#team hidi

[allisonyoung]

I got to see Ryan Hidinger speak at Creative Mornings Atlanta. I couldn't help but draw parallels between him and my boss, Janice, as they both took on their cancer fights with amazing grace and strength. It's another sad day as Ryan has lost his cancer battle, but his words and impact live on in everyone's life he touched.

[jasondominy]

F Cancer.

There are times when words are far from me, where it's impossible to wrestle them up long enough to put them to written form. Then, there are times like now, where the words are spilling out faster than I can write them. This has been a really rough week for me, honestly. There was joyous news, and there was heartbreaking news, the perfect picture of life, I suppose. And as much as I want to embrace the good, embrace the joy of the best of what I heard, I can't, for the life of me, get past the worst of the news I heard all week. And today hit a breaking point for me. 

A very good friend of mine, who I've known for a long time, and who I've always respected, both her and her family, has a sister who's been valiantly fighting Breast Cancer. She's been in treatment now for almost three years, and I didn't know that it had gotten worse, but heard that last week she was hospitalized and has been there since. I received a text message tonight, just before my class, that the doctors were only giving her a few days to live. And my heart sank, tears welling up in my eyes, people coming into the Ponce City Dancing Goats for the class. And somehow I pulled together myself enough to teach a very successful class.

But as soon as I got in the car, it hit me again. I know the pain, I was at my Dad's bedside at the end of his life, holding his hand, seeing him gasp for breath through lungs that were no longer working. I remember well the confusion, the anger, the sadness, the questions, the lack of words. I remember having to speak to my Dad, knowing I knew absolutely nothing I could say to someone who was at the end of their life except "I love you." I feel my friends families pain, at the core of my heart I do. 

And just earlier tonight I had a great conversation with Jen Hidinger, whose husband Ryan is battling Stage IV Gallbladder Cancer. We were talking about an event I have coming up, and I was asking if there were other ways I could help as the couple move forward with their dream of opening their own restaurant "Staplehouse", which is what they were doing just before receiving the cancer diagnosis. Ever since I heard of Ryan's story, I've been gripped by it, wanting to help, for the sole reason that besides being an incredibly nice guy, this could happen to any one of us, and if it happened to me or my wife, I know folks would do the same for me. Ryan is fighting strong, and I absolutely want to do what I can to see their dream of "Staplehouse" become a reality. 

I cannot fathom words to express how my heart feels for those fighting this fight of cancer. It is a vicious beast, and it does not pick and choose. In moments like this I can only focus on what I can do. I can work as hard as I can to support those who are going through this battle. I can work as hard as I can to be a better friend, a better neighbor. And I can work as hard as I can to really know what's going on in the life of those around me, and not just what I see on Facebook. This is why the #2Dto3D project is so important. This is why community is so important. So many of us are fighting huge battles, climbing giant mountains, and working to overcome major obstacles. Hug more. Love more. Give more. Be more.

I've wanted to text message my friend back, but I don't have words, honestly. The only two words I can think of are "I'm sorry." But for some reason, those don't seem comfort enough. Cherish the moments you have with your loved ones. Cherish the time you spend with your friends. I know that's my plan. Tonight, I'm thinking of you Ang.