Dear OCF Friends,
It's been a while since I've been here (officially anyway). I've lurked a few times, occasionally checking in on people I came to know back in those dark days when my son was first diagnosed. I feel blessed to say that, almost two years later, my son is still well -- in body, mind and spirit.
I feel blessed in another way as well. Just before my son got sick, I was busy following my dream to be a writer. As a form of support to me during my son's illness and recovery, a good writer friend of mine reached out to me and proposed we write a novel together. That novel will be published this May.
The book doesn't have much to do with cancer (just a tiny bit, really). It's a novel for teens called The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading and it's about two smart, kind of geeky girls who find their way onto the varsity cheerleading squad at their school.
In planning the promotion for my book -- I decided I wanted to give something back to the people (like all of you) who helped me through my son's illness. But, unless you are Dan Brown, Nora Roberts or JK Rowling, publishing a book isn't going to make you rich. And, since my son is still young, doesn't make much money, or have the greatest insurance -- my husband and I have taken on the burden of paying his $5000+ a year deductible. So, I can't pay you back with a
donation (as much as I would like to).
I hope to do some presentations to schools about writing, life, and about the book. During those talks I will slip in the warning signs of oral cancer. But that's still not enough to pay you back for everything you did for me. I thought about what else I could do ... and decided on giving free inspirational talks to cancer support groups.
In our book, the characters are cheerleaders for a team, but they are also cheerleaders, supporters and encouragers of each other. That kind of cheerleading is so important when cancer steps into your life -- both for the patient & the caregivers. I'd like to celebrate caregivers and the special relationship they have with the ones they care for.
So, even though I want to do this as a way of paying you back, I'm here today to ask once again for your help:
Patients: What would you like to say to your caregiver?
Caregivers: What would you like to say to the patient?
I know one thing I wanted to tell my son was this: No matter how hard it was to help him, no matter how grumpy he got, or how tired I was ... it felt like a privilege to serve him during that time. And that everything I did for him helped ME in a way. Even though I wasn't the one with cancer, I needed healing too and taking care of him was the best way I found to do that.
If you would like to share your comments with me, I would LOVE to include them in planning my presentation. You can email your comments to me at
[email protected] or just post them here and I'll come back to check. If you're curious about the book, you can take a peek at it here:
www.thegeekgirlsguide.com Thank you again for the knowledge and encouragement you shared with me when I needed it most. I am forever in your debt.
darcy (Matt's mom)
