My best friend in the entire world has a brain tumor..
Thats a pretty loaded statement - not only for me but for her.
There are days when I talk to Rachel and I can tell she doesn't feel good, her head often times kills her.
But she keeps trucking on, she is a wife, mother of three, sister and VERY loved friend by many.
I have known Rachel for five years, she stands at 5'2 and couldn't weigh more than 125. Shes a little spit fire, and has a vivacious personality. Someone I go to when I need a boost or some encouraging words.
When I found out Rachel had a brain tumor I was scared, scared for her and scared to loose her. But she has the best outlook on life, positive and uplifting she quickly changed my mind. Rachel is a fighter, and doesn't let herself get down very much if she does she doesn't make it a known fact.
I remember the first day I met Rachel; the twins her oldest, where two and running around the house naked (sorry Rachel) she was chasing them. She quickly looked at me and said hi and then kept running. It wasn't to long after that, that I got a phone call from Rachel to watch the boys. Watching the boys started our friendship, I would watch them while she was at work or her and her husband wanted to go out. That turned into her husband having to watch them so we could go out to dinner. We would sit at our local Mexican restaurant for hours till they where closing. Just talking about whatever, besides Tony she knows all my deepest darkest secrets.
Her kids are another aspect to our relationship. I love them like they where my own. I watched them grow up and still continue to. I'd say after not living at home for three years, the only thing I miss is them their the only reason I cry when I leave home. That family is my own, in a very special way.
Here are some words that Rachel posted on Facebook earlier today, she didn't let her tumor be a known fact to everyone she encountered but she is making a change to become an advocate for brain tumors as am I.
"I have made the decision to fully embrace the life I have been given. I will not live in the shadows of the illness that has been cast upon me. I am not a victim, I do not need sympathy, nor am I ‘sick’. I am just an individual who is trying to make the best out of an otherwise less than thrilling situation. I wear a smile on my face and feel happiness in every moment I have to walk this Earth. However, I still find myself hiding behind a secret truth which has defined the way I choose to live my life. I am stepping out of my natural bubble of comfort and taking a stand against brain tumors. I have been battling a primary brain tumor for seven years. I underwent brain surgery in 2008 in an attempt to remove the tumor but it has been proven to be just as stubborn as I am. Today I step out of the shadows; I have accepted the fact that I will spend the remainder of my life fighting; fighting for awareness, fighting for a cure, and fighting for a longer future. My friends, I ask for your support as I participate in the Portland Brain Tumor Walk on August 20, 2011. I will be raising money for research, to support families who are currently coping with the effects of a brain tumor diagnosis, and advocate for change. If you would like to make a donation please visit the link below, it will take you directly to my fundraising page. Please feel free to forward the link to your friends and family and together we can help continue the research, support those who are affected by brain tumors and advocate for change. Thank you my friends for your dedicated support, encouragement, and advocacy!
May is brain tumor awareness month!! Post a grey ribbon as your profile picture during the month of May to help raise awareness of brain tumors
Love to all of you,
Rachel <3"
All that I am asking from my readers is a small donation to help her walk this August in the Portland Brain Tumor Walk. Donate what you can, a small donation will go a very long way. It's not the most publicized but by the time August rolls around I will have plastered it all over my blog for my friend.
So it'd take 5 minutes to donate, I am donating, I can't walk with her but I will be raising money for her.
Love ya Rach <3
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