Debby2

    Up to then, I had honored her wishes to have no visitors. Perhaps she realized she had better open her home to visitors while she still could. On Saturday, July 13th, I went to see her at her home. She was sleeping when I arrived, but after a couple of hours she came down to sit with everyone. On medication for pain management, she was barely able to stay awake, much less converse with anyone.
     But just once, as everyone else was bustling about doing something else, I looked over at her and found her eyes fixed on me. I didn't know if she was really seeing me or not, so I smiled. And a smile of recognition spread slowly across her face. Nobody else saw it happen. Not long afterward, she went back upstairs to sleep. I don't know if that's the last time I'll ever see my stepsister.
     What Debby's illness means to me is highly personal, and is likely something entirely different from what it means to many others. I do not presume to tell anyone else what it ought to mean to them.
     But I hope that even if you feel this experience has no true meaning, at the very least you may agree that we can try to distill from it some sense of purpose. Debby is facing her own illness with the same dignity, integrity, and courage with which she has lived her entire life. If nothing else, perhaps witnessing Debby's strength of character will inspire you to a noble purpose -- that is, living your life with that same dignity, integrity, and courage with which Debby lives her life. I feel sure that's what she would want for her family and friends to take away from this experience.
     I know Debby has inspired me profoundly. I want to make sure that Debby is not "just" one of the hundreds of thousands of women who suffer annually from breast cancer. I want to make sure that the world remembers that each one of those women has a name, a face, and a story, just like Debby does. And I'm going to do what I can to help eradicate cancer in all its forms, so that no more parents lose daughters, no more children lose mothers, and no more husbands lose wives to this indiscriminate disease.
     If you have read this far, I hope you'll take a few extra minutes to do something to help. Please visit any of the links below:

Susan G. Komen Foundation -- Dedicated to eradicating breast cancer from the face of the Earth.

Lee National Denim Day -- Get everyone in your company to pay $5 for the privilege of wearing jeans to work. All proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, so that you'll never have to read another story like Debby's again. It's pathetically easy to sign up, so you have no excuse not to. :)

- Jenna
July 16, 2002

For Debby, continued

To For Debby, p.1

For Debby -- Another tribute site to Debby, by her sister-in-law (Danny's sister). Please visit this site to find out how you can help Debby's family.

July 22, 2002
Debby had a good weekend. Some friends of hers came back in town and a friend of Sandi's came in town and Debby sat right up in bed to greet them, after having been practically comatose the entire week. On Saturday, Dad called to suggest that I come over -- Debby was awake and downstairs and talking to everyone, almost as if nothing had happened.
     I went over and sure enough, there she was. She still looked weak and her speech was a bit slurred, but she was conversing with everyone and asked to watch the video of their wedding. Danny popped the video in and we all watched them take their vows 15 years ago.
     Apparently today she's doing so well that she asked for a Whataburger for lunch.
     The jury's still out on what has brought about this sudden transformation.

July 25, 2002
     There is good news and bad news. The good news is that Debby has not slipped back into her near-comatose state of one week ago. It seems what little was left of her liver was being overwhelmed by the experimental chemotherapy treatment she received on July 10th. On July 12th, she began having symptoms consistent with liver failure, because what little was left of her liver was not able to process out the chemotherapy. It took a whole week for her under-functioning liver to process all the toxins out of her system. That's when she started reviving. Since then, she has been well enough to go out and get a manicure and pedicure.
     Now for the bad news. When she went to the hospital on July 12th, they feared her symptoms may have been due to the cancer spreading to her brain, so they did a brain scan. Well, they just got the results of that scan back, and it has indeed spread to her brain and her skull bones.

(Click "Next" to finish reading July 25th.)

To Debby, p.1

To Debby, p.3