Believe

It's a humbling experience to see how fragile life can be and a reminder to appreciate what one has and has been given.

A friend of mine came very close to death last week. She's been dealing with cancer for the past 5 years and her lungs finally gave up and stopped working a little over a week ago. She was rushed to the hospital and intubated. The last week was a bit of a blur as we waited to hear how she would pull through, reading her CaringBridge journal every time it was updated, signing up for meal coverage and praying. She is now out of the hospital and growing stronger each day. Her turnaround is not only amazing but a testament to how white light and energy can impact a person.

Over the last several days I have been reminded to be thankful that I am healthy, my family is healthy, that I am surrounded by love, that my friend is a strong, beautiful human being, that there is strength in numbers and that thought and prayer really can be a powerful force. The outpouring of support and energy has truly been an amazing thing to experience.

Last night our softball team played in honor of our friend. One player's husband brought a video camera and recorded the game so it could be burned onto a DVD for her. It sounds silly but, despite our loss, the energy at the game was so positive you could nearly taste it. We had a great time (as we always do when we play) and made some really funny bloopers that are sure to bring out a laugh or two. And it was inspiring that our first basewoman returned to the field last night after beating HER cancer and having reconstruction surgery in early May.

One of our players had a vision last week that by the end of our season our friend would be back on the bench, watching us play. Here's hoping it can come true.

Reality Check

My step came home from school this week with some pretty tough news. One of her good friend's has been in and out of school as of late. Recent tests came back and confirmed that she has lung cancer. She is 14 years old.

The first thoughts that ran through my head were, "not fair", "shouldn't happen to this kid", "will her mother FINALLY quit smoking now?*".

This poor girl can't go live with her father and she and her mother live in a small duplex. Mom smokes inside all the time and her daughter is exposed to a heavy dose of second hand smoke. According to my step the mother has said she won't quit smoking. We're not sure if that really was the response or if it was more along the lines of "it will be tough to quit smoking". We weren't there so we don't know. Nevertheless, I can't imagine what these two are going through.

14.

Pete and I immediately start to think about how we can help this young lady. We're not in a position to take her in, nor would be want to face that battle with her mother, but we are trying to understand what is happening on the medical front. So we ask, what is her coverage situation? Is there a possible need for a benefit in the future? How far has the cancer progressed? How is she doing emotionally? FYI -getting your information from another 14 year old is not the best route. She hasn't a clue, which is not a bad thing. She shouldn't have to be dealing with this either.

14. I can't imagine it. All I want to do is go hug her and tell her we're here. And to suck that damn cancer out of her.






*Full disclosure - I am an ex-smoker who quit for the second/third time a mere 2 years ago.