How do you blog about this, but how do you not blog about this? My little sister has cancer. I'm sitting in her hospital room right now watching her breathe.
She is the type of person who has had to fight her whole life to live - she came into her life fighting. As a matter of fact, I laugh, because when I look at her baby pictures - she looks a little in dismay to have been delivered here. She had holes in her heart and hip dysplaysia (I think that's what you call it?). By the time she was 4 she was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and by the time she was 8 she had a heart transplant. She's battled mental illness and depression, she's down a spleen and a gall bladder, and now at the age of 24 she has a very rare kind of lymphoma, stage 4 cancer.
For the last few weeks I've thought about how it's like adding insult to injury for things to go like this. For her to be in so much pain. But what I've realized is that when someone has had to fight so hard to live all of their life, their will is simply too strong to submit to just any pain or suffering. I sadly, am one of those people who'd ask to be beamed up by day 2 of her ordeals.
In the meantime you can't help but feel helpless and useless to relieve any of her suffering. So we sit -- we watch -- we wait. And prayers get shorter. They go from lists of things you wish could be helped or changed, to simple submissions of will.
That gets me right there! oh man... That comment on prayer is...well, WHOA! Love you, girl!
Posted by: JoAnna | September 21, 2008 at 01:59 AM
I'm so sorry Rachael..so unfair for your sister to have to go through so much and for your family to have to watch her suffer.
Posted by: michelle | September 21, 2008 at 07:47 AM
I am sitting here at work crying reading and the head of DCFS' Salt Lake Region was here for a meeting and started calling me to come help her. It seems like I've been caught crying at work too much lately! Maybe reading blogs at work is a bad idea :)
Posted by: Ang | September 22, 2008 at 07:06 AM
Rach, I had no idea about Heather. I still remember her being oh maybe 10, with her blonde hair and glasses, lifting her shirt to show me her impressive scar from heart surgery. You hit the nail on the head about people who have had to gight thier whole lifes to live; they don't go down easily. I have good memories of Heather from your house below OLY. Give her a kiss for me. I will keep you and your family in my heart and prayers
Posted by: Jessica | September 24, 2008 at 10:12 PM
I'm so sorry. Heather is such a little fighter and she's had so many trials in her life. Your family will be in our prayers.
Posted by: Anna | September 25, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Rach...I am so sorry that your family has to go through just another trial. You are all in my prayers. How are you and the baby? Pink or Blue? Do you know?
Posted by: angie | September 26, 2008 at 06:02 PM
Hey Rachel,
I'm so sorry to hear about your sister's passing. My thoughts and prayers are with you at this time. If there's anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask!
Posted by: Hollie Wood | September 29, 2008 at 06:04 PM