Inspired By Milestones

I’ve talked a lot about finding your passions in life and pursing them.  Well one of my passions has always been supporting great causes especially cancer research.  This weekend was one constant reminder of how much this cause means to me. 

In 1995, I was only 13 years old when I was given the honor of being the godmother to my aunt and uncle’s first born baby girl.  Back then I had braces, wore my hair in a ponytail every day, and still let my mother buy most of my clothes so you can imagine just how hard it was for me to comprehend that I would be given such a huge role in this child’s life but I was honored that they chose me.  And then there came the day I was given the news that my goddaughter, the beautiful baby that she was, had leukemia.  I had no idea what that even meant but it was just the start of the things I wouldn’t understand.  Chemotherapy, bone marrow transplants, steroid medications were all major things that I couldn’t wrap my head around.  All I wanted to know was why did this happen to her and would she be ok?  I was constantly afraid that we would lose this prefect little girl before she even got a chance to live her life.

This Saturday, my brave little goddaughter turned 16 years old.  I watched her smile and laugh with her friends during her birthday dinner and I couldn’t help but think that I was watching a true miracle.  From the moment she was born, she had my heart and has been a true inspiration.

In 2004, I was given another honor.  This time it was the chance to dance in Penn State’s Dance Marathon.  Since pediatric cancer was something that had personally touched my life, it was a no brainer for me that I would get involved with THON.  However, the idea of dancing just seemed like too daunting of task for me but Casey always stood out in the back of my mind.  I knew that completing the 48 hour, no sitting, no sleeping event would be extremely hard but it was nothing compared to the nights Casey spent in the hospital and treatments she had to undergo.  So I did it, for Casey.  I dance in THON and it was the most amazing experience of my life.  Not only did I make it through but I was part of an event that raised over 3 million dollars for childhood cancer. 

This Sunday, just one day after Casey hit a major life milestone; Penn State’s Dance Marathon hit one as well.  When the dancers finally sat down this evening, it was announced that this year’s THON raised over 9.5 million dollars, a new all time high. 

This weekend I was brought back to two of the most memorable times in my life thus far.  I was once again standing at a baptismal font holding a baby and I was also trapped in an over crowed gym with aching feet having the time of my life.  Both Casey and THON are thriving.  Both Casey and THON are proving that cancer can do it best to take us down, but we will always be fighting back. 

Happy Birthday Casey and Congrats THON 2011!

"Cancer is a word, not a sentence." - John Diamond