a fighting spirit!

Danda,

You ARE a fighter of the highest caliber. You have been your whole life. When things stood in your way you did not pity yourself, you bulldozed over adversity to show yourself you could achieve anything you put your mind to. Do you think this is perhaps what families who wait in line for an appointment with you see? I think so. They see someone who will help their children overcome their limitations because they see someone who is confident and that outs them at ease.

You do your victory dance. Even if the dance does not include jumping up and down you can close your eyes and imagine yourself dancing the Paso Dobles against cancer and beautifully defeating the horned bull who circles around you, or take yourself to Africa with the Kenyan Boys Choir (who do have a beautiful sound!) and let your body go, stomping your feet to the tribal voices that soar above strife in their homeland-there is a reason their first album was called Spirit of Africa becuase it is one's spirit that is the essence of who they are. Your spirit can carry you through.

Your spirit, Danda, will prevail. Looking in the mirror you see the battle wounds that you have endured, but that does not define you. It is that fighting spirit that continues to shine through. You are a beautiful person inside and out. You are someone we are all so proud of and you will beat this thing. Allow yourself to hope. It is human to hope. It propels us forward. It helps us live for the next day when things can be better than the day before in any small way. I hope for you all the time and will not stop.

I love you so much. And send you all my hope not in a bottle, but in the air that fills your lungs and allows you to take deep breaths and put you at ease. Keep it up! You are making progress! Your body may be weak, but your SPIRIT is strong (I cannot change this line to green to match the rest of the post, I think someone is trying to tell me something-maybe they secretly want this line to stand out, so I will stop fighting it and let it be!)

Big hugs and kisses,

Alexis