9/13/08 - Childhood Cancer Awareness Day

Coleman Larson's mother, Peggy, shared these moving sentiments a few days ago, when we as a nation were remembering the innocents lost on 9/11/01. Her words are so stirring, I felt I had to copy and share them here, instead of merely directing you to their page (some don't wish to sign up for Carepages, a necessary step). She wrote:

September 21, 2006. A plane crashed through our lives as we listened to Coleman’s doctor say “We found a tumor”…the breath was knocked out of us, I felt like a spectator watching with my hand over my mouth...watching everything around us crumbled like the towers. Our son was under attack.
We’ve been on our own “floor” or “hijacked plane” for almost 2 years now. Our future is uncertain. We’re picking up the rubble only to be knocked down again and again. We try to stay as positive as we can, (we TRUST GOD is with us) and I know we aren’t supposed to, but we can’t help it- the fear is there. It’s real. We watch the hell Coleman goes through with treatments. It’s like watching repeats of the planes crashing over and over again…time after time…as he fights on.We watch kids around us, in the same ‘burning building’…other parents with the same look of shock in their eyes. We don’t even have to speak words- we KNOW what they’re feeling. We have a bond with them much like anyone who goes through a tragedy together.Seven years ago the nation was hopping mad (myself included) that such horror could come to this country we love…. So many innocent lives were lost; so much taken away from us. I’m hoping our nation and political leaders will realize we’re still under attack. Cancer is a terrorist that doesn’t care who you are, where you’re from, how much money you have, it’s going to strike. It’s just as horrific and merciless as the terrorists were on that awful day. It’s crashing into people’s lives, attacking their world as they knew it. It's taking lives. It’s destroying carefree childhoods, destroying bank accounts, destroying family time, destroying any ‘normalcy’ it's victims once knew.Too many children in our country are crumbling. Families are left standing in the quiet ashy aftermath of this monster, wondering in disbelief what just happened in front of their eyes, and where to go from there.I’m praying we finally take a stand and say "we aren’t taking it ANYmore." Childhood cancer is unacceptable! One new drug for pediatric cancer in the past 20 years is unacceptable. Only 3% of all cancer funding going to pediatric research is unacceptable. We need to fight back!!! We’re banding our own war on this monster, but we can’t do it alone. We need an army.

There are ways you can help which will cost very little of your time or money. You can eat out at a Chili's restaurant on Sept. 29th (all proceeds go to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital). You can click here to sign the petition. Or you can simply visit http://www.completethecure.com/ and watch one of six videos. For each video you watch (and you can repeat the process as often as you like), a quarter will be donated (by a large corporate sponsor) to the Children's Cancer Research Fund. So, watch a movie. Sign a petition. Go out to eat at Chili's. Spread the word.

Here's a photo of me, wearing my gold Childhood Cancer Awareness pin. I have pinned Amelia's treatment photo pin onto my purse because the little boys kept pulling it off my shirt whenever I wore it attached to clothing (ah, the lessons you learn with littles).




Most importantly, pray for children who are in the battle against cancer. Pray for children who have yet to be diagnosed with cancer. Pray for the families who have lost one of their sweet little ones to the ravages of this disease. And, thank God for every day you have with the ones you love - they are a gift and the days are also gifts!