I was thinking today about this cancer journey of mine. Actually, I can't help but think about it all of the time. Even when I'm not focused on the physical aspect of the disease, my family and I are constantly bombarded with the financial repercussions, and we all have to deal with the emotional issues as well. But that's not what I'm talking about. What I'm referring to is the "up" side of cancer.
What? There's an "up" side to cancer? Yep...there sure is. And in my case, it's a lot more than that; it is a true blessing. You see, I have learned that no matter how bleak my situation may appear to be at any given moment - no matter how bad I feel or how crushing the financial issues may seem - I am still one of the luckiest girls in the world. Because with all of the negatives surrounding my illness, I have discovered plenty of positives - starting with my amazing friends.
I was fortunate enough to grow up in the same city (Asheville, NC), in the same house, the same neighborhood, with the same kids throughout my childhood. Our family never had to move because of a parent's job, and most of the kids I grew up with were in the same position. For the most part, new kids moving into our school district were treated like royalty - a novelty of sorts. By the time we reached high school, we knew each other well. And even if we didn't, there was a very special sense of community surrounding my graduating class and many others before and after it. That close-knit feeling is very hard to replicate today - with changes in family dynamics, more transition, off-campus and internet courses, redistricting and new school construction, to name a few things.
Unlike most of my closest friends, I didn't visit home that much after leaving for college. When I relocated to Chapel Hill, NC to attend the University of North Carolina, I was only four hours away, but I quickly entrenched myself in college life, enjoying the freedom and life outside of my hometown. I stayed in Chapel Hill during the summers to work and attend summer school, so I didn't have as many opportunities to see the people I'd grown up with - except for my very closest childhood girlfriends, and those who were also students at UNC. I didn't attend any of my high school reunions, due to work or family commitments, and I began to feel very much out of the loop when it came to what was going on with people from my childhood. But make no mistake...I LOVED those people. I never forgot how special they made me feel, or all of the fun times we had. I hated the fact that we'd grown apart, and I truly longed to reconnect with some of them. Thankfully, the internet and Facebook changed all of that.
To this day, I will never forget the night about five years ago, when Facebook became very real to me. I had just joined the social network that our own kids were raving about. As I was "friending" old high school chums, one of my favorite friends, Kevin, started posting pictures from "back in the day." Another friend, Rodney, began commenting on the pictures. Soon, we were all captioning and commenting on the photos as quickly as Kevin could get them posted, recounting some of our more memorable "adventures". It was great fun, and kickstarted my reuniting efforts with literally hundreds of high school and childhood friends.
Fast forward to 2012...I was already one year into a cancer battle that had taken a turn for the worse. As I quickly learned, I wasn't the only one in this position. There were several survivors from my high school, one of whom asked repeatedly if my family and I needed help. I was being treated in Washington DC, and traveling there once a month for a week. I had lost my job, we had just lost our home to foreclosure, and the bills were mounting faster than we could open them. It was scary; so scary, in fact, that we reached a point where we could no longer afford to ignore or refuse help. We were destitute. All I had to do at that point was reach out to a few close friends and ask for their prayers. And that is ALL I asked for. But what they did with that request still amazes me to this day.
Because two of my friends had dealt first-hand with cancer and the devastating effects it has on finances, praying wasn't enough. No...they weren't going to stop there. They rallied my close friends from TC Roberson High School and started a movement, that within an hour became a Facebook group called Rams to the Rescue (named appropriately after our school mascot.) From there, they connected with Eblen Charities, a charity management group founded by another high school friend, Bill Murdock. Within days, there was a golf tournament being planned, wristbands with my nickname "Zippy Rose" were being ordered, people were sending donations and the best part of all - our support network was exploding. A Facebook page was opened, where people could post and offer us words of encouragement, and where I could communicate with members of the group to give them the latest information about our situation. I was completely dumbfounded by the selfless acts of kindness that repeatedly came our way.
My husband, Steve, and I have always talked about forming a foundation of our own to help people affected by the crushing financial debt caused by catastrophic illnesses. Even before my diagnosis, our family had dealt with several very serious illnesses and witnessed friends going through similar challenges. Steve and I decided that our charity would be called the Zippy Rose Foundation, incorporating my nickname, "Zippy". When we found ourselves in way over our heads, we knew that foundation had to be formed. And it will be. For now, we are an active part of Rams to the Rescue, which serves other graduates of my high school as well. Eblen Charities continues to be involved in some cases, and they have continued to support us throughout our ordeal. There is a special place in heaven for people like Bill Murdock, the staff and volunteers at Eblen, and the nearly 1000 friends who make up Rams to the Rescue. I feel a moral obligation to continue their good work through my own foundation - the sooner the better. With a logo already designed by my dear friend, Mark, we are taking steps towards making this "pay-it-forward" dream of mine official.
This morning, I posted information on the RTR site about another Facebook group that I co-founded and co-administer. It's called Curing Cancer with a Smile. The co-founder and leader of the group is Mike Terrill, a friend a met through a high school buddy, Norman Strickland. Mike has end-stage brain cancer. His prognosis is very poor. But he was so inspired last year by what my friends at RTR did to support me and others, that he decided to follow suit and start a group dedicated to supporting and lifting the spirits of cancer survivors, caregivers, families and friends. To date, we have nearly 1400 members, and we are averaging at least one new member a day. The support we give and receive is just amazing. Most importantly, we use the tremendously effective "medicines", love and laughter, to do our work. And we are doing some VERY good work - work that started with a very special group of people, appropriately named Rams to the Rescue.
