Not wanting to steal the thunder…

Right from the start of this endeavor, Ken has allowed me to be a contributing entity to this blog.  I’ve kept my fingers and my thoughts at bay as Ken is a fine writer and this is (after all) his “baby”.  Even so… if you have even the slightest savoir-faire of a computer mouse, then subsequently you should also be aware that I too am a fellow blogger.  I have been posting the trials and tribulations and general tomfoolery of my family for about 5 years now… the last few primarily revolving around our struggles of keeping Emmah healthy and the cancer away from (and out of) her while maintaining a facade of a normal family life… and as best we could, a normalcy for Emmah, the other five kids and ourselves… ourselves being Julie and myself. 

We fought the good fight and got beat by a deadly and “resourceful” cancer. 

Nobody wants to hear that they have cancer… nobody… let alone hear that their child has it!  Just like everything else (I imagine) when faced with a circumstance such as this, you hope for the best and prepare for the worst.  Prepare as you might (and do) you can never be sure that you are sufficiently prepared to engage in this battle… and it is a battle.  As is the case too when faced with such an opponent, you (at worst) hope for a "treatable" and/or (at best) a curable cancer, but we don’t get to pick our opponent… it picks you. 

I realize that it’s easy to make this next statement in light of what has happened to us, but after doing our initial research on Neuroblastoma, I can honestly say that this would not be at the top of our pick list as it is a notorious relapser.  More often than not, when that happens… let’s just say that the results aren’t what you would call desired.  There is many a story that end the same way ours did.  While it has a low number of annual cases (compared to others) it makes up something like 15% of all the deaths associated with pediatric cancers.

It is an insidious disease.

Ken and Lynn are about to embark on (to borrow a line from Vizzini... The Princess Bride) an  "Inconceivable!" battle of their own... one that is totally different than ours yet (to us mortals) equally unimaginable.  

Much like we did, Ken and Lynn are hoping for the best outcome for this gigantic undertaking.  If for some odd reason they’re not (yeah… right…) we are.  I’m not going to mention anything more (than this) about the worst... not even going to go there.  They have prepared themselves physically and mentally... though Ken was wondering how many shoes to bring... for the record, I suggested one for each foot.  

I am sure that they have prepared themselves sufficiently and we completely expect to see them sprinting across that finish line...

Okay walking will do...

Actually, crawling and/or rolling… or even being dragged (and still breathing) will also be acceptable methods of a finish. 

In all honesty, I hope that they are able finish in whatever fashion they have envisioned for themselves… and if I know Ken (and I do) they will be in an all out sprint with a headlong dive over the finish line exclaiming “Did we win?!?”

It is a privilege to call Ken my friend… albeit an odd one… but a privilege just the same.  Though I haven’t personally met Lynn, I, as is Julie, am very much looking forward to it when we get that chance at the end of the race on the 27th.  To embark on such an undertaking with having never met Emmah and to run for her and in her memory (not to mention having to put up with Ken for - all - those - miles) says a lot about her character and a lot about her as a human being. 

It will be a privilege to make her acquaintance and call her friend.

The past three and a half years (prior to her passing) that we battled Emmah’s illness were a test of many things.  We know that we are (and will be) facing many new tests moving forward as we try to begin our lives anew without Emmah’s physical presence in it.

While we can (and will) personally thank Ken and Lynn… we realize that we can’t thank each and every one of you personally.  We also know that to simply say ‘thank-you’ seems inadequate and trite.  However, we hope that this most heartfelt Thank-you will serve in its intention by letting you all know how truly thankful (and humbled) we are for the support that you have given us.  Whether you donated spiritually or monetarily, we don’t know where we’d be without it.

Going forward, we will strive to ‘pay it forward’ and to be as giving of ourselves to others in need as you all have been to us.

Thank you Ken

Thank you Lynn

Godspeed to you both...

See you at the finish line! 

KEIYH