Farrah...Her Story

That flowing hair, an icon in itself. That sweet voice and warm smile that just draws you in. And her hugs! I was never the lucky recipient of one of her hugs, but the love that came through her touch penetrated the screen last night. Farrah.

If you were one of the millions of viewers following the chronicles of her journey, you were left with a mixture of emotions. You may, like myself recalled too clearly the similar journey one of your loved ones ventured through. As you watched Farrah bravely going through her numerous excruciating treatments, you may have been taken back to a time when you were there with your father, mother, husband, friend. You may have relived that pain all over again, because that person was you.

I felt her pain, then I had a huge tug on my heart when I replaced her face with my fathers, who I lost some 5 years ago. The courage one must possess to manage that course of treatment passes on to us all. As Ryan and Alana said, we are shown the face of bravery. They model the way for us to follow.

My brave and loving mother said it best to me, "Because of the courage your Dad had through this, how can I be anything less?"

The long journey through an illness. How can we draw the silver lining out of this? I think Farrah offered a wonderful, selfless, generous contribution to us all by opening up the windows and letting us peer inside of her life. She unveiled herself to us, showed us the harsh reality of it all, so we can perhaps pull out our own lessons.

Through her life, we saw her act in Integrity; always thinking about others and seeing what she could do to make a difference. She was able to gain the attention of the government to secure the privacy of patient medical records, after the damage was already done, and her privacy breached. She showed her Authenticity; letting us into her world, showing how the illness stripped her vanity and took away her hair, that crowning glory. She relied on her Spirituality; believing always, finding her strength in God, never questioning hopelessly, "why me?", only asking humbly, how can I serve? We witnessed her continual display of Courage; always fighting the fight, never giving in, no matter what came in her path. These are lessons that strike a chord, as we send our messages of hope from the sidelines.

So I ask, how about you? "How are you? What are you fighting for?"

~ Farrah