I walk for my Mom, Pat Stonehawker
I walk for my Mom, Pat Stonehawker, who passed away from AML in March 2015, and for my sister Natalie, an AML survivor who was diagnosed in May 2015
The biggest challenge in my blood cancer experience is the fear of the unknown. Does your loved one have 6 months? Does she have only 2 months? Is the bone marrow transplant going to work? Are we going to lose her? You feel a looming sense of dread behind every decision made.
Constantly researching AML is like a coping mechanism - you feel better if you know as much as you can - but you still never feel like you have any control as everything can change so quickly.
In terms of how my life has been changed by a blood cancer, I had to grow a lot as a human; I had to learn a lot about myself. I often wanted to ignore the hard stuff, instead of feeling all the emotions as they came. I had to accept every single feeling as a valid feeling. I went through each stage of grief when each family member was diagnosed. I had to learn to lean into each emotion and that really changed me as a person. My empathy levels have really grown, as have my children's. They can empathize with someone who is sick, or if their little friends' grandparents have gotten sick. These hard experiences shape us and make us better humans in the long-term.
I discovered Light The Night through an e-mail I received from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada. I thought that Light The Night sounded really fun and seemed like it was a beautiful way to honour my sister and mother. It was such a beautiful experience; they do such an amazing job with the fireworks, the hot chocolate, treats and the kids' activities - everyone just loves it. You feel like you are a part of something really special. There are so many volunteers and businesses who have donated their time and energy and it's amazing to feel all that love and support from the community. It is a really great celebration of the strength of all the blood cancer patients. It is a beautiful night to celebrate all the survivors and remember those who have lost their lives in the Kilometre of Remembrance. It's all just beautiful and really touching - just an amazing event to be part of.
Light The Night is such a beautiful and inspiring event, that I feel anyone who would attend could be inspired by hearing the stories and being a part of the community. They do a really phenomenal job putting the event together and honouring those affected by blood cancers.
