Life is too short

I'm sorry I'm not blogging a lot lately. It's been tough. I'm getting used to a whole new life with two kids and a whole new schedule of working 12 hour shifts. I'm hoping to get back to blogging this month. But nothing I've been going through compares to what friends of mine have been going through and I have to tell their story.

This is a post that I have to write.

GREAT friends of ours C & D, have a beautiful daughter, Gwen. Her birthday is August 24th. This month, she'll be one.

So far in her short little life, she's learned to sit up. To crawl. She's gotten some teeth. She's learned to laugh and smile.

And she's gotten leukemia.

She was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myleocytic Leukemia) on April 24th, 2011, her 8 month birthday. She was admitted to St. Louis Children's Hospital, one of the best children's hospitals in the nation. Things were going great for her for a bit. But as of late, they've turned much worse.

C&D found out this past weekend that this cancer has turned from treatable to terminal and any further treatment would be more harmful than helpful. So it is with a heavy heart that they decided to end all treatments and just enjoy the little time they have left with their daughter.

They at least have the comfort of knowing that they did everything right. There wasn't a single thing to do differently. As soon as they noticed something out of ordinary with Gwen, they went to the doctor and got her diagnosed immediately with AML. They started fighting aggressively and started the chemo right away. They fought long and hard and unfortunately this was just something that couldn't be beaten.

It's so hard to think about; life is just too short.

It goes against the grain to bury a child. It's just not supposed to happen. I love my parents more than anything in the world. I don't want to ever bury them. EVER. But I can understand it. It's a part of life. People get old. They get sick. They die. But not 11 month old babies. I can't understand that. I can't accept that.

Hug your kids a little tighter tonight. Give them extra kisses. Let them eat that chocolate right before bed and let them stay up an extra ten minutes. Because life is too short. You just never know what's going to happen...

We are still saying prayers for you Gwen. Miracles happen every day and I'm a big believer in that. I'm still praying for C&D too. I believe there is a reason for everything. I have no idea what the reason would be for you two to have to go through this, but I believe there is a reason. Stay strong. We love you all.