Welcome to the survivors club Susan!

On my way to work yesterday I was thinking about finally writing this blog. I've been meaning to for a couple of weeks now, but just hadn't gotten around to it. So I made a plan to start writing it. It's seems fitting that I made a point yesterday to start this because, of all days, we got a surprise visit at work from a lovely friend and fellow cancer survivor. It's no coincidence.

When I first interviewed at Regency 12 years ago Susan was the first person I met so I've known her from day one. And when I was diagnosed 10 years ago with Lymphoma, she was one of my many supporters of my Regency "family". Being the HR manager at the time, she handled all the "work" stuff as far as insurance, FMLA, disability goes, but she didn’t stop there. She made herself available on a personal level. As a friend. In our company wide meeting, the owner told us he had a special guest to speak to us, and in walked Susan with her husband David. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. It was great to see her in such high spirits. She spoke about being thankful; for the love, the support, the prayers, and the cancer. It's not an easy thing to do to come to terms with the diagnosis, but for me, it made the process less stressful. I see how Susan has been so strong in this process and that comes from her faith. She has said that God is ultimately in control in their lives and what a privilege it is for her prayers and the prayers of her supporters to be answer. I think it solidified her faith even more than I think she thought possible.

Last month, someone here in our LA office made a quilt for Susan and the owner of our company hand deliver it to her on her last day of chemo on 9/16/11. The quilt included 20 squares where the executive team wrote some words of prayer, encouragement and inspiration. Imagine my surprise when I was asked to also write a special note to Susan on one of these squares! I was so honored. I am also so very honored that I could be here for her as she was for me 10 years ago. The quilt also included untied pink ribbons and everyone in our building was invited to tie bows with the ribbons as a symbol of payer and support. It was a truly remarkable day.