I refused to listen when others took me aside,

To tell me that she might not make it;

That leukemia was such a dire disease.

For I knew in the depths of me that  it could be beat.

I didn’t need a reminder of the reality,

Or of the sobering results of so many tests,

And the uncertainty of what was in front of my little sister,

What I needed was to be with her and love her.

And when I wanted to fall apart,

Or when fear overcame her and she crashed.

I pictured us together riding horses,

Just as we had when we were kids.

I put it out there each and every day

To God, The Universe, or whoever was in charge,

That she had so much more of life to live,

And I held to the belief,

That she would resume her precious life.

And I held on tight to being grateful,

For all that was glorious in our world.

To the silence of a snowstorm,

The wonder of a sunset,

And of the earth coming alive each spring.

And I am so incredibly thankful,

To the miracles of research, and science,

And the donor from Germany,

And to our family’s unwillingness to give in or give up,

And to my sister’s stubborn nature,

And to the hundreds of prayers that were sent out in faith,

For my sister is living her life.