The Power of Role Models

     Mark and I have been blessed with a deep, powerful new friendship through this cancer journey.  I was told about them by my friend Heather who lives near Rexburg, ID.  She had heard this man give his testimony and learned he had sarcoma, as Mark does.  She wrote down the blog address that his wife had been keeping and sent it to me.  I started at the beginning of Holly Rasmussen's blog.  I was immediately impressed by her openness with thier journey.  I was still very selective about who saw the sadder side of our story, our hardships, our weaknesses, but she shared them and the lessons and blessings along the way.  She helped me so much through her posts. Our stories are so similar.  Her husband was diagnosed a couple of months after my husband was.  Thier primary tumors were both located in thier hip.  They also have five children, as we do, thier oldest is the same age as our oldest and thier baby same age as ours (both were one at the time).
     Trent and Holly were living in Lincoln, Nebraska at the time of his diagnosis and had to relocate to Brigham City, Utah to take advantage of the healthcare at the Huntsman.  I also learned that prior to moving to Lincoln, they were living in Providence, which is where we live.  Small world!  I had been reading Holly's blog for awhile and decided to contact her and we chatted via facebook for a few months. One day, Mark and I were having lunch at the Bistro on the top floor of the Huntsman and Holly stepped out of the elevator.  She recognized me immediately and we hugged.  She was grabbing some food to take down to the infusion room and we followed her back so we could meet Trent and visit.

This is the day that we met.  Mark had just finished his radiation treatment and Trent was still hooked up to his chemo infusion.  We loved our visit so much that we decided to continue by going to the movies together afterward.   Our men were so weak, but they had huge smiles on thier faces.  We giggled and laughed through Pirates of the Caribbean in 3D.

     I remember that when we said goodbye that night, it felt like we had been friends for decades.  We have stayed close since this time.  We ask them about every medicine, treatment, and medical decision we make.   Holly understands me more than almost anyone else I know regarding my fears and hopes.  We thank them for lighting a path ahead of us as we take steps into the unknown.  They are amazing in every way!!!
     We lost Trent in August of last year.  While I thought the opportunity would come for us to now help Holly, as much as she has always helped us....that is not the case.  She is still helping us more than we ever help her!!  She is so smart about all of this, and can articulate her experience so well that she helps me contantly.   She will text me a thought, and it is exactly what I needed that day. 
     Today is Trent's 40th birthday.  I know milestones will always tug at Holly and her families heart.  Today we think of Trent and of Holly.  We love you guys!  We forever thank you guys!  You have been powerful role models to us these past three years.  ((hugs)) to Trent in heaven and to Holly and the kids on earth.