Cliff Notes

They were useful in their time.  I know there are folks reading this blog that never used them and don't know what they are.  To catch you up, they were the precursor to Google, Wikipedia, and instant streaming movies.  If you didn't want to read Moby Dick, ( I read it all the way through and can discuss whale blubber with the best of them.) you picked up the little yellow and black book.  

It is how some people survived college and even high school. 

But like many short cuts, you often miss something important. 

In Cancer World there are no short cuts.  No easy way out. No way to skip a difficult chapter.  To make matter's more concerning, they add chapters and change the ending all the time.  I was reading an article in the New York Times Magazine about romance novels.  Judith Krantz pointed out there always has to be a happy ending.  Not so from where I sit. 

Today is just one of those days.  Allistaire is in the hospital with a blood infection. Her mom is by her side in stark terror of what this means.  Allistaire is supposed to be getting stronger, and Jai is training for Obliteride ( a Fred Hutch fundraiser).  Sierra is locked up in isolation because of a bad bug.  Jade is not in full remission. Violet is facing an MRI tomorrow. Alex keeps slogging through chemo and is a teenager that just wants to "BE DONE!" and there are a million other kids facing "Scans" 

We are hoping to be done with our Cliff Notes but only know that we have to be happy for "NOW".  As a Cancer Mom, I see

what cancer has taken from Mary-Elizabeth and worry but know I am not alone. 

Because our children are pure gold, September is Childhood Cancer Month.  Keep them in mind.  

Been Dragging My Feet

For reasons unknown, I have not been able to make myself go to Children's Hospital with Wishing Rock Bags.  I have them packed, I have sorted, I have great new People Magazines, but I have not been able to go.  I plan it and then when it is time to leave, I take to my bed to watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians.  Yes, it is bad.  It can be very very bad.  

I had a million and one reasons for not going.  I was tired, I might have the bubonic plague, there is a terror alert, and I am on the top of the list. They won't let me in. The Seattle Guild Society was right, these silly little bags are meaningless. 
Then I had to go.  I made myself go.  I told someone I was going.  I had to do it.  And I did.
I went.  And I remembered why I do this.  I let someone tell me their story.  I listened to them, told them hospital survival secrets and let them know about Midnight Bacon. 

Something about the act of giving back and listening and just being there is so potent. We don't even have to know each other's names we just know.  We know the deep-seated fear, the questioning of everything that might have caused the issue. The wondering "WHY" no one found it earlier. The realization that no matter what you do or what you let them do to your children, it might not be enough. It might not work.  It does not work sometimes.  It might come back. The treatment might bring more cancer and an endless list of long-term side effects.  Knowing the fear never goes away.  Knowing the future is something other's can focus upon because we have just this moment in time.  

Life is so much more than what we had planned and more about what we can do this moment.  It's okay to watch your friend's lives continue.  Plans being made.  It is part of your stepping off the path.  

When I was in highschool, I read a Ray Bradbury short story about a man that returned to Dinosaur times to hunt.  There was required path, and you were only to kill the appointed Dinosaur.  It had been determined it would die soon and not affect the timeline.  This man stepped off the path and upon return he found a small glistening blue butterfly on his boot.  When the doors opened to return him after the hunt,

everything seemed familiar but were slightly off.  It was not the same.  It is never going to be the same.  No matter how hard we try and no matter how hard we pretend and no matter how hard everyone wants it to be the same, We stepped off the path.  

The only thing we can do is help those behind us.  
So.... I will consider myself cured of the plague, be kind to security and keep at it.  Besides, I'm almost caught up with the Kardashians. 

Mary-Elizabeth has become a great writer.

In my life time I have been through cancer twice and spent 10 year dealing with it and its effects, but I am still standing here. I am lucky. I call the time spent dealing with cancer as being in  Cancer World. Unfortunately, ever day new people are thrown into this world, floundering trying to figure out what has happened. It is this reason that my mother started a nonprofit called The Wishing Rock Project. This is a small, but growing group of people reaching out to families, at Seattle Children’s Hospital, whose child have been touched by cancer and whose families are struggling to survive being part of Cancer World. We create and deliver bags filled will essential and special items that might help as the new families begin their pain staking battle.  We found the items really helpful and while the collection is sort of weird on the surface, each item has a deep meaning.  

My mother has been delivering the bags, but I knew I should be the one delivering so that the parents can see that surviving is possible. Despite my knowing what was right, I was terrified because I wasn’t sure how seeing a child in the same position I was in just 2 and 3 years before was going to affect me or how many bad memories it would bring back.  I finally  summoned up the courage to deliver a bag to a family that had been in contact with Wishing Rock.  I arrived and introduced myself to the parents and the look of hope on their faces when they saw me will stay with me forever. I talked with the mother sharing my wisdom of what to expect and answering questions on how to deal with various situations that might arise. The healing power of Honey Nut Cheerio, Metro Mint Water and cheese cake can never be under estimated.   I also sat down with the 6 year old girl and told her despite how yucky she felt right now, things will be better. Showing this family that there is a light at the end of the darkness was the best feeling I have ever had. I learned I was strong enough to help others in the same situation I had been in and make their scary situation a little less scary. I now deliver bags when I am able and do not plan on stopping anytime soon.