I’ll get back to issues next week, but this is on my heart today.
A decade ago, I got the news my mom and my sister were diagnosed with lung cancer. Two years after that, they were both gone. I lost my dad twenty years before that to the same disease. My husband had cancer twice, but for the last three and a half years, he’s been cancer free. We thank God for that every day.
Vanessa Hyatt Fugate lost her battle with cancer on August 13. Vanessa was a talented person who brought light into many people’s lives. She was a voice teacher for my daughter and one of those people that have an impact on your high school aged child that is more than the teacher they have for one subject and then move on. She instilled high standards in Suzanne with a lot of fun mixed in. She will be missed.
In this digital age, her husband, J. Scott Fugate, chronicled her life, but also her death. You can find it on his Facebook page. We all have to face death some day and Scott has done us a great service by sharing his grief and his love for Vanessa with all of us.
I have my own fears about cancer with three immediate family members dying before “their time” from the dreaded disease. Also, I’m a worrier and I worry about my husband and his remission. I also pray. I pray specifically every day for God to lay his healing hand and all those who need it, but also, to give us the strength to deal with whatever comes our way.
All we can do is take good care of ourselves, live each day. As the famous line in the recent “Cinderella” movie says, “Be kind and have courage.” God bless you, Vanessa and know that we know you are singing in heaven.
The CDC predicts with all the progress we’ve made related to heart disease that cancer will overtake heart disease as the number one killer of Americans each year. I hate cancer!