What? There's an "up" side to cancer? Yep...there sure is. And in my case, it's a lot more than that; it is a true blessing. You see, I have learned that no matter how bleak my situation may appear to be at any given moment - no matter how bad I feel or how crushing the financial issues may seem - I am still one of the luckiest girls in the world. Because with all of the negatives surrounding my illness, I have discovered plenty of positives - starting with my amazing friends.
I was fortunate enough to grow up in the same city (Asheville, NC), in the same house, the same neighborhood, with the same kids throughout my childhood. Our family never had to move because of a parent's job, and most of the kids I grew up with were in the same position. For the most part, new kids moving into our school district were treated like royalty - a novelty of sorts. By the time we reached high school, we knew each other well. And even if we didn't, there was a very special sense of community surrounding my graduating class and many others before and after it. That close-knit feeling is very hard to replicate today - with changes in family dynamics, more transition, off-campus and internet courses, redistricting and new school construction, to name a few things.
Unlike most of my closest friends, I didn't visit home that much after leaving for college. When I relocated to Chapel Hill, NC to attend the University of North Carolina, I was only four hours away, but I quickly entrenched myself in college life, enjoying the freedom and life outside of my hometown. I stayed in Chapel Hill during the summers to work and attend summer school, so I didn't have as many opportunities to see the people I'd grown up with - except for my very closest childhood girlfriends, and those who were also students at UNC. I didn't attend any of my high school reunions, due to work or family commitments, and I began to feel very much out of the loop when it came to what was going on with people from my childhood. But make no mistake...I LOVED those people. I never forgot how special they made me feel, or all of the fun times we had. I hated the fact that we'd grown apart, and I truly longed to reconnect with some of them. Thankfully, the internet and Facebook changed all of that.
To this day, I will never forget the night about five years ago, when Facebook became very real to me. I had just joined the social network that our own kids were raving about. As I was "friending" old high school chums, one of my favorite friends, Kevin, started posting pictures from "back in the day." Another friend, Rodney, began commenting on the pictures. Soon, we were all captioning and commenting on the photos as quickly as Kevin could get them posted, recounting some of our more memorable "adventures". It was great fun, and kickstarted my reuniting efforts with literally hundreds of high school and childhood friends.
Fast forward to 2012...I was already one year into a cancer battle that had taken a turn for the worse. As I quickly learned, I wasn't the only one in this position. There were several survivors from my high school, one of whom asked repeatedly if my family and I needed help. I was being treated in Washington DC, and traveling there once a month for a week. I had lost my job, we had just lost our home to foreclosure, and the bills were mounting faster than we could open them. It was scary; so scary, in fact, that we reached a point where we could no longer afford to ignore or refuse help. We were destitute. All I had to do at that point was reach out to a few close friends and ask for their prayers. And that is ALL I asked for. But what they did with that request still amazes me to this day.
Because two of my friends had dealt first-hand with cancer and the devastating effects it has on finances, praying wasn't enough. No...they weren't going to stop there. They rallied my close friends from TC Roberson High School and started a movement, that within an hour became a Facebook group called Rams to the Rescue (named appropriately after our school mascot.) From there, they connected with Eblen Charities, a charity management group founded by another high school friend, Bill Murdock. Within days, there was a golf tournament being planned, wristbands with my nickname "Zippy Rose" were being ordered, people were sending donations and the best part of all - our support network was exploding. A Facebook page was opened, where people could post and offer us words of encouragement, and where I could communicate with members of the group to give them the latest information about our situation. I was completely dumbfounded by the selfless acts of kindness that repeatedly came our way.
My husband, Steve, and I have always talked about forming a foundation of our own to help people affected by the crushing financial debt caused by catastrophic illnesses. Even before my diagnosis, our family had dealt with several very serious illnesses and witnessed friends going through similar challenges. Steve and I decided that our charity would be called the Zippy Rose Foundation, incorporating my nickname, "Zippy". When we found ourselves in way over our heads, we knew that foundation had to be formed. And it will be. For now, we are an active part of Rams to the Rescue, which serves other graduates of my high school as well. Eblen Charities continues to be involved in some cases, and they have continued to support us throughout our ordeal. There is a special place in heaven for people like Bill Murdock, the staff and volunteers at Eblen, and the nearly 1000 friends who make up Rams to the Rescue. I feel a moral obligation to continue their good work through my own foundation - the sooner the better. With a logo already designed by my dear friend, Mark, we are taking steps towards making this "pay-it-forward" dream of mine official.
This morning, I posted information on the RTR site about another Facebook group that I co-founded and co-administer. It's called Curing Cancer with a Smile. The co-founder and leader of the group is Mike Terrill, a friend a met through a high school buddy, Norman Strickland. Mike has end-stage brain cancer. His prognosis is very poor. But he was so inspired last year by what my friends at RTR did to support me and others, that he decided to follow suit and start a group dedicated to supporting and lifting the spirits of cancer survivors, caregivers, families and friends. To date, we have nearly 1400 members, and we are averaging at least one new member a day. The support we give and receive is just amazing. Most importantly, we use the tremendously effective "medicines", love and laughter, to do our work. And we are doing some VERY good work - work that started with a very special group of people, appropriately named Rams to the Rescue.
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