To The Editor:

The annual shopping frenzy called “Black Friday” is now history; this wild, wacky day shopaholics love to celebrate with a shopping spree. But for my family it brings flashbacks of sickness, sorrow, and suffering.

Black Friday 2006 was the day that our 2 yr old granddaughter named Rebecca was diagnosed with ALL – acute lymphoma-leukemia. Each year I have vivid flashbacks of that terrible day!

While remembrance ribbons in all colors now recognize different kinds of cancer, we don’t need a ribbon to be reminded of the deadly diagnosis our ‘munchkin’ was given on that Black Friday! Rebecca’s symptoms included a constant ear infection, a ‘boo-boo’ on her knee that wouldn’t heal, bruises all over her little body, loss of balance as she’d fall and sometimes down the stairs, no appetite, when we tried to hug her, she’d cry in pain.

Black Friday 2006 wasn’t spent at the mall by our family. Instead that day Rebecca was diagnosed by 6 pm and before midnight admitted to the Oncology Dept. at Children’s Hospital. With only a faint glimmer of hope, she was now classified as a ‘slow responder’. After weeks of pricks, probes, transfusions, an IV pole named Sammy became her best pal. Our princess now ruled her kingdom from a hospital bed. She was now listed as a ‘slow responder’.

Weeks slowly passed and she was able to come home for Christmas. Our Christmas tree was decorated in blue and silver with tiny angels. Prayers went up around the world as we waited for God’s Healing Hand on her little body.

Finally our ‘munchkin’ came home to begin the long rocky road of chemo treatments with loss of her golden curls, loss of weight, and the other terrible side effects. Daily I searched to find things to be thankful for as Psalm 118:24 tells us to ‘rejoice and be glad’. Some days with tears and other times with thanks for her progress.

Today our Rebecca, a happy, healthy 11 year old, is our miracle. She’s energetic and loves to play sports i.e softball, volleyball, gymnastics. Watching her, we don’t need a colored ribbon – she’s a constant reminder of God’s healing hand.

At our house its ‘thanks-living’ each and every day. As a reminder we need to reach out to those parents sitting by the bedside of their child suffering with cancer. Let’s p-r-a-y for them and for a cure to be found s-o-o-n!

Libbie
“Gramma” Bennett