Team Jess

In March, one of our dear friends was diagnosed with an aggressive form of blood cancer. As a mom to two little girls, she was determined to win the fight-- and to ignore the fright. Her motto became, "Focus on the Fight, not the Fright." And true to her brave and courageous spirit, that's exactly what she did and continues to do. In July, she entered OHSU for the grueling process of inductive chemo and a bone marrow transplant. 

That same week, the Be the Match organization held its annual 5k run/walk downtown. As anyone on the sidelines of cancer understands, Jess' group of friends wanted to do "something" to help ease the burden. There's a sense of helplessness to watch a friend fight a battle without being able to step in and take over when her own body gets exhausted. And so, we did what we could to support Jess-- including creating "Team Jess" for the Be the Match event. 

While we were huffing and puffing through the streets of Portland during the race, we had a view of the hospital up on the hill where Jess was enduring unbelievable doses of strong chemo. Thinking of her struggle, I (and surely many others running alongside me) silently sent prayers up to her room as we weaved through the streets of Portland. It was a powerful and wonderful day. 

Two days later, Jess received her bone marrow transplant, using her brother's stem cells, and is doing remarkably well. For this, I am grateful beyond measure.