In November of 2018, Blitz and I drove to Gainesville to spend Thanksgiving with Alex and Dakota. I had seen her about a month before. Alex’s cancer recurred as a mass in the soft tissue of her left leg. She underwent chemotherapy which did little to reduce the size of the tumor. Then she returned […]
Alex’s cancer journey gave us many reasons to cry. But even during the darkest times, there is humor if you look for it—and sometimes it can help you make it through. When Alex needed to choose an orthopedic doctor in 2015, I went to the Carefirst website to find one that participated in our insurance […]
From a journal Alex began after her cancer diagnosis. Cancer. What is the first thing you think of when you hear this word that provokes so many reactions? Maybe you have known and loved an individual who battled this disease. Maybe you have been diagnosed yourself and are looking for insight into another individual’s life […]
Shortly after being diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, Alex started a journal. Her mother found it on Alex’s computer shortly after Alex passed away. There were only a few entries. Here’s how she described her introduction to cancer. The Wake Up Call It was very early in the morning, before sunrise, when I awoke; one of […]
“Let me tell you something you already know.” “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.” “But it ain’t how […]
Today marks the beginning of Childhood Cancer Awareness month. For me, awareness isn’t about the fact that childhood cancer exists. We all know that—and we are all horrified by it. Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is more about the facts surrounding childhood cancer—things that, even as Alex was battling Ewing’s Sarcoma, I still didn’t know. Let’s […]