There is nothing funny about cancer, but there was one moment during Alex’s treatment that made me laugh. When Alex was in the hospital, either her mother or I was always with her. I was usually on the night shift. One night in May 2016, I photographed a baseball game in Frederick, MD. Afterward, I […]
Tag: young adult cancer
Gainesville
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 […]
Star Trek, The Godfather and HIPAA Compliance
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 […]
The Story of a Girl
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 […]
The Wake Up Call
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 […]
Keep Moving Forward
“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 […]
Alex
At 6 a.m., nurses rushed into the hospital room. “We have to go now,” one said as she unlocked the bed and started pushing it toward the door. The other nurse handed me a set of scrubs. “Put these on and meet us in the OR.” They were small. I was not. I grabbed a […]