You are blessed. Oh yes, you are.

A young child from the area I hail from is battling Leukemia at 4 years old.

Remember that today when you catch yourself being petty or greedy or callus or unthankful.

B.
______________
Note: A person very important to me has brought to my attention that my statement above could be viewed as "preachy" and "manipulative". That was certainly not my intention. My intention was two fold. To bring this lovely child's situation to light in the hopes that others might be able to help her and her family. Also, to remind us that each day is a blessing and that but for the grace of God go I.

So if others interpret my attempt at showing this situation to others as manipulative I apologize. And, if others interpret my admonition that we be thankful as preachy I also apologize.

Finally, we all react in different ways based on what life has shown us. One reaction is no less or more valid than another. Hopefully we try to consider other sides that might have traveled a different path and come to different conclusions. I want to thank my friend for caring enough to share her path with me.
______________

Child's Growing Pains Turn Out to be Cancer

By the time Katelyn Wilson is old enough to enter the first grade, the 4-year-old girl will have spent a third of her life undergoing chemotherapy.
Wilson, the daughter of Tony and Belecia Wilson, is in the midst of a battle against leukemia.
Leukemia is a cancer of the blood, or bone marrow, which is characterized by an abnormal production of blood cells — typically white blood cells (leukocytes).
Last fall, Katelyn was whisked to the emergency room suffering from high fever and acute pain in her legs.
“At first, I thought they were growing pains. I gave her a Tylenol. The next morning, her legs were hurting so bad that she couldn’t walk on them,” Belecia said.
She was admitted at CMC-Charlotte because her hemoglobin was low, Belecia said.
After a battery of tests, doctors diagnosed Katelyn Oct. 2, 2006, with leukemia and the Wilson family’s world stood still.
“I cried. I was speechless. It was a horrible day that I would not want to relive,” Belecia said. “There are no words to describe it.”
The Wilsons are going back and forth from the Black Creek area near Kershaw as relatives and friends in Jefferson organize fundraisers to help financially support the family.
“Katey is very vibrant. She loves to play, she’s smiles all the time and fun to be around,” said Belecia.
As Katelyn undergoes chemotherapy — a spinal injection every three weeks — she’s far more tired and travel weary, her mother said.
“Cancer is not something old people or middle-age people get. We think that children are not going to get cancer, but when it happens — I don’t know how to explain it. It’s a life-changing experience,” Belecia said. “How can a child have such a deathly illness such as this?”
On the home front, grandmother Brenda Sullivan and family friend Sharon Ingold are organizing a benefit trail ride and barbecue scheduled for April 21 — a rain date for May 5.
“This is my granddaughter. I would do anything in the world for her,” Sullivan said.
“And I’m just a friend who just met Katey,” Ingold said.
The two are helping the Wilsons by raising money to cover bills
“They need gas money. They need food. They have to take off work, but they still have to pay their light bill and water bill,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan is handling the barbecue sale and Ingold is organizing the wagon trail in the Angelus Community.

— John Davis,
staff writer