Entry 3

This weekend I was reminded to cherish each day because life can be so short.  I logged into my facebook account early Friday and I saw a post from my friend about a member of the Beastie Boys passing away, he was only 47 and a husband and a father - only 47 years old.  I responded to his update by saying "I hate cancer."  Then I found myself sitting in class later that night and all of a sudden I get a phone call and it was letting me know that one of my daughter's classmates mother had passed away from cancer that day.  It was devestating news to hear, she was only in her 40's and have two small girls. Her daughter Ally has been in my daughter Emma's class the last three years.  I felt a connection to this even more because Ally's mom Linda had been a rather private person, however over year ago she mistakenly cc'ed me on an email to her Aunt and in the email it was her diagnosis.  I wrote her back telling her how sorry I was to hear the news and if she needed anything to let me know.  She explained that the only symptoms she had was a pain in her hip when she walked and it turned up with a dignosis of stage four lung cancer, and she had never even smoked a cigarette a day in her life or been around smokers.  That aspect of it haunted me, especially when last year I had this very random pain in my shoulder/chest and it turned me into a bit of a hypochondriac because the doctors couldnt find out why and I would think of Linda.  I checked in to see how she was doing periodically and the most hopeful news came last year when she was responding to treatment.  I did not realize that she had taken a turn for the worse and she spent the last three weeks in hospice.  I am heartbroken for her little girls and it all feels so unfair.  If nothing else it has opened my eyes to not worry about the trivial things in life and focus on what is important.