Pain

During the kickoff, honored hero David Mendez spoke about getting treatment. He's an adult with a family of his own. He said he couldn't imagine children having to go through the process.

The past few days, I spent worrying and praying over a 6-year-old. It's a blur of monitoring a fever, a doctor's visit, different prescriptions, an emergency room visit and trying to match doctors' instructions with conflicting paperwork.

He'd been bravely putting up with it. Even when I explained about the need for an IV, he just nodded his head. But today, I saw him clutch his jaw in pain, and with tears in his eyes, he asked, "Why is this happening to me?"

I couldn't think of anything to say.

I know I'm fortunate in many ways. I'm able-bodied, so I can move around and help. We have a roof over our heads and beds to sleep in. There are nearby hospitals and pharmacies. We have a car to get to these places.

But, at that moment, none of that seemed to help. He was in pain and he felt like it wouldn't stop.

The good news is he's happily reading right now. He's on the mend and the bad reactions to his medication have stopped. Unfortunately, as you know, there's not a simple pill for everything. Yet.

Let's work on changing that. Please donate and help me raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

I barely stood a few nights of worry and feelings of helplessness. I can't imagine what cancer patients and their families go through for weeks, months, and years.