Seniors Philipp Eggebrecht and Sammy Cohen’s lives were changed forever when they found out that their mothers had severe health problems.

Last November, Eggebrecht’s mother, Anja Eckert, was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer and, because of that, Eggebrecht said he spent more time with his mom than he otherwise would have.

The disease also caused Eggebrecht’s family to cancel a vacation to Germany because the doctors did not feel Eckert was healthy enough to leave the country.

As time went on, Eggebrecht said that he and his brother started doing more chores, such as cooking and cleaning, to help around the house because their mother was too weak to do so.

As of last month, however, his mother’s cancer has been removed and she finished her radiology treatment.

Since his mother has become healthier, he said he continues to spend lots of time with her. But now that she is cancer-free, illness is not his family’s the main focus.

Someone else who is facing the same problem as Eggebrecht is Sammy Cohen. Cohen’s mom, Lori Cohen, was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS, about three-and-a-half years ago. The disease is extremely rare and there is currently no cure for it.

ALS is a disease that slowly deteriorates its host’s nervous system, causing the patient to lose the ability to control his or her muscles.

When Cohen and her sisters found out about their mother’s disease, Cohen said she had to stay strong so her sisters did not worry or get scared.

“You really don’t know what is going to happen until ALS progresses because everyone that is diagnosed comes out a different way,” Cohen said.

Cohen said she has stepped in to help her mom and sisters on a daily basis by feeding and dressing her mom and driving her sisters around.

According to Cohen, however, her mom said she wants her daughter and her sisters to have as much of a normal life as possible. Cohen said that it’s hard for her mom to watch her kids helping more than they should around the house and it’s also difficult to see her mom trying to help when all she should be doing is focusing on her own health.

“It’s hard for a family to see someone with motherly qualities not being able to do anything,” Cohen said.

Cohen said that having a sick mom has forced her two sisters to mature faster because they need to help their mom with the neccesities she can’t do her self.

“Mentally, it is really hard for kids to understand what is going on,” Cohen said.

Other than helping her mom and the rest of her family, Cohen is spending more time with her mother. To do so, she takes classes at Tamiscal, which allows her to have a more flexible schedule and spend more time with her mom.

She also plans on going to a college in California, which gives her the ability to stay close to her family.

Cohen said she is grateful that her boss, teachers, and coach have been understanding of her need for a flexible schedule.

She also said that she has to learn to balance multiple tasks at once, like schoolwork and family life, because she can’t sit down and study for a test without being interrupted. She has learned to ignore the little things, such as drama with friends, because there are more significant issues in her life.

According to Cohen, she is now closer to her mom than she has ever been, even though she can’t communicate with her.

Not only has Cohen’s relationship with her mother changed, but their roles have, in a sense, reversed.  Cohen and her mom have switched places.

“I am giving her everything she gave me,” said Cohen.