The Evil that Lurks in the Shadows

Last year, my husband and I got hooked on the TV series, "The Walking Dead".  If you haven't seen it, it's a show about zombies.  This season, it has taken a new twist and there is now a hemorrhagic plaque circulating around the survivor's compound.

Like some evil being, it lurks in the shadows and no one knows when or who it will choose as its next victim.
I've begun to think of cancer as this evil.  We all go about our lives not knowing that cancer is lurking in the shadows.  Will it choose me?  You?  Your son or daughter?   Your best friend?

Over the last year, I've learned of several young children (ages 2-10) who have been struck by this horrible disease.  They all live within 10 minutes of my house and I learned about all of them through the miracle of social media.

I've often asked myself, "Are there more cases of childhood cancer now or am I just hearing about it more because of social media's prevalence in our everyday lives"?

After learning about every single one of the children, I have followed their stories.  Some are still battling that dark evil and some, sadly, have lost.

And, with every story, the heaviness of sorrow and fear weighs on my heart.

Last month, I attended a fundraiser for a little boy who has battled 3 different cancers in his short 10 years of life. He is now partially paralyzed but he's alive.  At the event, the mother of a remarkable young girl got up and spoke to the crowd.  Her 10-year old daughter was scheduled to speak and the mother apologized that Gabby recently had a treatment and was exhausted after attending a Girl Scouts' retreat the day before.

I learned yesterday that Gabriella passed away Saturday night. I never met her and for all intents and purposes, her life had no link to mine.  Yet, I can't stop thinking about her.

Now that I have 2 children of my own, the thought of that evil choosing one of them scares me to pieces.  I can't imagine being a parent and watching your child have to endure the horrors of chemo, radiation and endless drugs.  And, then watching your child take his/her last breaths on this earth.

Part of me wishes that I never learned about those children and their stories.  Part of me would rather live in a world of oblivion where nothing bad happens to children.

And, the other part of me is glad that I got to "know" them.  Without their stories, there would be no research, no awareness, no purpose for their lives.

Life is so precious.