Going Gold

Going gold...ironic, I guess that Mary died at the beginning of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month or as I now like to refer to September as Childhood Cancer "Action" Month. I like to think many more people are now more aware and it is time to now take ACTION. This month will always be a reminder of not only her passing but a reminder of why she is gone. Hopefully it won't always be painful as I hope her story can help to bring about awareness and action. This seems to be happening as I see more action taking place.  And I hope the momentum keeps up and keeps getting stronger. Coins4CURE is going as strong as ever in it's second year. And the gold bow campaign was a huge hit. Trust me I was covered in glitter as my car interior has also been for two weeks. 🎗 The local schools, football teams and cheer squads are going gold and raising funds for Childhood Cancer as well as college football teams  

http://www.wtxl.com/sports/curing-kids-cancer-partners-with-college-football-teams-to-raise/article_5aaa08ae-140f-11e3-84a0-0019bb30f31a.html

and professional baseball teams.

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/community/ccawareness.jsp

It all helps. It is amazing. I see change happening all around and it is great.👊🎗❤️ I don't believe this was the case a few years ago. I never saw a "GO GOLD" campaign.  As painful as it is to share our story I hope it is worth it and our story has been a part of the contribution to the awareness campaign and change I see happening. And with the growth of social media this makes it easier. It is a small price to pay to let strangers into your private life. It all helps. Every little bit helps. We need to keep the momentum going all year long and every year growing the campaign bigger and better. Advancements in research have been too slow to progress and we have to move faster. We need congress to wake up and vote on more $$$$ for our kids. 3.8%  is beyond pitiful. 

Yesterday eventing  Steve and I were able to speak about Mary and our fund at a wonderful event in Carrollton for the Jessica Lee foundation 

https://goo.gl/photos/641nUjDzF2HJD7az8

A foundation was started in honor of a sweet little girl, Jessica Lee who had a story way too similar to Mary's. She also lost her battle to AML at the too young age of 11. She was a sweet little spunky girl who was full of life with too few options to fight her disease.  Her mom fights hard to share her story and to raise $ to help others and to give to research. It had been a while since I'd watched videos of Mary or seen her sweet face or heard her sweet angel voice. I didn't know if I could talk and tell Mary's story after I watched the videos.  My job when we speak is to talk about Mary-her miracle birth, her funny stories, her quirkiness and sweet spirit. Steve talks about the process, statistics and the few treatment options. I got really choked up, but once I got going I did ok. I felt her spirit close and remembered why I do this. Even though I have had such a tough year and been so weak and suffered I remembered Mary was always so faithful and strong through her fight. Tonight I was reminded that I need to focus on that. To focus on her strength and to get my life right. Mary always had the right perspective. She was my buffer and kept me balanced. I can't let things fall apart because she isn't here with me in body, but she is always with me in spirit telling me to stay strong and to be brave. Her faith never wavered, ever.  I have to remember that.