Ted Kennedy

Well, this was not originally going to be my topic for today. The death of Ted Kennedy last night has kind of captured my attention instead. I have never been a fan of Senator Kennedy...politically, we could not have been farther apart.

When he was diagnosed with glioblastoma back in May, I was actually somewhat irritated. Boy, that really makes me sound awful, doesn't it? But this is why...when Hannah was diagnosed, our doctor told us not to go home and google "glioblastoma". He said we wouldn't like what we found, and that Hannah's age put her in a more favorable position than most people who had that diagnosis. So we very carefully and deliberately avoided reading anything about glioblastoma. But then, when Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with the same kind of cancer, it was everywhere! You couldn't turn on the TV or read the newspaper without hearing about his "deadly cancer" and "grim prognosis." And, of course, we tried (unsuccessfully) to shelter Hannah from hearing any of this information. I must say, though, that it was somewhat reassuring at the time that he was getting the exact same type of treatment (radiation and Temodar) that Hannah was getting. We figured that, as a Kennedy, he was getting the very best medical care available.

God has brought me a long way since then (and He's still got a long way to take me). As the months have gone by, He has helped me see Senator Kennedy not just as a politician, but as a human being...somehow strangely bonded with my 17-year-old daughter by brain cancer.

I don't know what Senator Kennedy's spiritual status was...but I am thankful that I do know Hannah's. Today she's been in Heaven for six months. Half a year has gone by. Someone once told me that when you lose a child, the hole is always there, but the edges become less sharp. Those edges are still pretty sharp (some days sharper than others), but there is progress. More to come...