My mother was diagnosed with an incurable but treatable rare blood cancer, multiple myeloma, in 2016. Since then, I have watched, listened, and cried as she’s fractured bones, endured an arduous stem cell transplant, and experienced alterations to her treatment plan every time the current one fails. I watch as she seemingly takes every bit of it in stride, never wavering in her love and dedication to motherhood. Myeloma on the Low Plains, a short documentary film accompanied by photographs, is the result of my need to document her life, thoughts, art, and childhood while I still have the chance—my attempt to control some part of the situation that confiscated most of my teen years. Most importantly, it is an attempt at making her live forever.
Multiple myeloma affects approximately 10,000 people in the US each year. With its diagnosis comes an altered life path replete with doctor’s appointments, fatigue, and lots of introspection—creating a drastic shift in family dynamics and existence—all to salvage a life that will never return to its former state but is not without promise. I hope to underscore my mother’s physical and internal struggles as well as a new kind of appreciation for life, which is manifest on her face and in her stance. My film and photographs were made 6 years into her diagnosis, serving as a reflection of experiences both past and present.
