Cancer Doesn't Discriminate

Today my heart is hurting for a family that I don't know well. A vibrant young mother has been taken from her family far too soon by cancer. I met her years ago, when she and her sister were teenagers, and the heaviest thing on their minds was which rodeo they were going to the next weekend. Haley Thompson was a barrel racing and all around champion in junior high and high school rodeo, even going on to compete and win at the next level. She was young, she was beautiful, she was tough - not at all the kind of person you would think of when someone said the words "cancer patient." Unfortunately, I know for a fact that cancer does not discriminate. It attacks the old, the young, the healthy, and the sick. It seeks out mothers, fathers, children, sisters, and brothers.
I hadn't seen or talked to Haley in years, but to be perfectly honest, I prefer to think of her as young, vibrant, and beautiful, and that's how I'll remember her. Many people I am friends with on social media sites have written that they are praying for her family. I hope that they are, and I truly hope that those who wrote that they are her friends were also there for her during her life. My most sincere hope is that they will continue to be there for her children.
As a mother, my heart hurts for Haley's mother. Losing a child, no matter what the age of that child, is an exquisite agony that no parent should ever have to live through. I can't think of anything more horrible. As someone who lost their mother to cancer, my heart hurts for her young sons. Losing a parent, particularly your mother at a young age is a pain like no other. Each milestone in their lives, whether they are children or adults, will forever be bittersweet because she's not there to share it with them. I'm so sorry, boys. May God bring to you the peace that passes all understanding.
I chose to use the news of her death last night as a reason to thank God over and over again for my health and the health of my children and husband. I am reminded today that we shouldn't take a second of our lives for granted, particularly if we are lucky enough to share those seconds with the people we love.