Why we shouldn’t take even seemingly small milestones for granted

It’s humbling when you realise the milestones you’ve reached (and often taken for granted) that others don’t reach…ever.

My friend, Lucy was one of the most beautiful human beings that ever graced this Earth.  She had this spirit about her that instantly lifted the vibe of a room as soon as she entered.  She had one of the most infectious laughs I’ve ever encountered and had a wicked sense of humour…not always entirely appropriate, but it was always at the expense of someone she knew would see the humour in it.

We met in hospital. We were room buddies while both admitted for thyroid surgery. She was admitted the day before me and when I came to the ward, the nurses thought they’d put me in a room with Lucy because, at this time, we were the only ones in the ward under 50! The nurses gathered we were similar in age and would rather share a room than share with someone old enough to be our Grandmother!

Our connection was instant. The nurses had no sooner wheeled me in than she was over at my bed introducing herself and giving me a hug.  Did I mention she LOVED hugs? We talked for hours! The nurses commented that usually just before surgery people are nervous and a little subdued; but we were laughing, talking and having a great time! 

Both our surgeries came and went and we were both discharged from hospital after exchanging numbers, emails and adding one another on facebook.

After we both attended our post op visit with the surgeon, she was unfortunately on the receiving end of not the best news.  She knew going into surgery that her Thyroid Cancer had spread and was quite far gone and aggressive, but it wasn’t until post op they really knew there was no reasonable treatment program that was going to give her a fighting chance. 

She fought like a trooper though. She gave it everything she had.  We kept in touch and shared our progress with each other and travelled each other’s journey together. As she progressively got sicker, it was clear the end was approaching.  I sent her so much love and did everything I could to make sure she knew I was right there until the end. She lost her battle July 31^st, 2012.  She was a few months short of turning 19.  If she were alive today, she would be coming up to 21. 

I am 23 turning 24 this year. Looking back on the things I’ve done that Lucy will never reach…celebrating her 21^st, going to university, having a licence and a car. So many small things that Cancer took away from her. 

This year I’m doing Dry July in her honour.  31 days without alcohol to raise money for adults living with cancer.  I’d really love it if you could donate to my Dry July challenge (and remembering if your donation is at least $2 you’ll also get yourself a nice little tax deduction come tax time!), or if not, please share my posts across social media so I can reach as many people as humanly possible! You can find my Dry July profile here: https://au.dryjuly.com/profile/nataliesmith

The friends who are family…

I was sent this image from a friend this morning and I believe there is a lot of truth in the sentiment it portrays.

I’m blessed with some friends who really are more like family than they are friends. We say on regular occasions that even though we don’t share DNA, that we are family.

Two ladies in particular; one I have known most of my life and the other, I’ve only known for about a year, but they are both equally important in my life and both are the older sisters who just don’t share my biology.

Sometimes we don’t completely realise the good we have until something happens where it’s put right in front of us to show us what we really mean to those around us. This happened to me last weekend.

Along with my two big sisters, a few of my nearest and dearest came together to support me at doing something close to my heart, and in doing so, showed me exactly what I mean to each and every one of them and showed me that even though I may not always know it, the interactions we have daily, makes their lives a little more special, just as they do to my life!

To the two beautiful friends I call sisters, you both know I love you so much and I’m thankful everyday for you both.

And to everyone who made last weekend what it turned out being, thank you. I’ll never be able to thank you enough. It means more to me than I can say.