My friend Karen has cancer. Lung cancer to be specific and it has already spread into her spine and hip. Karen is not just a casual friend. I’ve known Karen and her adoring husband John for many years, and I just love them both with all my heart. That this beast of a disease has captured Karen still shocks me and everyone who knows her. She’s battling for her life every day now and that is no simple thing. Chemo, radiation, drugs, and so many side effects of the drugs. It’s terrifying, exhausting, and a fight no one should ever have to face alone. Karen is lucky – she has John and three terrific kids. She’s also blessed with very caring friends.
It takes a village to help Karen. Almost every day someone stops by her house while John is at work. We do whatever is needed. I’m off on Mondays, so I try to be with Karen then. Straighten up, do laundry, make lunch, get drinks, drive to the doctor. I’ll do anything for Karen. I feel privileged to be part of this village of caring friends. Our friendship is deep and we can easily share our feelings. There’s lots of crying because the future is so uncertain for Karen. She wants to see her middle daughter married and hold her grandchild in her arms. God only knows her fate. I’ll know more by the end of the week after she gets the results of her bone scan and MRI. The waiting and wondering is very difficult – for her family and all of us who are part of the village.
Tell the important people in your life you love them every day. Maybe you won’t have the chance to say it tomorrow.
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