I’ve been showing off my gray every May since December 2013, when my life turned upside down.
When my brother, Nate was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of 16, we didn’t really know what was going to happen or what the next steps were. All we knew is that our lives were going to change forever.
If he somehow managed to pull off a “miracle”, as doctor’s called it, we knew life was going to be drastically different.
Fast forward nearly five years, and it still kills me just how right I was. Nathan was able to pull off one miracle – being deemed cancer free nearly a year and a half after his diagnosis. Unfortunately, Nathan was no match for Glioblastoma Multiforme, and he passed away in the early morning hours of October 6, 2016.
Since the beginning of Nathan’s journey, we have made it a true crusade to bring awareness to brain cancer and brain tumors, not only because of Nathan, but all of the different children and patients we have met. Our experience with brain cancer has been a nightmare that no family should ever have to go through, so we make it a point to support local organizations and charities who fight to bring this deadly disease into the spotlight.
The Go Gray in May initiative is a great start, but there is so much more that can be done with raising awareness. I encourage everyone to donate their time and effort, or even a few dollars, to organizations that help fund research of this terrible disease.
Our family wears gray shirts with Nathan’s name, as well as wristbands and we all sport tattoos in memory of him. All of this because of a brain tumor that took my best friend’s life.
A brain tumor took him away from me, long before he even left this earth.
Because of that, I will support going gray everyday until we can finally find a cure.
