It's bittersweet, I know, but I think St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis may be one of the happiest places on earth. I have a special connection to the hospital because my older brother, Paul, was a patient at St. Jude for years during our childhood. He is a cancer survivor and I have seen first hand that the thought of such a sad hospital holds some of the most vibrant memories for me. I understand that the babies, children, and teens going through the illnesses, treatments, and surgeries are living a scary and painful life but there is so much more to that pain and sorrow while there. The social workers and even doctors and nurses turn frowns upside down all day, everyday. The activities that are brought to the patients' beds are overflowing. The celebrities that visit just to make a difference are plentiful. The fact that these kids are getting million dollar medical help for zero dollars to their families is enough to warm a few hearts. My fondest memory of St. Jude is my first "sibling day" there. We were given pale green scrubs and became "doctors" for the day. I had the whole nine yards--mask, hat, booties, and outfit. We were the heroes for once. All day we did various hospital procedures and toured all the different wings of the hospital. I even remember putting in an iv (yes, it was fake) and then using the fun band-aids to cover the wound. I can so vividly picture butterflies, green tubing, vials of bloodwork and I can still smell the sanitization of the hospital....such a distinct smell. The best part of the day was wheeling a gurney down the "secret" tunnel that connects St. Jude to the old St. Joseph Hospital.
It is amazing to hear about the billions of dollars that is raised for the research and the treatment provided by St. Jude. I plan on doing my part this year as I plan on running the St. Jude half marathon in December. I hope to collect pledges from sponsors if I can finish the run. What can you do? Can you donate each month by becoming a Partner in Hope? Can you donate when you have a little extra one month by just going to the website?
I came across the video below from Mary Kate Rushing's Caring Bridge website that her mother continues to blog from. "MK" is the little girl from Greenville who just lost her battle with cancer a couple of months ago. She is featured in the video several times. It just made me re-think the fact that no one is safe from cancer or illness or accidents. I thought of my 22 month old baby girl and my soon-to-be 4 year old little boy as I watched the video. Those are my children's age kids on there. We are all angels passing through this life on earth. And speaking of angels, I love to look closer in pictures and see little reminders of us as angels. Lots of times, I see something in a photograph that is so ordinary but just because the picture was taken at that angle, the person appears to have wings or a halo. There are lots of times in this video that I saw this happen. My favorite in particular is of a little boy in a Spiderman shirt sitting in his hospital bed. The back of the bed appears to be his "wings." Look for him at 3:12 into the video. So pay attention to all the pictures and see what angels you find. Go to the bottom of the blog and pause the music before starting the video.
In the meantime, say a prayer today for the patients, nurses, and doctors at St. Jude. And hug your healthy babies a little tighter tonight.
