Sara

I count myself lucky and extremely blessed to have someone like Sara in my life. Sara was my fiance at the time, and is now, happily my wife.

When I first was diagnosed, it was hard on everyone. Me, my friends and my family, but one thing it taught me was who my friends were and who really cared about me. I always read about how some really good friends leave, and some you barely talked to might all of a sudden become a big part of your life again. I have to say I found this to be true. A lot of my good friends left, but the ones who stayed I have to say I am much closer to, and they are all great people.

I know what it is like to get sick, I do not know what it is like to see the person you care most about get that ill. I am sure it was a terrible thing to watch, but  Sara showed her courage and how amazing a person she was through the whole ordeal. I know it was very tough on her, but she never wilted under pressure.

The whole thing was tough for both of us. I used to take care of most of the household chores so Sara could focus on work. Everything changed when I got sick, plus we had so many more things that needed to be done. Sara took care of every appointment (made sure I knew when I was going, I was there on time, etc.). Any prescription I needed, she would go and get, when I wasn't feeling well she would contact all the emergency lines for me, and on top of that took care of things like groceries, cleaning, and anything else you could think of around the house.

Sara was, and is my rock. Writing a short blog post does nothing to give her the credit she deserves. But it is a start. Too much of this fell on her because we live really far away from our families (not that they didn't want to help, most times they were just too far away, but they came whenever they could!). She was a champ the whole time, and needless to say, I am not sure how well I would of done without her. It makes me so amazed and impressed by people who do it all on their own, unfortunately this happens too often.

She has stuck with me the whole time, and I owe her everything. Lately we have been traveling more, and going after bigger goals in life. Last year we did the Ride to Conquer Cancer in Vancouver and raised almost $9000 for cancer research, and we are doing it again this year! (www.conquercancer.ca/goto/eamonnc). We got married, something I thought would never happen, and most importantly we are healing. It is a slow process, every day I realize how lucky I am to have her.

I wish everyone, sick or healthy had someone like Sara. When so many people left, she proved what an amazing person she is, not just to me, but to the world.

    Me and Sara at the Ride to Conquer Cancer start line (raining!)