EFFYOU Cancer – You Took Another
Posted in Fundraising on April 3, 2010
I feel deflated, sad and just completely heartbroken.
Last week I received an email about my sister’s high school friend who just passed from cancer. Carrie Hill fought for three years, and last week the fight ended. When I was a freshmen, Carrie Hill would sneak me into the back of her Blazer so that I could go out to lunch with my sister and the rest of their friends. I hadn’t talked to Carrie since high school, and I’m not sure if my sister is still close with her. I don’t know what type of cancer she had – but I do know that she left a husband and two small boys behind.
It times like this… when I want to give up. I want to climb to the highest peak and thrown down my cancer-fighting-cheerleader-pom-poms. I doubt and question the future of the disease. Is there really a cure? Am I actually serving a purpose and making a difference? Why does this have to kill so many people? What’s worse – cancer or the devil? Why is this disease so effin nondiscriminatory and make so many people suffer?
Then I think about Martha – who I’ve dedicated this ride to. Martha has terminal cancer. Martha has stopped chemotherapy and treatment. And yet, Martha is literally one of the most optimistic people I know. Martha has opened my eyes to the dying process. She has been a true testament of her faith – and made me challenge my own beliefs. She has made me understand that letting go of someone you love is ok – because in the end, we’ll all be together again.
Martha’s strength is what keeps me fighting to help create a world without cancer.
My thoughts and prayers are with Carrie’s family and friends. In lieu of flowers, college accounts have been set up for her boys. Please email me if you’d like the info.
Jen – I am so sorry to hear about your friend. It’s always so hard to hear the sad stories and I know what you mean by just wanting to just give up and wondering if you’re making a difference. But, keep this in mind – every little bit of research that is done helps someone, and for all the people we have lost there are so many other happy stories to remind us why we keep going. I know I would not be here if it weren’t for all the strides that have been made, and this reminder that the battle is not over is a perfect example of why is it important that you keep doing what you are doing. Someone like Carrie needs you! Keep up the great work and it will pay off – to someone – in the end, even if we can’t always win every fight we want to. I know how hard that probably seems right now, I’ve been there – but it’s people like you who make a difference! Love, Stacey