Hi All, 

As July comes to an end, this website has been up for three years now! I have my cousin Tom to thank for creating this amazing place for me to keep people up to date. Although, I must admit to my hesitation to do so, as it feels very egotistical to write about myself. I wonder if the posts are even read and am shocked every time I see the numbers move on the counter, which is almost at 108,500 hits!

While looking at the guestbook page, I was overcome by sadness at seeing one of the last posts. It was from Mary Firth, in November of 2009. You may remember me writing about the Firth family--Molly and I went to the same college. Sadly, Molly died at 36 of a brain tumor. I then wrote about her younger brother who died of the same cancer one year later. He was 32. I also wrote about their sister Mary, who was fighting melanoma. What I didn't write was that she lost her battle in February. Mary was 35. Molly, John and Mary are survived by their parents and two sisters. I can't even begin to imagine what their days are like. All I know is that any time I'm having a bad day, I think of them and realize how very lucky I am.

I owe all that luck to each and every one of you. Each and every one of you that prayed for me, donated, asked about me, sent a card; you are the very reason that I am still alive. For that, I am so grateful. Because of that gratitude, along with the guilt I feel for having survived while others did not, I have realized the importance of making a difference, just as each of you has made a difference in my life. Therefore, I am currently getting my Masters so I can hopefully help other cancer patients as much as other's have helped me.

Please keep up the prayers, as I go to Houston for my three month scans next week. And as always, please keep Chris Coulon in your prayers too. The graft vs. host has been affecting his vision, but he recently recovered from a few other setbacks and is feeling better this week. His spirit is immense!

With love and gratitude,

Jen