Perspective

On Tuesday night, I watched a program about children living with cancer. It highlighted the children living at St. Jude's Research Hospital. St. Jude's never turns a patient away and it doesn't cost the parents a thing. That way, children who are diagnosed with even stage 4 cancer can receive the treatment they deserve. I believe they deserve it because they're children. And it's cancer. The children on the program were different ages, but a 3 year old and 15 month old really caught my attention. The 3 year old stated things simply, "I live at St. Jude's because I have Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and I'm too sick to go home." What 3 year old says that?! The 15 month old boy had leukemia and wore a mask while he ran down the hallways giving the nurses high-fives. I bawled my eyes out during the entire program.

I've beat stage 3 cancer. It was hard enough being diagnosed at 23 and enduring daily chemotherapy...but I wasn't a child. This really put things into perspective for me. I seriously want to return all the Christmas gifts we've purchased and give to those kids and their families instead. Or volunteer at a homeless shelter dishing up their Christmas meal. That's way I grew up. We surfed on Christmas morning, went to downtown Los Angeles and gave out toys to homeless children and shoes to the adults, then hit a movie that night. Sure, it was different, but I'll never forget those memories.

I can't get these thoughts out of my head. I need to get my son into the holiday tradition of giving to and helping those who aren't as fortunate as he is. Those poor children living with cancer are going through things that adults shouldn't ever have to go through.