Moments with my Sister

Lorie and me after my round of Zometa for Hypercalcemia and her Chemo for Leiomyosarcoma. We could barely keep our eyes open!

My oldest sister Lorie was diagnosed with Leiomyosarcoma when she was 35.  She was given roughly two years to live.  She is now 51.  She has been through so much in her years battling this wretched disease.  Through the years  she has had numerous surgeries, chemo., radiation, cyber knife, etc.  with tumors in her lungs, neck, spine, pelvis, scalp, arm etc.  

Through it all however, she has remained strong in her faith and positive in her circumstances beyond what most people could fathom as even being possible.   She is, in short, my hero!  I have met few others through the course of my life who have shown as much grace, strength and dignity as I have seen from her.  Her positive outlook, unselfish love for others and Christ shine brighter than most stars in the sky.  A truly amazing human being beyond words.

I had the opportunity to have lunch with  her today.  I took in every moment.  Here is this beautiful woman before me, my sister, one of the people in my life I have had the honor of growing up with……….and I am in awe of the woman she has become.  It’s funny how when you are young you don’t appreciate those moments all the time and as you grow older those moments become fewer and fewer. And when you are faced with illness how those moments become so much more precious than you ever realized before.

None of us are guaranteed tomorrow.  But that becomes even more true with someone who has a disease like cancer.  It is easy I suppose for one to get caught up in the anger and fear of the disease and miss out on the time they have left.  Not my sister though.  She has chosen to live every moment to the fullest, giving of herself to her family, Her husband, her children and her grandchildren, being the example to them that they need her to be.

As I struggle with my own illness and face the every day challenges it poses and feel like I cannot take it one more day, I always find myself thinking about Lorie and the way she handles her circumstances.  She would be the last one to ever tell me her disease was worse than mine and yet, I know what she has gone through, and I am not sure I could do what she does every day.  All any of us can do in our circumstances is try the best we can.  God has provided me with a lot, and I am very thankful for everything He has given me in my life.  He has blessed me with a nice home, a wonderful wife, beautiful children, great friends and family,  Godly parents, and of course, these priceless “moments with my sister.”