I AM A SIBLING... A SIBLING OF A CHILD WITH CANCER.

However, that is not all I am, I am so much more. I am a person with needs and feelings. This website is designed by me, a sibling, for you, a fellow sibling, to offer help and to show you that you are so much more than just a sibling; you are a unique individual that cannot be classified or thrown aside. To show you and all you love this and so much more.

I am constantly looking up to my brother for strength, courage, and wisdom, and althought I am four years his senior, I and many other people could learn so very much form him. This is why I am proud and can honestly say he is my hero.

Overwhelming emotions of panic, fear, and sorrow gripped me on the pivotal night of March 6, 1998. Earlier that day wa a relatively normal day in my 5th grade life. I went to school during the day, and then later that afternoon sold girl scout cookies with friends at the local grocery store. The news that made that very day such a turning point not only in my life but for the ones I love, came later that night after my brother was sound asleep. I was informed that my brother, who at the time was six years old, had cancer. At that the time I was barely aware of what the disease really entailed let alone the inevitable effects it would have on my brother and the rest of my family.

Endless months of chemotherapy then came, radiation, surgery, and then the unforgettable two back-to back stem cell transplants. The treatments for this deadly disease were rigourous and while all this was ultimately benenfical to my brother's physical health, it wore down on his and my family's emotional health. Although I pray that nobody else be made to go through such terrible times, I would not trade my life or my past with anybody else, for it is these events that have formed the person I have become, and still have yet to be. Through these rough times I have dicovered some amazing things about myself, met people that have changed my life, and helped make a difference in the lives of others. One of the positive self-discoveries that came from this ordeal was the discovery of my talent and passion for singing when I wrote my first song, during the time my brother was in treatment. This song is titled “Not A Day Goes By” and was written in my brother's honor.