Life on Lofty Lane: Where do I find those rose colored glasses?

Something that has been really weighing on my heart has been the lack of faith I have in miracles or that despite the odds things can turn out ok. I am the type of person who wants to live in reality and if a situation looks bad, and all the information says it is bad, then how could it be that it won't turn out bad? Yes, I am referring to Big Frank and his fight with cancer. All along the information from the doctors has been very negative. His oncologist has been pretty blunt with his assessment of the aggressive nature of this melanoma. It continues to grow, yet at the same time the doctors are seeing some positive results from the treatment. Two months ago I got a strange email reply to my last post about Cameron's 1st Birthday , which by the way, was my last post!!. The email said "Hi I'm Heather! Please email me when you get a chance, I have a question about your blog!" I was thinking it must be some sort of spam and I quickly got a little freaked out that a stranger happened upon my blog. But something told me I should respond, so cautiously, I replied asking what she needed. To my absolute shock, this was the reply:

Hi there Emily!

Thanks for getting back to me! I am 44 and a mother to a quirky little 7 year old, Lily. She is my only child, and my whole world. When Lily was just 3 1/2 months old, I was diagnosed with mesothelioma; a type of cancer that kills most people within 2 years. As I’m sure you can imagine, the first thing that came to mind when I was diagnosed was my baby girl and how I wasn’t going to be able to watch her grow up.

After intense treatment and recovery, I’m still here 7 years later and cancer free! My journey with cancer was a terrifying one and I'd like to turn my pain into purpose and become someone that other people can look to for guidance, inspiration, and hope in situations like my own. My husband and I recently participated in a short video about my experience with cancer and I contacted you because I feel that your blog would be an excellent place to share. I’m hoping to use this video as a tool to raise awareness of this horrible little known cancer that is such a deadly killer (and sadly, 100% preventable).

I would love it if you would be willing to share my video on your blog with your readers. Here is the link to my video: http://www.mesothelioma.com/heather

Let me know what you think!

Heather

I was shocked and powerfully moved. I watched the video with tears coming down my face. It was a message of hope and felt as if God was telling me I should not feel so hopeless and that a miracle could happen. In the video Heather speaks of being the type of person who has rose colored glasses, and that is why I say I need to find mine!

This was the first message, but then a couple of weeks ago as I was talking with Dorthy she shared Big Frank's feelings of hope with his fight to beat melanoma. He believes he can beat it. His conviction is very moving to me. This man who is literally fighting for his life and enduring terrible side effects from treatments and the cancer is thinking positively about being cured. Some days are worse than others for him and he is not always optimistic, but he is fighting and holding on to his hope. This was the second message.

I believe in signs and that things happen for a reason. Being contacted by Heather wasn't just a coincidence, it was God's plan. As I said, it has been on my heart and I wanted to share. I hope you watch the video as it has a message of hope and perseverance that we can all benefit from hearing.

God Bless!

Also, here are some pictures of Big Frank and family. When he started chemo he shaved his head, so now he really looks like his older brother, Carl!