LaTanya Hudgens of Detroit feels like she's been given a new chance to become her best self. A better mother and provider for her three children -- Kailynn Hudgens, 15; Kennedy Hudgens-Fuqua, 6, and Kameron Hudgens-Fuqua, 5.
For as long as she can remember, she has been sick off and on, with itches, rashes, sores and various related pains.
The source of her troubles was discovered in 2000: She had a rare lymphoma, a kind of skin cancer.
Doctors treated her with steroids and chemotherapy until 2006, when a specialist suggested a bone marrow transplant might lead to her cure.
It turned out her sister, LaTasha Hudgens, 33, also of Detroit, was a perfect match.
Since the transplant in October 2006, LaTanya Hudgens has been feeling well continuously for the first time that she can remember. This weekend, she and her children are looking forward to attending their third annual holiday celebration sponsored by the Children's Leukemia Foundation of Michigan.
Hudgens, 32, said she looks forward to the celebration not only because it offers a good time, including presents for her children that she can't afford, but also because it's a place to meet and talk with other people who have or had leukemia, lymphoma or other related diseases.
"I love talking to people and telling them my story. You never know who you might help to make it through," Hudgens said.
Her main message to others? "Keep the faith. Stay positive. You can make it," she said. "I'm just so happy to have a second chance to be a good mom."
In September, Hudgens began taking classes at Henry Ford Community College, where she hopes to earn a degree in computer information systems technology. "I love working on computers," she said.
Earning a college degree has been a goal since she graduated from Mackenzie High School in 1994. But her illness kept getting in the way.
"For so long I'd been going to the doctors, in and out of the hospital, getting different shots, and doing it all over again," she said.
It struck her early this year that she was free of any pain or discomfort, all her children were in school full-time and it was time for her to pursue her education, too.
"I'm ready to make a change in my life," she said. "I want to be able to get a better job. It's hard to share a two-bedroom apartment with four people. Someday, I'm going to have a house for my children," said Hudgens, who had worked as a cashier at a local cleaners until her health made holding a job too difficult.
Her children have been her greatest source of encouragement, she said.
"No matter what I was going through, no matter how I looked, they never looked at me and said, 'Ugh!' They were always there hugging me, giving me kisses, telling me they love me. When I lost my hair, they didn't say, 'Ugh,' they rubbed my bald head."
Hudgens learned of the leukemia foundation through a nurse at the Karmanos Cancer Institute, one of the places where she has been treated.
She praised the foundation for helping to make her family's holidays happier.
"We really enjoy going to the event," she said. "There are so many activities for the children; we look forward to it."
"Just being with my family, that's what makes it fun for me," said her 15-year-old daughter Kailynn.
But there's another favorite reason for Kennedy and Kameron.
"Taking pictures with Santa Claus!" Kennedy squealed.
"Me, too!" Kameron added quickly while snuggling with his mom recently.
Contact CASSANDRA SPRATLING at 313-223-4580 or spratling@freepress.com. To see more of the Detroit Free Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.freep.com Copyright (c) 2008, Detroit Free Press Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2008, Detroit Free Press