Cristina’s shares highlights throughout her life where she persevered.
My mom passed away from complications from surgery (she was about to start treatments for uterine cancer but needed a procedure beforehand and didn’t wake up from anesthesia), when I was 7 years old. Me and my sisters were raised by my father’s family. He passed when I was 28, while I was in Marines.
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Then there’s that, I chose the Marine Corps to join right after high school. I had no idea for some reason that the amount of females that join the Marines is much less than the other services nor did I know that the boot camp was more difficult! But I persevered - made it through bootcamp, made a career out of it, and retired 20 years later at the age of 38!
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Then to be diagnosed with breast cancer right after I retired. My sister passed away with breast cancer at the age of 44 and I believe it was her voice that kept nudging me to get checked. I finally listened and got an early diagnosis of breast cancer on my left side. If I would have waited for a lump to appear I don’t believe I would have survived. So, I persevered over that obstacle by following my intuition. I ended up with a lumpectomy, chemo, and radiation.
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I got divorced while in the Marines and had my treatments while I was a single parent. I did not want my daughter to worry about me, so I always made sure to put on my best face around her, that took a lot a perseverance right there. She knew I wasn’t my normal self but had no idea what I was going through. I still attended events, held 2 birthday parties during my treatment time, with one being an overnight one. So, I felt like I persevered over having my treatments affect her childhood memories.
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Now I live every day to the fullest, my passion has always been traveling so now I make it a priority while before being diagnosed it was just on my wish list.