June 29, 2011

VALUABLE LESSONS CAN BE LEARNED FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIFE-THREATENING ILLNESSES!

Recently, I have been touched by several young people who have been fighting for their lives to beat the life-threatening illness of cancer. Last week, I learned about the young man in the video above, Connor Bourke, who has been fighting a rare form of brain cancer for the last several years. I learned about this young man on another young boy's Facebook profile who was also named Conner; however, the first Conner I had been following (Conner James) lost his battle on Saturday evening. As I watched Connor Bourke's video, it occurred to me that people who suffer through life-threatening illnesses have important lessons that can learned by each and every one of us if we allow their words to seep through our conscience. 

My family are not strangers to the cancer illness. If you have been following my blog, you already know that my husband was diagnosed with esophageal and stomach cancer a year and a half ago. We know the struggles these families face and the challenges they must overcome every day. However, there is one thing about cancer patients that seems to be the same with most of them. They all seem to have the same positive outlook on life. When my husband was going through all his treatments and preparing for his surgery, he never complained about what he was facing. He did what he had to do in order to get better, and this is what this little boy is doing also. He is remaining positive, and he is teaching us to be the best that we can be, especially to be ourselves.

Each day we have the opportunity to learn a different life's lesson. However, if you want to learn some of the most valuable lessons you will ever receive, visit your local oncology center and sit down and speak to the people who are receiving chemotherapy treatments. Most of their outlooks are extremely amazing. I was blessed to speak to so many people during my husband's treatments, and most of them had the same thing to say. Life is an extremely, precious gift. As they looked back on their lives, the only things that mattered were the people who were close to them in their lives. The jobs, the materialistic objects, the money, none of it no longer mattered. Some of our most valuable lessons can be learned through people who are suffering from life-threatening illnesses!