"Do not go gentle into that good night...Rage, rage against the dying of the light"
--Dylan Thomas
If you check the front of my novel, you will see a large thank-you to a young woman called Cheryl Tri. Cheryl was a brilliant star--musically gifted, sharp of thought and deed, valedictorian of her high school class, looking forward to college and all the fun and trials that it brings...and Cheryl was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Today our world is darker because Cheryl has left it. I do not say that Cheryl "lost" her battle with cancer. The only way to lose against cancer is to give up and let it claim you. Cheryl fought tooth and nail to the bitter end. She chose the difficult routes to give herself as much time with us as possible. And for that, she is my hero. Dylan Thomas wrote his great poem to his dying father, begging his father for as much time as possible, to fight. Cheryl raged against her cancer with a determination greater than anyone I have ever seen.
After Cheryl was diagnosed, her college plans fell away. She had treatments and chemo to endure, not to mention long hours away from her friends, who all had colleges to attend. During that time, I shot her a copy of my manuscript and she went through it with a fine-toothed comb, finding errors and continuity mistakes, and pointing out stupid mistakes I'd made. She made my book much, much better and I will forever be indebted to her for that.
Cheryl had to do something that 19-year-old women shouldn't have to do: Deal with the eventual end of her own life. I know it frustrated her. I know she cried and had the "why me?" moments--we have discussed them... But, when it came down to it--she dealt with it and faced them far more bravely than I probably would have. She even told me that when she gets to the "other side," she'd come back and check in on my daughter for me now and again. Again--my debts to Cheryl can never be paid.
Her family, her parents and her brother, are also icons of strength to me, for having the fortitude to bravely face her disease and the eventual conclusion. To Steve, Kathy, and Greg--you have awed me with your strength. I grieve for you. You have my humblest of condolences, though there are no words to explain what I feel for you. "Condolences" just seems to weak to me.
Cheryl would have contributed something great to this world. It is our loss that she is no longer with us. She was a truly amazing person.
I will never forget her.
--Sean
