So yesterday I had the honor of going to visit my friend Christine while she was getting her Chemo. Christine and I met in 2001 shortly before Daniele and I got married. Chris and I became good friends pretty quickly. We both were working for an internet company and I left and shortly after she left. I was working in a restaurant and Christine got a job as facilities coordinator for Liberty International. Christine was working downtown during 9/11. After 9/11 I lost my job in the restaurant and had been out of work for several weeks when she called and offered me a temp job at Liberty. She then encouraged me to apply for the assistant job in Environmental and that's how I got in at Liberty where I've managed to move up to underwriting. So thank you Chris for pushing me to interview. My job has been a true blessing! Christine hasn't had an easy time of it at least in the 7 years I have known her. She lost two people extremely close to her, she had a very scary child birth experience and in May 2008, she was diagnosed with HERS2 breast cancer. It's one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer from what I've been told. So far she's endured 5 months of Chemo. She's down to two more treatments before they start prepping her for major surgery. I didn't find out all of this until August or September. I hadn't seen her in a long time but promised I'd come visit her one day while she was getting her Chemo. I got to do that yesterday. I have to say her attitude is simply amazing. She has a great outlook, a constant smile on her face and seems at peace with what she is going through. She manages to still take care of her 3 year old while go through what appears to me to be torture, but to her is just what she has to do.
She gave me her Christmas card yesterday. I made a comment about how early she had them done and she said - "Well I had to get my picture taken before I lost all my eyelashes" I giggled because that's just Christine. She is THAT prepared. I think I would have been too caught up in it all. But not her. Looking at her Christmas card with Tom and her son George...you would never know she is in the fight of her life. She's an inspiration. So Chris, I am keeping your Christmas card above my computer in my cube at work....to look at when I think I'm having a bad day. To inspire me to know...I'm so blessed and whatever I might be going through really isn't that bad and also how blessed I am to have you as a friend.
I know she's going to be OK....Christine is a fighter - the kind that only knows how to fight because she's done it her whole life. In spite of that, what I know to be true about her character, I'm asking all who read this to please just say a prayer for her and her recovery, that God not give her anymore than she can handle in a day and that with HIS help, she beats this and heals quickly so she can go do what she does best....and that's be a mom her her 3 year old.
