Life is Precious...

"Health is the best and most prized thing a human can possess." These are the words of a friend of mine who is recovering from a burst appendix that went undiagnosed for many months.

If you've forgotten that life is precious, I have a suggestion. Spend some time with someone who is fighting to stay alive.

Julie is a 40-yr old single mom of a 10-yr old child. She's a non-smoker, the youngest of nine chldren, with parents in their late 70's. Most of her family lives in other provinces and, when she chose to have a child out of wedlock, relationships with her siblings became strained. Today, she is fighting for her life so she can see her son grow up to be a man.

Julie beat cancer once. Misdiagnosed for about a year, the breast cancer ravaged her body. A radical mastectomy, radiation, chemotherapy, and prayer, faith and love saved her life. Cancer-free for about a year, she carried on with her life, sharing her story and inspiring others to remember that life and loved ones are precious.

But this isn't the end of her story, as the cancer returned with a vengeance. Now in three other areas of her body, she faces treatment again. She hasn't been given much hope, and will be seeing BC's faint-hope chemo doctor this week, who has some amazing recovery stories from his clinic. I hope and pray that she becomes one of them.

Julie has an amazing spirit, she's a fighter and she says she isn't going down without a battle. She has too much to live for, namely a 10-yr old angel, an honor student in school, a healthy, happy child, with an engaging wit, and a playful glimmer in his eye. He is his mom's right arm right now, as her own right arm isn't working too well. He plays Nintendo DS with a passion, and cares for their two cats. He's learning to cook and do laundry, and he attends summer day camps at Science World and the Zoo like every other kid.

Every day, when you make the decisions that come with being a human on planet Earth, remind yourself that life is precious. And ask yourself, what have you done for life or for others today?