Courage in Cancer

Beautiful Bonita

I work at a scrapbooking store and the other day this lady named Bonita came in. When she first came in I noticed that she had scarf around her head and I wondered if she might have cancer, but I didn’t ask. She wondered around the store for a few minutes and soon came with some things to buy. We-my co-worker and I- asked her what she was using all her stuff for and she told us that she was making a book full of all of the cards and notes of support and encouragement that she had received recently. She told us that she had breast cancer and that she was going through chemo-therapy. She related to us some of the experiences and the pain that had come to her because of her treatments. She was very open about sharing it all with us, but what impressed me the most was how happy she was. Even with all this craziness that was going on in her life, she had a huge beautiful smile on her face. She sincerely found the good in her life and clung to it.

People Who Care

Again, I have a very touching story from work. Last week a family came into my work. One of their daughters was a friendly, sweet, talkative girl. She sat and talked with me for a bit while the mother went shopping. I instantly noticed her excitement for life and the experiences. She seemed to be anxious to try everything I was doing and had so many questions. When her mother finished, we talked a little and somehow it came out that this little girl had recently recovered from Leukemia. Her mom couldn’t stop talking about how grateful she was for all the help that she received from the community and from people who cared. Dozens of surgeries and countless blood transfusions were needed for this girl and so many people had donated what they could to help out this young family. This was inspiring, but what was more inspiring to me was this little girls attitude about life. She was so engaged everything! Found excitement in the little things. Her mom commented that their kids had learned to appreciate life in a way that most people didn’t learn until later in life. I am amazed over and over again how much experiences like this change people. How sad is it that it sometimes take traumatic events for us to really experience life?

Give in Celebration

I found this story online. One lady in the UK had beat breast cancer. She was so grateful for the new chance that she had at life and wanted so much to give back to the community. So as her birthday approached, instead having people give her gifts, she set up a website for her friends and family to donate what they would have spent on her to cancer research. Her webpage is http://giveincelebration.org/. I was very inspired by her gratitude and selflessness and how much she wanted to help others. You can do the same thing! Go to the website and check out this other great opportunity to give in celebration.

A Tight Spot

A wonderful girl that I know, Natalie, told me recently that her father died of cancer. As I asked her about it, she told me that she was just 3 years old and so she doesn’t remember much, but she has heard the stories that her mother has told. Her father was diagnosed with sarcoma and went in for surgery without telling his wife about the cancer. Natalie said that for most of the time he had cancer, he didn’t have any idea that he would die from it. He just went on living his life as if everything was fine. It wasn’t until about a month before he died that he finally realized that he wasn’t going to live. But through it all, he was happy. He did not complain. He did not mope around. He lived his life.

As Natalie and I talked, we discussed how strong everyone we’ve known with cancer  is. They have such a determination to keep on fighting and such a strong will to live. It takes a special person to be able to experience these situations and I believe when they come, they come for a reason. We should not spend our time thinking, ‘Why me?’ but instead, ‘Why not me?’ We all experience pain and the pain is given to us so that we can learn, whether it’s to learn to enjoy the simplicity of life more, or to be able to empathize with others, or to be able to see just how strong you really are. I promise there is always good that comes out of a tough situation.