This poem was written and posted on the Inspire website and I thought the author touched the very nerve of what a patient and their loved one faces when diagnosed with cancer (in this case brain).
Some may remember the author, Jana, (who wrote this as an ode to her son who died of brain cancer - Avii proved this was all true by finding his obituary) suspected a few of the longs on this board as being shills for NWBO when a few posters here would post about DCVax-L - which is really too bad - and in turn, some here thought she was in turn paid to post on the Inspire board against DCVax-L. Of course, neither premises are true.
Anyway Jana, if you find out I posted this here, I hope you don't mind.
Hello Everyone, Just don't know what got into me this morning, but I got a streak of inspiration that produced this:
AN ODE TO BRAIN CANCER In memory of my son, Aaron
For the startling news that makes something break inside and the mind go blank, For the shock that makes the ground under one’s feet shake, For the sleepless nights and cold sweats, For the fear that makes one come face to face with oneself, I cry.
For the hours spent in waiting rooms and days with stomachs empty and knotted waiting to hear results, For the desperation mingled with hope that chases second and maybe even third or fourth opinions, For the consuming distraction of precious time and energies, For all the ruined hopes and expectations, sadness and pain, I cry.
For the little ones watching, confused and anxious, For the spouses, significant others, parents, grandparents and other loves ones who cry in the middle of the night when no one can see, For the friends who don’t know what to say so they say nothing, For the relationships that get gnarled or lost along the way, I cry.
For degrees that can’t be completed and jobs that can’t be kept, For damaged futures and finances, insurance hassles, and insensitive bureaucrats, For the social workers and therapists that couldn’t help, For scam artists and charlatans that come to prey, I cry.
For the engagements, weddings, births and birthdays never celebrated, For cancelled vacations or vacations that could not be planned, For the homes never bought and those that had to be mortgaged, For the shattered dreams of life left undone, I cry.
For the hurtful words said by the frightened or well-meaning, For the indignities of hair that falls out, surgical scars, the bruises from infusions and blood tests, For the unwanted looks of pity on peoples’ faces, For the restrictive diets and food favorites that shouldn’t or cannot be eaten anymore, I cry.
For nerves that go numb, For the arms and legs that are too weak to work properly, For the nausea and fatigue, misguided taste buds, impaired vision, For the confusion and erasures of memories, For drug-spawned moodiness and words not meant, For the eyes clouded and pained by pounding headaches, For the desperation that grows into depression, I cry.
For long-term survivors who are living proof there is a reason to hope, For the loving caregivers who emerge from all backgrounds, and learn with a robust determination to take care no matter what, For kind friends who can be trusted to call, to bring food, flowers and encouragement even when others may have faded away, For those amazing people who just seem to know how to bring a comforting perspective and help us let go of what we cannot control, but fight for what we can, For the unbreakable relationships forged or strengthened in the heat of this disease, I celebrate.
For the people who gave up years of fun and freedom to study so that they could help those with brain cancer, For those MRI and rehab technicians, infusion nurses and surgical staff who do their work with utmost care and humanity, For the social workers who offer their shoulders and provide helpful assistance, For the prayer warriors who plead relentlessly, For hospice staff who lower the stairs of Heaven a bit when those steps are just too tall for us, For the grief-stricken who swallow their pain of loss and lend support to those fresh to the brain cancer journey, I celebrate.
For extraordinary courage and resilience shown by those in the brain cancer community over and over and over again, For those who get up each day bravely focused only on that one day, For the kisses and “I love yous” that do so much to comfort the spirit, For the numerous complaints that are justified to be voiced, but are left unsaid for the sake of peace, For those whose character and principles are not eroded by this disease, For those who refuse to see themselves as powerless and waiting for brain cancer to work its worst, For those who live in the darkness of this disease, but still shine a bright light in this world, I celebrate.
For those pure souls, sparks of God, who are tethered to the physical challenges of brain cancer’s fury, but refuse to be identified solely by their diagnosis, For their courage toward themselves and for their compassion toward others despite their own weighty concerns, For Faith that is tempest-tossed and tested, but not broken, For Grace that allows one to stand with strength or that brings angels to lean on, For Hope that permits one to see beyond the reaches of this disease, For Love that endures above and beyond all brain cancer and never, ever goes away, I celebrate.
