Ann Wood Barber

September 9, 1945 - March 8, 2002

Blue-icing Cookie Monster cupcakes devouring Nilla wafers, homemade for my kindergarten class. Themed birthdays complete with creative poems on handmade invitations, fashioned from construction paper and red yarn likening Raggedy Ann. Musical instruments made from pots, pans and wooden spoons and inventive ideas for play, whether librarian, grocery store owner or school teacher. These are the childhood memories I have of my mother. And as I grew older she became my best friend . . . always there with a listening ear, wanting every detail when I arrived home from summer camp or a date with a boy. She taught me honesty, integrity, hard work and respect. She pushed me to do the best I could at everything I tried and was always there to help pick me up when failures and disappointments arose. We had our share of disagreements as I became a teenager, thinking I knew better than she . . . but we always worked through them. And thanks to her, I learned how to communicate, empathize and forgive . . . all traits that have brought me success in my adult relationships. My mother was one of the most selfless, giving, nurturing and loving people I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing and even through her most difficult struggles, like cancer, she continued to devote herself to others.

It was through her 4 year battle with cancer that I found my purpose, my passion, in Naturopathic Medicine. I’d always been interested in health and nutrition and had wanted to be a doctor some day, but it never felt quite “right.” It was researching alternatives and supportive natural therapies for her conventional cancer treatments where I first found Naturopathic Medicine. Upon initial diagnosis of her breast cancer, my mother underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy. About a year and a half later they found a recurrence in her ches t wall and a metastasis in her lung. A surgery was scheduled to remove a lobe of her lung and the tumor in her chest wall followed by another round of chemotherapy and radiation. This time, I took the reigns and began researching alternatives and natural, supportive, adjunctive options that would make the diagnoses and treatments more bearable. My mom received supplements, herbs and energy work that decreased the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. Unfortunately, over the next months and years the cancer continued to metastasize throughout her body and she lost her battle with cancer. However, I believe, because of the Alternative Therapies she was able to have quality of life that allowed her to continue living, experiencing, loving her life, despite her diagnosis and prognosis. Three days before her death, I took my mom to a doctor’s appointment in my sunroof clad Toyota Celica. She loved sunroofs, but had never owned a car with one, she requested the sunroof be opened as we drove down the highway and the air whipped in . . . her wig started itching, so she ripped it off, scratched her bald-head, looked over at me and giggled. She was always so full of joy, smiling, hopeful and optimistic . . . and I thank Alternative Medicine for providing her with tools that allowed her to remain that way until the very end.

As a Naturopathic Doctor, it is my aspiration to provide that same quality of life for my patients as they encounter such trying times. I miss her daily, but I am forever indebted to her for the example she set in life and for the inspiration she remains even in her death. I am honored to call her my Mother.