Fighter

I try not to let my self focus to much on the last month of Melina’s life. It’s hard to think of the amount of tests and procedures she went through. What I want to remember is her strength. Melina endured more than most adults in that short month, and never once complained. Not for a second. She actually told her neurosurgeon I was a cry baby and needed to stop. Even Melina could make us laugh through all the pain.
After her first brain surgery when asked what she needed Melina responded “a Frappuccino, a breakfast sandwich and a cake pop.” After her permanent shunt was placed the response was the same. The hardest part to grasp Is Melina underwent two brain surgeries, in two days, on Tylenol. Not one tear and only Tylenol. And after all that she just wanted Starbucks.
Our Melina fought everyday of her last month for us. I know that. She fought to be with us. She fought to let us love her. She stayed with us for extra days because she wanted to give us all the opportunities we needed to feel her love. Melina fought for love and she fought for me. To think at four she was so much better than all of us. She knew what mattered, she fought for it, and there is not one day I doubt how much she loved all of us. God willing she knows that we loved her even more.
September is pediatric cancer awareness month. I think of every child who suffered or continues to fight everyday for their life. I think of the families and what they go through. These kiddos like Melina show us how to be fighters. These children teach us. They show us how to be better. They show us how small things are simple miracles. They also show us what matters more than anything else in this world.
So September means more to me than ever. I get to fight for all those beautiful babies. For all those families. And I can’t do it alone. I have to be part of the solution, I owe it to Melina. She fought for us and I will always fight for her. She deserved better. We owe them better. So this September I fight for every child that fights harder than I ever could. I fight for them to have a lifetime of simple miracles, a lifetime of joy, and I fight for their cry baby moms to have hope💛💚🌈