A friend of mine is fighting leukemia. This is her second bout with the disease. I only found out about the first fight after she was mostly through it. One of the key strategies she and her family have used is to rely on a virtual community of friends, who get status updates on a daily basis, more or less. That way, her friends are informed, can know where and what to send to lift her spirits (I send silly pictures and share some snark).
The daily updates reveal how courageous this person is and those in similar situations are. Each email from one of those around her providing the updates is like a body blow--the fight is not a steady forward campaign but a brutal back and forth, with the chemo, the other drugs, the grafts all kicking my friend's ass as much as the leukemia. I admire the hell out of her, her family, and her friends as they wage this incredibly painful war against the enemy within. Having to go through it a second time must be far more difficult. I am glad to be included in the circle of support this time, and cannot imagine what it is like for those to be going through it again.
I am sure that I will whine and complain about the minor misfortunes that I bump into, but I am going to try to do that less and enjoy the good stuff along the way. If my friend can keep up the positive attitude with all that she is going through, I think I can enjoy the half-full glass, especially if it is half-full of a tasty wheat beer. It is easy to get discouraged by the daily difficulties, but given her guts and determination, I am pretty sure my friend will win this battle.
I am posting this year here because one of the original reasons I started blogging was to talk though stuff to figure out how I think and feel. Not just to sell yet more bottles of my perspective sauce.
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