Mikaela Jerwick

When I was born in 2000, my Aunt Sue was given the title of my godmother. In celebration of my birth she gave me an adorable, little ornament of a girl holding a cat. Every year my family goes up to Massachusetts to visit our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins — my Aunt Sue included. Every time we visited her it seemed like she was injured. One time when we visited she had a cast around her neck. However, about a year ago, the last time we visited them, my Aunt Sue's hair had been cropped and was starting to fall out. We found out just a couple years before, that she had breast cancer. When I heard, I was worried that she wouldn't be alright. Although now I am confident that she made a full recovery, if something ever does go wrong, I will always remember her through the little ornament that sits on the tree during Christmas time. Ironically it wears a pink dress, almost as if in honor of those inflicted with breast cancer. ¿ By Mikaela Jerwick, Hagerstown

December 23, 2012