"My Friends"

These two girls have been by my side through many different things, on many different occasions.  My friendship with each of them has continually grown and strengthened over the years, since childhood.  I wouldn't trade a second of the time I've spent with either of them, and I'm privileged to call them my friends.

KRISTEN-My Right Hand--The one with whom I can talk about anything. She never fails to rise to an occasion. No matter how high the highs or low the lows, I can always count on her for a laugh, a cry, or something crazy in between. 

"I remember getting a phone call some day in September, it was Jane letting me know her doctor had called back and that she needed to go in to see her right away. Jane had let me know that the doctor had advised her to bring someone with her, but she decided against it and I didn’t think anything of it; what was the worst that could happen, right? About an hour later I got a call back, it was Jane and I could tell she had been crying. She told me nothing on the phone just asked me to come pick her up. I went right away.

When I got to the parking lot Jane was standing there with a big file in hand and red eyes. In our fifteen years of friendship I can say we have shared very few awkward moments but in this moment I felt awkward. I knew she had something awful to tell me, I had spent the car ride preparing myself for the news but when the words “brain tumor” came out I had no idea what to say. I pulled over the car and just hugged her.

As Jane’s best friend I would like to say that I was there every step of the way, that I held her hand through it all, but that wouldn’t be the truth. I wish that were the case but being six months pregnant, life was hectic. Jane has never said anything to me about my absence, that’s just not the type of person she is, but she didn’t have to say anything-I could feel it.

I wish that things were different. First that Jane never had to go through this at all. Second, that I would have been just across the street when she needed me just like I had been for the previous 14 years of our friendship.

Through this entire journey I can honestly say that I have heard only heard Jane complain once.  It was one day as we sat for lunch, and the complaint was about the Prune juice the nurses forced her to drink while in the hospital- THE NERVE.

 This tumor only further proved what I already knew to be true; Jane is a fighter in every aspect of life. She is strong and stubborn; emphasis on the stubborn.  That tumor never stood a chance anyway.

So as my mom would say, “Sweet Janie”: I am beyond proud of the person you were through this journey and who you continue to be. I hope that you are just as proud of yourself. I hope this experience has given you even more strength to fight through whatever obstacles life is sure to throw at you, and to appreciate life for what it is; a beautiful thing." 

LAUREN-My Assurance --She has not only helped me stay positive, but helped me forget that negativity even exists.  She has been the true definition of what a friend should be. 

"From the day I found out about Janie's tumor, there is one thing that has become quite clear to me about my good friend. Not only is she strong willed, determined, optimistic and of course human, it turns out that we have a little more in common then I had thought. Jane has a little Chinese in her too. She has the great ability to Save Face. This term is widely known in Chinese culture, not so much in Western culture though. To save face means to keep the reputation of your family as top priority and to maintain the respect of others. Jane is so good at saving face that even my Popo (grandmother) would be impressed. So good in fact that if it was not for one nonchalant car ride to Starbucks one Thursday night that I would have never known that she would soon be starting a long journey towards the neuro-ward.

Jane has always been one of those people who never made the day about her. Never wanted anyone to know if she was up or down that day and if she was the latter, made sure she never let it interfere with anyone else's day. For all I know Jane has already won the Lotto 649 and is just going about her day as normal as any other. She was the same way about her tumor, and even as close as I would like to think we are it was even difficult for me to tell if she was having a good day or a bad day. She definitely deserves the Saving Face award for 2013, lets just put it that way.  But even through such a life changing 5 months, from the diagnosis to the MRI appointments to the second opinions and the constant check-ups there was also a large increase in the amount of dinners at Boston Pizza, nights out at the bars, weekends spent in doing absolutely nothing and hours of endless drives to nowhere; none of which I would ever give back.

Although this was definitely a difficult year for one of my best friends and her family, I can say without a doubt that this year has done nothing but make our friendship stronger. Knowing Jane since grade school and playing basketball along side her through high school we became pretty decent friends, but the move to university and distance makes it a lot harder to nurture relationships. We went from seeing each other every week at school to a coffee or breakfast catch-up once every two months for 4 years. Since being back at home in April, we have easily caught up right back to where we used to be and even more so since September. I am not sure if I have a tumour to thank for this or not but all I know is that I am glad that we have had this time to really solidify one of my oldest friendships, and although she was the one going through hell and back over the last few months, I really want to thank her for being there for all the insanely less important stuff that has happened to me in the last year.

That being said, I have gone long enough without my partner in crime and I am bored to tears. So Jane, hurry up with the recovery already, the world awaits us when you're ready to go. That, and a huge bottle of tequila."