Rafael

Last year, @Yaxel_Lendeborg wrote about what his mom means to him: “I’d known for a while that she hadn’t been feeling well. Each time we’d talk, she’d mention feeling run down, or how she had a cold. At first, I thought nothing of it. But then she’d be going to the hospital to get checked out. Every time I’d ask about it, she’d tell me not to worry, or just change the subject. Then one night my phone rings. I see that it’s Mom. I answer … and it’s one of those things where, immediately, I knew something was up. From her very first words, I knew it was something bad. She kept telling me she loves me. Over and over. And that she cares about me more than anything. And is proud of me. That she never wants me to let anyone dim my light. I can still hear her saying all that stuff in my head. I swear she told me she loved me four or five times in that first 30 seconds alone. I was terrified about what was coming. At one point, I couldn’t take it anymore, and I was basically like, ‘Mom! Mom? Stop! What happened? What’s going on?’ I was so scared. Trying to predict what she was about to tell me. But even as scared as I was, I didn’t expect to hear the word ‘cancer.’ My heart sank as soon as she said it. And, I hate to admit it, but, if I’m being real, what I thought was … It’s all over. She said she had kept it from me, and didn’t want to say anything, because she knew how important this season was for me, and she didn’t want to mess it up. Didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize my future. It was so sad, man. But it says so much. She finds out she has cancer, and … she’s thinking about me. I broke down crying immediately. These days, my mom isn’t able to make it out to our games as often as she used to. It’s been a long, hard process. As I’m sitting here writing this, she’s finished up her ninth session of chemo. Three more to go. She’s the strongest person I’ve ever known. So I know she’s going to be OK. I’ll also be honest though … for me, as her son? I’m a wreck. I’m always trying to do what she says and ‘be strong’ — I try to do that for her. But it’s just really, really hard right now, you know what I mean? It’s not easy pretending to be OK, and acting like everything’s fine, when you’re worried about the person you love more than anyone on this planet. I can promise you that I’m going to do the best I can with that — for her. Like I said, everything I do, it’s for her. But in some ways, that’s kind of out of my control. Because I’m gonna feel what I feel. I have no control over that, really. One thing I can control, though, is I can do everything in my power to make sure my mom knows how much she means to me. I can make sure she understands that I’m so grateful for everything she’s done. And that all I’ve ever wanted was to be someone who my mom could be proud of, someone she is proud to call her son.” playerstribu.ne/Yaxel @warriors | @umichbball