If only for today, I shall take time to truly be grateful for my health. If only for today, I will realize how blessed I am to have the gift of a life free of serious debilitating pain. If only for a moment, I shall reflect on my own personal journey with cancer and remember its devastating effect. If only for one second I will rejoice that so many are being saved from this nasty disease we call cancer.
But then, once that moment is over, at the close of the day, I will think of a dear friend I met in days gone by named Mike Lanius. I continually hear about him through his caring bridge updates. That was the site, www.caringbridge.org; I use to visit frequently to post my own updates on for everyone, the good days, the bad and my interpretation of medical jargon associated with my case. I would run up to the computer, eager to let folks know I had crossed another bridge and was one step closer to the other side…a life free of living in treatment for cancer.
Mike still has a need to update us all. Many days now, he is too sick, too weak or in too much pain to post anything so Michelle, his wonderful soul mate does it for us all. We need reminded of the journey he is on so we continue to pray. For a man such as Mike, we know God has Mike in His vision but we pray anyways so that God hears us recognizing his precious child is in our hearts also.
Mike’s battle with colon cancer is a prime example of the realities of cancer treatment for Stage 4 cancer patients everywhere. This is no cake walk. This disease that will not die, at times, even with poison put into the body. It is unpredictable, as changeable as the weather and as unpredictable as a summer storm that comes up on you, quite by surprise. One minute your tumors respond favorably and the next, you are left hanging by a thread wondering why the cruel twist of fate. Having cancer can be like looking down the barrel of a shot gun and not being sure if someone should put you out of your misery and pull the trigger. It alone will bring you to your knees and question your faith in God.
If only for today, may people be touched by this disease enough to want to show support for finding a cure. If only for a moment, may they think of Mike and think of him as their dear friend they met in treatment and see the warm smile that lights up his face when he talks about his wife and kids. Even only for a second, may they realize how blessed they are. And, if only for a few moments today, may Mike have felt God’s warmth like the sunshine and His strength in his soul to make it one more day.
