My brother and his family are battling cancer again: the third time for his 19-year-old stepdaughter, Lauren. Just over a year since my brother recovered from his own bout with tongue and throat cancer.
Theirs is an inspiring story.
Lala, The Warrior Princess
They fight back with love and hope, with prayerful blessings from thousands of old and new friends and family. They use social networking to channel the love and fuel my niece’s spirits. My brother keeps us posted with his blog. While optimistic, they recognize that Lauren has begun a marathon, so they’re doing everything they can to stoke her fires and guide the energy in productive forms of healing…
Last week they feared for Lauren’s life: the tumors had become so aggressive and invasive that they were choking her very breath. It was a sudden onset: she checked into the ICU 10 days ago with what might have been pneumonia, but was instead a recurrence of nerve sheath cancer, this time wrapped around her bronchia.
This is deadly serious business, but my brother and his family look for affirmations of joy and wellness wherever they can.
Thanks to what my brother calls her warrior princess spirit, my niece fought back, regained control over her breathing, and got herself discharged from the hospital. This week she’s recuperating at home, and taking calls from Lyle Lovett and other celebrities who are inspired by her story. (She reacts as only a teenager would…)
No one on her medical team would have believed this to be possible last week. Her oncologist can only ascribe it to a miracle of love and community — the power of the human spirit — rather than the wonders of medical science.
Lala Needs You
You can help too. Join Lala, “the warrior princess,” and shower her with love and hopeful blessings. Join her Facebook group… Pray for her.
Dedicate your yoga practice to her.
You’ll be amazed at what might happen.