiver. As their needs became greater, Margaret finally retired from her job in 2010 to provide for their needs.

Although Margaret’s father was diagnosed with dementia in mid-2011, Margaret was still able to provide for his care, again without assistance. As her mother’s health grew worse, her care was added to the demands on Margaret. When her father passed away in December of 2011, Margaret was left to care for her grieving mother, whose health continued to decline.

Being the sole caretaker for both parents is exhausting, and it doesn’t happen without cost. Self-care is one of the first things to go, and that includes medical self-care. So, by the time Ms. Nell was admitted to a nursing home in the last stages of Congestive Heart Failure in April of 2017, it had been at least two or three years since Margaret’s last mammogram.

When she had the mammogram in late September of 2017, she wasn’t surprised when they said they wanted to repeat it and do an ultrasound. She had a history of fibrous breast tissue and expected this would be the same. However, she found herself joining the ranks of women with breast cancer, and a lumpectomy was scheduled in early November.

The diagnosis from her biopsy was Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, and cancer cells were found in one of the five lymph nodes tested. Because of that, they scheduled her for a second surgery to remove more tissue from the surgical site until they had clear borders. The second surgery and biopsy still did not show clear borders, so Margaret was scheduled for a mastectomy in December 2017. Because at least one lymph note was compromised, she was also scheduled for radiation.

During this time and during Margaret’s recovery from surgery, her mother continued to decline, suffering two strokes. The weight of burdens on Margaret’s fragile shoulders was and continues to be unbelievable to me. I vividly remember driving her from a visit to one of her surgeons to the hospital where her mother was. Why? To sign a DNR. Her mother passed away on January 19, 2018.

When asked what impact her faith had on the struggle she’s had with cancer, she said, “It worked both ways. Because of my faith, I wasn’t as frightened as you’d expect because I knew the Lord and knew He would walk with me through it. And my faith grew stronger as I saw the Lord do exactly that. I never asked, ‘Why me?’ A better question was and is, ‘Why not me?’ Being a Christian didn’t make me immune from troubles.”

Margaret is one of the founders of Writers Anonymous, and she says WA was her lifeline through all that happened. She said, “WA was my therapy through those hard years. It gave me something creative to do, and it consistently took me out of my comfort zone. And it was my only outlet from some difficult and unchangeable circumstances. Rather than being a distraction, it made me stronger to do what needed to be done.”

“Christian friends have reached out, and my WA friends have been indispensable for support, assistance and encouragement. They’ve made sure I could go to conferences, sharing rooms, opening their homes, taking me to the doctors and even taking care of me after surgery.”

When I asked Margaret what message she wanted to share with other women, she said, “No matter how busy you are or how many responsibilities you have, take the time to take care of yourself. Get that mammogram. And if you’re diagnosed, do what needs to be done.” She added that sharing her journey with friends and family helped her put together a “team” to pray for her and encourage her.

Margaret has had some complications associated with her surgery, so it hasn’t been an easy path. However, she’s firm in saying, “It’s going to be hard. Count on it. Nobody said life was going to be easy. When you know what needs to be done, just do it.”

Meet Margaret Rush, the shortest super hero I know, and my best friend.