Paying It Forward

Despite our current DSL issues I've been able to catch up a little today on my blog reading. As much as I enjoy my regular reads I'm getting a big kick out of meeting so many wonderful people who left comments, e-mails, and tweets over the weekend in support of Ben and our family. You folks are absolutely amazing. I'm truly convinced that the prayers and meditations throughout the Blogosphere had much to do with Ben's quick recovery.

With that fresh on my mind I would dearly appreciate the same kind of response for a valued friend of ours. Kelly is the mother of Jenelle, a beautiful six-year-old girl who has a rare form of Epilepsy called Lennox Gastaut Syndrome. Kelly blogs about their life at Jenelle's Journey. You can imagine how similar our family's lives are and it has been a real treat to have found them during our blog's infancy.

Because of our circumstances I didn't find out until this morning that Kelly was diagnosed with leukemia just a few days ago (Acute Myeloid Leukemia/Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia - AML/APL). In fact she began treatment on Thanksgiving Day. I am absolutely heartbroken over this. Although she obviously has a great support group around her including her husband and son, she needs and deserves all the love, courage, and determination all of us can give her.

Please show my friend, an exceptional hero, the same kind of love and grace that have filled these pages over the past several days. And Godspeed, Kelly! I know you will beat this!