Cancer touches us all

Yep double post today. I felt this was worthy of its own post.

In 2 short months Sean and I, my brothers and sisters in law, our kids and my mother will be participating in the Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life.

Our team is called Papa's Pride and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why.

We are walking in memory of my Dad, Michael, who died on Father's Day, June 21, 2009. He battled lung cancer for 32 days. Yes, you read that right. I was not a long and drawn out years long battle. My dad went to the doctor in mid May 2009 with a pain in his groin. He came home with Stage 4 lung cancer. He was officially diagnosed on my brother, John's birthday, May 17 and he died a month later.

I thank God every day that it wasn't a long drawn out battle. I thank God for my mom, my dad and my kids that they didn't have to go through that. I never asked God to make him better because I knew that wasn't an option, so I asked for it to be quick. And He listened.

And I miss my dad. Every. Single. Day.
I miss that Connor won't get to know him. Connor still remembers Papa's shoes. He sees black or blue crocks and calls them Papa shoes. He still remembers his Papa coat. And when he sees a picture of him he still knows Papa. But I know that one day these memories will be artificial ones that we've given him and not his own.

The reason for my post today is to ask those of you who haven't already to please, please make a donation. You can click the picture on the right hand side of the page and it will link you right to our team page. All it takes is 2 minutes and a credit card and all the money goes straight to the Canadian Cancer Society. And for my friends south of the border (or anywhere else in the world) a credit card is a credit card - it will work for you too. And even better, our dollar is trading on par with the US dollar so every dollar my American friends donate will be the same in Canadian dollars. $5, $10, $20. Every little bit helps.

We all know someone who has been touched by cancer, either directly or indirectly. But together, we can make cancer history.