Fire and the Fight

Last year on Independence day we were watching the fireworks with our son from the one place we never expected to be, the hospital. My son Lincoln was diagnosed with A.L.L. (leukemia) on July 1st and we were in the oncology unit at Doernbecher's children's hospital (OHSU) in Portland, OR. The hospital is way up high above the city and there is a sky bridge where you can see a lot of Portland from. The fireworks were a little harder to see, but once in awhile you could see someone shoot up one of the big illegal ones from their house. Needless to say, it wasn't the most impressive show I have ever seen, but for a two year old, it was exciting.

Independence day is a day to celebrate freedom, the freedom that we enjoy that came at the cost of other people's lives. Everyday our country fights for this freedom but we don't always recognize the price that someone else paid for us. When my son was diagnosed with cancer we felt like our freedom was taken away and we were the ones paying the price. During this last year we realized that we were not the only ones losing our freedoms, but that thousands of other children have paid the ultimate price in the battle against cancer. When I started seeing how many kids were fighting cancer on the internet it was like a big fireworks show that started exploding in the night sky. Now whenever I watch the big fireworks shows I will remember that kids everywhere are fighting, just to be free from cancer.

Here is my poem and a picture I took, feel free to share it anywhere, and just like those who fought for our freedoms, remember kids fighting for their own lives this 4th of July.

Fire fighting Kids http://www.facebook.com/#!/redcarpetkidsforthecure

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