Often times, it’s hard to imaging life without someone that is right next to you. But almost 3 years ago I did, and the emptiness that I felt was crushing. I was with my dear friend, Alese Coco. We had been talking about the latest challenges she faced with her treatment for Hodgkin’s Disease. Alese had already endured so much but was still as feisty and as funny as ever. “If you see a nurse walking by with a needle that has something in it, chances are it’s for me!” she said jokingly about her recent stay in a hospital. I laughed with her and was instantly hit by just how much Alese had changed my life.
When my Mom had fist been diagnosed with Stage IV Ovarian Cancer I hated hospitals and had not desire to joke about them, or their doctors or their nurses or their needles. And yet Alese, who had seen more doctor’s, nurses and needles than most of us would see in two lifetimes, still could joke about them. Alese had a strange and puzzling peace about them all… it certainly exceeded my understanding… even when she died 2 years ago today.
There was no fight that Alese did not think she could win, there was no obstacle that she did not think she could overcome, there was no “setback” that could set her back and it was all because there was no one she trusted more that Jesus Christ. I miss her a lot, and I’m glad that she and my Mom get to spend time with Jesus and with each other. In fact, I’m envious… that during the 731 days we’ve spent without Alese, she has been spending time with Jesus.
Pray for the Coco family and when you get a chance check out Fight2Win.org and learn how Alese’s story and faith is the driving force behind an organization that is committed to achieve a 100% cure rate for all patients diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
