grammy sue.

A lot has changed for me in the past six months. I said yes to marrying my best friend. I landed my dream job. I moved home. I have come to hate the word cancer. 

It's always been a scary word to me. I've known others who have survived it before, including my own father. Of course that was long before my time, so I had never really experienced it up close and personal. But when you hear that someone you love has been diagnosed with cancer, your heart just sort of stops beating for a few seconds.

I immediately burst into tears when my dad called to tell me that my stepmom, Susie, had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I felt scared and angry and overwhelmed. And then she got on the phone and said "Jess, I'm just scared to death I'm going to be bald at your wedding."

And then I couldn't help but laugh because here was one of the strongest women I know staring cancer in the face, and she's worried about my wedding. And then I laughed some more through the tears because this woman has been through far more than a lot of people I know, and far more than I can imagine. And I knew right away that she would not only beat cancer, but beat it and come out swinging on the other side. 


It's been a long few months for her as she has been going through heavy doses of chemotherapy every three weeks. But she's got a positive attitude and on days she feels better, spends a lot of time with the family.

My brothers and sisters and I have started a team for the Susan G. Komen walk in Kalamazoo on May 19th. If you would like to join our team and come walk with us, click HERE. If you aren't able to walk that day, but would still like to show Susie your support, make a financial donation by clicking HERE. Thank you in advance for your support on this one...it means the world to me.

Be the change. Make the difference.