And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4
These words rang in my hearing when I heard the news today that Kay Yow lost her 2 decade battle with breast cancer.
For those of you who may have never heard of Kay Yow, a brief bio:
Kay Yow was the Head Coach of the North Carolina State Women's Basketball team. Yow coached for an unprecedented 34 seasons. Unprecedented, not for the longevity, but because for 20 of those years she coached those young ladies on something more than the game of basketball, she taught them how to fight. You see, Kay Yow was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and had a partial radical mastectomy. She even coached while undergoing radiation. She watched as cancer took her Mother and her comrade on the Men's Basketball side, Coach Jim Valvano.
Cancer took her appetite, her cherished high energy, her restful sleep, her mornings and afternoons on the golf course. It took away any thoughts of a quiet, relaxing time beyond basketball.
Cancer took and took and took -- yet there was always Kay Yow with something more to give to everyone around her.
ESPN Legacy Article
Cancer. I am hard-pressed to find anyone who has not been affected by cancer. Cancer does not discriminate. Black, White, rich or poor, it doesn't matter. The Elderly and even the very young....yes even the young are not immuned. I'll never forget my rotation through the Children's Hospitals in Atlanta. Children with cancer, walking the floors with IV poles, bald with faces bloated from steroids and chemo. Kids with cancer dying to live.
President Obama, I know the hopes and dreams of an entire nation are on your shoulders. I am encouraged by the fact that you have aggressively moved to:
form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
preamble
But when you think about the importance of science, research, stem cell research, I can only imagine that you are thinking of your own Mom and Grandmother. So I am pretty confident [unlike your predecessor] you will not use your power to thwart advancement of medical research because of some political or personal ideology.
To the rest of the Kossack Community, as I invite you to reflect on the life of Kay Yow, remember her fight. No matter the diagnosis, no matter the obstacles or challenges whether they are physical or financial......
Never Give Up
peace