There I stood talking with Mary and looking at her thinking why her? Why has she been chosen to suffer the battles of cancer? I thought to myself, she's only thirty-seven years young, a mother of a beautiful ten year old little girl, Anna, and the wife of a wonderful supportive husband, David.

I kept thinking…it's not fair. It's not fair, that she has to prepare her husband and daughter for a possible future without her!

There she was with a surgery turban wrapped upon her head.  They found the cancer had spread as a sist in her brain which was causing numbness down her left leg. They needed to remove it quickly before it caused further complications.

As I sat there, I thought Mary has gone through so much in the past four years trying to fight this evil intruder in her body.  She's been on Chemo treatments for this entire time hoping that the cancer in her lung would shrink and shrivel up.  But instead, I sit there talking with her and listen to her responses given with deep, raspy, shallow sounds because the lung is collapsing due to the cancer and bouts of pneumonia.  It's just not fair.

She reminisced about the walks she missed with her family and friends and the simple pleasures in life that are now a struggle.  She told us about her little daughter Anna asking her Daddy if she could wear her Mommy's coat to school. And Mary simply addressing that Anna is finding her own ways of dealing with this situation.

It tears at my heart…but I felt that I couldn't show this because of Mary's beautiful shining brown eyes and contagious smile - she kept the room in awe with her positive attitude.  We commented, "Mary, you seem so upbeat…" she came back with, "well, it doesn't help to wallow in it. Don't get me wrong, I do have my down days, but staying in the pity party doesn't help anything or anyone."

My friend and I asked her if she would want to do more research on alternative methods of healing. I mentioned that alternative methods may not be covered by insurance and it may come down to a huge choice on their part.

As I left her room, my thoughts were on how can I help Mary and her family?  On my drive home, it hit me or should I say God hit me with an idea. My mind started brainstorming up ideas of fundraisers to collect money for alternative methods of healing. Well, the miracle didn't just stop there.  The next day, I had an appointment with a wonderful Christian woman that suggested I write this editorial and ask the Christian world for help on this mission.  So I am bringing this plea to you, the reader.  Please consider an offering to help my dear Christian friend and her family.  Please, if money is an issue, then add Mary, Anna, and David to your prayers to God.  Her friends and family want so much for her to continue being a loving mother to her little girl, Anna, and a loving woman to her husband, David.

Thank you for giving me your time and prayers.

Sue Wahlstrom