"Ribbons of Teal".....

Today is September 1, the official start of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. The dictionary defines "awareness" as this : "consciousness, recognition, realization, understanding, grasp, appreciation, knowledge, insight, familiarity".  That is what our family hopes to do this month - to create "awareness" of the deadliest form of gynecological cancer (a known fact).  I encourage you to google statistics of this disease. You will be shocked. Please do not bury your head in the sand about this disease. Get the facts, learn the signs and symptoms, know what questions to ask your doctor, know that a pap smear does NOT detect this disease when you go in for your regular appointment, know that early detection is vital, but there are few early detection methods right now - know your own body.  More often than not, you know when something just doesn't seem right. Elliot's disease was shocking, and still is shocking. A beautiful, vibrant young mother develops the rarest and most aggressive forms of this particular disease. We were told it was caught early, but it metastasized before her 1st round of chemotherapy. We are told now that hers is the only reported case like it in the state of Alabama, and that there have only been 5,000 cases reported worldwide in the last 20 years. Stop and think about that.  It is mind-boggling. The pain I feel writing that statistic is so deep. I would give anything if that phenomenal statistic was one of survival, and not a death statistic in some textbook - and certainly not the statistic of my beloved sister. But, Elliot would want us to fight. She would want us to fight for funds to do more research, to fight for earlier detection methods, to fight for awareness, to fight for more stories of survival, to fight for husbands to have the wives of their youth live a long life with them, to fight for children not to have to go to bed without the security of their mommy, to fight for parents not to have to bury their child, to fight for sisters to not have to live their life without their best friend, and to fight for a cure. Elliot was a fighter. She fought every day for 8 months. She never stopped fighting, and neither will we. We are compelled to keep sharing her story with whoever will listen. 

Jay and I are doing what we can to begin to create awareness. These are baby steps as we begin, but we do hope that these baby steps will turn into greater strides as the months and years roll by.

In honor and memory of my sister, "Kathryn Elliot Patterson Williams",

  Nov. 8, 1975 - May 28, 2012 

I put on my paint clothes, put some worship music in the CD player, and began painting. As soon as my roller made the 1st brush-stroke, I began sobbing. But, it was somewhat healing for me to channel some of my pain into this project. Jay went "dumpster diving" last week, and came home with this giant piece of particle board. He cut it out, and I do say that it turned out absolutely amazing.

Today was a beautiful, September day. The sky was so blue, and filled with white, fluffy clouds. I believe that Elliot was looking down smiling on us.