Gratitude

I just read a news story about a girl who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at age 11. She had tumors on her spine, and despite traditional treatments, was told she would die in 3 months. That was in 1997. This year she celebrated 13 years since her diagnosis. She was given an experimental treatment that saved her life. She calls the anniversary of her diagnosis her "Glad to Be Alive" day.

This girl, now a young woman, wrote about how she is glad for all the positive things cancer brought into her life. And it reminded me...

When I was 13 years old, I was diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disease. I was one of two girls in Colorado who had it. Treatment included heavy duty steroids, chemotherapy, and monthly trips to the hospital for infusions of gamma-globulin. Cancer, it was not. Except for the day of my diagnosis, I never feared for my life. I knew that I would get through it. After 2 years, my disease was in remission, and it never came back.

Some people said to me, "I'm sorry you had to go through that." And I appreciate that sentiment. But, I'm not sorry. Experiencing such a challenge was an incredible lesson- about gratitude, about what is really important in life. Because of my experience, I have strength. The experience simplifies things for me. There is a lot of other "stuff" that consumes people, that doesn't really matter. Some days, it gets me, too. But, ultimately, every day, I think about how blessed I am, especially now that I am a Mom. I think the challenge was there so that I could be grateful.