by Mark
The day I was told I had a 4.3 cm tumor within my head was as if someone had tossed on top of me a hundred lead blankets, the kind you wear during x-rays at the dentist. After it was removed, the subsequent diagnoses was anaplastic ependymoma WHO grade III. That's when it rained boulders.
Surrounded by the love of family, friends, and community, I am blessed. I wish I could spread that love to others in need because I have to believe that the battle for the spirit is as important as the fight itself against the cancer. At the very least it helps along the bumpy ride.
Here are a few random quotes and one of my favorite poems to share that I hope will help you as much as they help me. I think it's the simple beauty of the poem and the simple humanity of the quotes that help keep me strong.
"I can get sad, I can get frustrated, I can get scared, but I never get depressed - because there's joy in my life."
- Michael J. Fox
"Some days there won't be a song in your heart. Sing anyway."
- Emory Austin
The Red Wheelbarrow
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
- William Carlos Williams
Please support the great work of the National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS) and the Collaborative Ependymoma Research Network (CERN) in any way you can. These organizations are the lodestone for those affected by and afflicted with this disease and the people involved deserve a standing ovation for their service.
Mark's story is chronicled in his personal blog
