If You Can....

When I start to tell a story about my day, my husband will sometimes ask, "Will it be long? Should I sit down and grab a beverage?" Obviously he is teasing me about the detailed accounts I tend to tell (There is no Reader's Digest Version.) I do wonder if I should just tell the end result but sometimes I see that more explanation is needed. 

For an example I am totally making up, I'm nearly positive he'd have questions if I came home and said to him, "I bought 1000 yards of fence, a hundred fence posts, and a whole bunch of lumber." Then turned around and walked off.

Wouldn't you wonder why I bought it and what I plan on doing with it? Alright. You get my point. 

But I'll try my best to keep this short and on point. 

In November of 2023, our then 16-year-old niece was diagnosed with a rare form of pediatric brain cancer and given a terminal diagnosis. It was devastating on many levels. She is an identical twin. She is a childhood cancer survivor, having gone through it as a toddler. She has a long life she is supposed to live. She went through treatment. The tumor would grow. She'd get more treatment. She did trials. Her family fought hard beside her, and she outlived her doctors' predictions. But then, it all took a turn and now she is just gone. She gained her wings on Friday, March 14th, a little over two months before her 18th birthday. 

It's not quite something anyone wants to talk about. It's quite unfair. I really don't have the words to process it all. We have been on the "fringe" of her battle because they lived more than 8 hours away from us. And suddenly I feel so ill-equipped to deal with this kind of loss. Her family is devastated. It's going to take time. No parent should ever have to lose a child and even though I am well aware that it happens every day, all over the world, we do kinda live in some sort of weird reality where we take for granted a lot of things in life. I have so much empathy for my sister-in-law who is a very involved Mama Bear. Our surviving niece and nephew were involved in their sister's caregiver duties as well, there every step of the way. I know the family is surrounded by love and by help. They are not alone. They have a community that has rallied around them. But still, my heart aches and hurts for them all. I am angry that they have to experience this kind of a loss. I am angry that cancer still exists, that it costs so much to fight in both monetary and personal ways, and that it seems to be so rampant in society. And I am angry that it happens to kids. Yet there's nothing I can personally do about it so I will continue to do what I can personally do, and that is write. 

Well, now you understand why I was vacant this past week from social media and didn't do my weekly post. There is a feeling of helplessness that happens when there is absolutely no way that can help, no words that will comfort, and nothing to add. There has been a GoFundMe account set up, first to help pay for cancer treatments but now it's been switched to help with funeral arrangements, and everything else. If you wish to help out, any amount helps. And if you can, remember them in your daily prayers. Everything is appreciated. 

Click on this link to donate to their GoFundMe. Thank you!

Life is short. Be sure to live each day to its fullest. And always choose to be kind.