A time to celebrate

My wife and my mother are both cancer survivors.  My Mom is still going strong 25 years after her diagnosis and my wife is so new to the role of survivor that she sometimes has a hard time referring to herself with that designation.  When exactly does one pass through the "gates" of the various stages of this dreaded disease?  From oblivious, to newly diagnosed, to patient, to fighter, to survivor?  They are all different walks, depending on whose shoes you are wearing.  I hate to say it now, but I had no idea what my Mother went through.  25 years ago, I was a young know-it-all with small children and the thought of somebody I loved having cancer never really bored its way into my cro-magnon brainpan.  She was younger then than I am now, and she fought it with everything she had.  She whipped it and has continued to whip it every day for over 25 years.  When my wife was diagnosed less than a year ago, we both had, by this point in our lives, amassed enough experience to realize that things would never be the same, and boy were we right.  Newly jobless with no health insurance, we did the only thing we could think of -- we put our faith in God and each other.  Twelve months, 5 hospital stays, two outpatient procedures, 8 weeks of radiation, several rounds of chemo, and 4 trips to the emergency room later, we have learned a few things. 

     Our God is an awesome God.  My wife's mantra is "I am the child that Jesus loves"

     The Levine Cancer institute specifically and the entire Carolinas Healthcare System work tirelessly to make every single patient feel better every single day with no exceptions as far as I can see.

     The Levine Cancer Institute hires angels.  Every person we ever met at the LCI, from those that greet you at the front door to the doctors and all the staff in between, always exhibited the utmost in positive attitude and healing energy.  And believe me, that makes a huge difference.

     If you don't have a best friend to lean on you can still survive, but it will be harder.  Luckily I am married to mine.

     Celebrate life, celebrate something.  Eat breakfast at 9:00 and lunch at 10:30 if it pleases you.  Watch bad TV and read the National Enquirer if you want to.  Stay in bed all day or stay out all night if you feel like it.  Life is a gift, unwrap it and play with it.

Today my wife and I celebrated by attending the annual Survivorfest at Carolinas Medical Center.  She had looked forward to it for months and even bought new shoes (flashy gold flats) for the occasion.  We call the Levine Cancer Institute "Machu Picchu" because of the great energy we always find there.  Hopefully everybody at the event today found lots of energy to continue their "walk" for many decades to come.    

Here are a few pictures that I took at the Survivorfest:

click on any picture for a larger image.

 The men and women that work at the Levine Children's Hospital, Carolinas Medical Center and the Levine Cancer Institute are part of a rare group today. They never have to go through life wondering if they made a difference.

My wife with Sir Purr, the Panther's mascot

                        
 Lug Nut kept things lively

Lots of hugs for friends

Fun for the kids and adults too

The food tent was a popular place

Lots of pink everywhere, even the fire truck

 Windi the therapy dog was a big hit

 











 Face painting,   bounce house,    and slide...OH MY!

I have always been amazed at the large number of people that have cancer or are cancer survivors that tell me what a blessing the cancer turned out to be.  I know it sounds wrong or backwards but I have heard it time and time again.  I can't say for sure since I haven't walked the path of a cancer patient.  But I do know this -- my wife has walked that path, and she tells me daily how blessed she is.  "It allows your perspective to get a reboot" she says...and she's a pretty smart woman...and a survivor.

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 keith@keithlewisphoto.com
 

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