running away

When you encounter a personal loss or tragedy, you find that many others have similar experiences they are willing to share. When my mom was diagnosed with leukemia, my family soon learned of people who were dealing with cancer or who had lost a loved one. While life moves along, we don't even know about the people in our midst who are dealing with tremendous hardships.

There are 35,000 new cases of leukemia diagnosed each year. Although the survival rate for some types of leukemia is much higher, people with the type my mom had (AML) have just a 20% chance of living for 5 years.

A few months after losing my mom, Rebecca came to work in our office. She was still a law student and in her last year at Suffolk. Right away she impressed us with her intelligence, sense of humor and no-nonsense attitude. She was interested in the kind of law my dad practices, and wanted specifically to work with him. Not long after she started, we were talking about my mom and Rebecca explained that she had leukemia as a child. It seemed an unbelievable coincidence to me, and is one of the things that convinced me there was a higher power that sent her into our lives.

Rebecca, now 31, has committed to running a half-marathon in San Diego to raise money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She is dedicating this endeavor to her grandfather, who had a chronic form of leukemia, and died just last month. Rebecca's goal is to raise $6,000 by June when the event takes place. She plans to go to San Diego with her mom, who has a heightened sense of pride in Rebecca's various accomplishments after seeing her battle leukemia at such a young age. Thus far Rebecca is taking her training seriously, and has even prompted me to get to the gym more often!

If you would like to contribute, you can give a check payable to LLS to me and I will pass it along. You can also make a contribution online through Rebecca's LLS page. In addition to the name of her grandfather, Rebecca is going to wear on her running shirt the names of anyone in whose honor or memory a donation is made.

Remember that people we encounter every day have weathered difficulties, and may even be facing adversity right now. Someone may appear inconsiderate because his or her mind and heart are elsewhere. Being mindful of this, you will more readily respond to others with kindness, patience and understanding. In some small way, or maybe even a profound way, you could be a bright spot during someone's trying time.