Beyond My Four Walls

I realize that it's been awhile since I last posted anything, but that hasn't been due to neglecting the Awareness front!! There is a world out there, a big wide world! While that time has passed, there have been far too many kiddos whose Earthly journey has taken a Heavenly turn (among them a couple of the kiddos I met back in September at Aimee Dickey's Walk for Childhood cancer Awareness; beautiful boys, both of them - both far too young and gone too soon!!) They wear their wings and watch over us all, encouraging us to keep fighting!!

Now you might wonder what I've been up to otherwise. Well, presently I'm working on putting together a video (my very first attempt ever at this): it will be to raise Awareness for Childhood cancer, to show why we fight so fiercely and to hopefully inspire even more people to join and stand beside us in the fight!! It's been an ongoing project in my head but I took action this past week and got the proverbial ball rolling! I've been very diligently piecing this video together, asking permission to use the faces of beautiful Angels of varying types of Childhood cancer in a wide range of ages!! I'm hoping I'll have it ready to actually share before too much longer.

In the meantime, send up prayers for all the families that have been touched by Childhood cancer...pray for the Angels, the Warriors, the Survivors and the Yet To Be Diagnosed. Though none of us CHOSE to walk this path and take this journey, we take each step in FAITH as God allows our paths to intersect; at these intersections, we come upon people who become our family!!!

Remember, TODAY in the U.S.:
*There will be at least 46 kids newly diagnosed with some form of Childhood cancer (bringing at least 46 families to their knees and changing their lives forever!)
*There will be 7 beautiful Warriors who will draw their last breath here on Earth and become Angels!
*TODAY...WE FIGHT!!

Faces Capture Awareness

While being a voice for these kiddos, I would be remiss if I neglected to make perfectly clear the gravity of their situation.

So, today, I want to show you rather than merely tell you about the reality of Childhood cancer.

Every school day, there are 46 kids newly diagnosed with some form of Childhood cancer. That's a sharp blow right smack in the gut for at least 46 families. Thus the lives of not just those 46 kids but every family member are forever changed.

What I'd like to put into perspective today is the fact that by day's end, there will be 7 new Angels fitted with wings. 7 kids whose Earthly battle has been written down in God's books; they sit in Jesus' lap as He holds them close and tells them that though they have now become Angels they will NEVER be forgotten down on Earth. 7 candles whose flame may have been extinguished, but whose radiance will burn on in our hearts forevermore!

You may or may not have met them. I know them through their family, I've read about their journey, I've come to love each one of them. Any one of these children could be yours, every one of them has earned their wings!! Beautiful, amazing, strong, courageous, wise beyond their years. Their names are forever etched in my soul, they are part of what I call my family. None of them asked to join, nor did I; but because of the path we were all set upon, we have become 'family.' (All of us - Angels, Warriors, Survivors and members of these families.)

This is a fight that we ALL need to be part of. Our children are our future; without our future, what have we got??



A few reminders:
~NEVER think NOT my family, NOT my child; because the fact remains, IT COULD BE YOUR CHILD.
~cancer doesn't give a damn who it strikes - but WE DO!!!

This is one war that we, as a family, are very determined to win; one we WILL win!

TODAY...WE FIGHT!

Food for thought!

Sometimes it seems crazy, the things we'll do for people we've never even met; but for some of us that won't change the fact that we do what we do because we give a damn! We give a damn because that's the way God set us up to be, there's just no other way we could do things!!

Let me give you an example using myself as the subject:
Last year, at this exact time, I got wind of a Walk for Childhood cancer Awareness that would actually take place in September of 2009. It was nowhere near where I live, but I was determined to take part in it because I've become a staunch and very vocal advocate for the kids in this fight called 'cancer.' I'd already become a part of an amazing group of people by joining the PAC2 @ http://curechildhoodcancer.ning.com and through this group had made some super friends!!

I had to do some serious soul searching because it would require several things of me which I'd never before done!! I put in for my vacation time in February for the trip in September and then while waiting, I prayed on it. I had to hold out to find out if my days off would be granted and if I would even be able to catch a flight back east to Pennsylvania. I needed to let my contact person know by no later than August 21st as to whether or not I could be there and if so, when. Finally, August 20th rolled around, I got my work schedule for September, found out my vacation days were granted then began the process of flight plans!! Mind you, I'd never flown before so this was the beginning of a whole new era for me!!

It took me 2 days of almost nonstop attempts to finally get my flight plan set up, window seats there and back, two stops before reaching my final destination along the way to get from Spokane WA to Scranton PA (Seattle and Newark NJ) both ways, stay for 3 nights, then back home I'd go. The very first flight of my life EVER was on 9-11-09; scary to some, but I was flying with Angels and never had a doubt I'd be safe! I had to work on September 10th, so I'd set a wild and wacky plan in motion beforehand. Since I work swing shift (2 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.) and my flight out was to be at 5:00 a.m. on the 11th; my intent was to stay awake from the morning of the 10th until I arrived at the hotel in Scranton PA!! Yes, I know you're wondering...I DID and I wouldn't change that for the world!

Flying is absolutely awesome, window seats are definitely the way to go!! I'm a firm believer there are also some people that should never end up in a job that requires contact with the public - I won't go into detail, but thanks to God and some mighty powerful Angels, things worked out very well!! Once back east in PA, I met friends who became family and when the following Monday arrived, I didn't want to come home!! I was escorted safely home, as I truly flew with the Angels. Crazy, you say? I disagree, take a look! Angels and rainbows, God's awe-inspiring touch (photo taken midflight between Newark NJ and Seattle WA)!!


I will be attending the same walk again this year - Aimee Dickey's Walk for Childhood cancer Awareness. I miss the family I made there, I love them dearly and I look forward to seeing them all again!! 217 sleeps until Aimee's Walk Day 2010!!