...with a special report this week. I promised you one on traditions, but sorry, this just can't wait.
This week's column deals with one of the greatest women I never knew.
Yet I salute her in this week's column.
Why? Because my wife knew her, as did my sister-in-law.
No, she's not a family member. But to those whose lives she touched, she may as well have been.
Amy Monteleone ended her 11-year battle with breast cancer this past Friday at the age of 42, leaving behind her parents, step-parents, and her 12-year-old son.
Eleven years is a long time to have to fight for your own life. Amy spent about half that time making a difference.
Many people who are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness tend to withdraw, or cling only to the most immediate family, internalizing their suffering and struggling through the battle alone.
Not Amy. With the help of her friend Bonnie Forsythe, together they organized Spring for a Cure. It's an annual luncheon held at the Atrium in Prospect, Pennsylvania to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Susan G. Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure. This year's goal was to raise $25,000.
They exceeded that goal by $2,000. This brings the grand total of money raised to $84,000 since its inception in 2008.
The event quickly gained momentum since its beginnings. My colleagues Bonny Diver (who founded Hair Peace charities after her own battle with cancer) and Shelly Duffy have made appearances in support of it.
Despite frequent visits to the hospital for chemotherapy and other 'niceties' that go hand-in-hand with battling cancer, Amy still worked hard to make a difference in the lives of women with cancer and those touched by this terrible disease that still somehow manages to survive the advances of the most modern medical science.
This despite the fact that her cancer returned with a vengeance five months after being given a clean bill of health. Just a few months prior to her death, I had heard from her pastor that Amy stopped her chemo treatments.
My wife Margie, her mother, and my sister-in-law were staunch supporters of Spring for a Cure since its inception. I found myself touched simply by association.
Because that could very well have been Margie receiving that proverbial death sentence. It still hurts to even think about it as a possibility...because one in eight women have now been diagnosed with breast cancer.
I too felt the tears well up in my eyes when I held my wife as she told me that night that Amy had passed away.
It made me all the more grateful for what I have in this life and never to take it for granted.
Amy, we can all learn something from you.
I know I did.
Thank you.
NEXT WEEK: Back on Schedule
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