Cancer Strikes Again.

There’s a beginning, a middle, and an end to everything. Nothing lasts forever, but no end should ever have to be as painful as cancer.

A friend of mine from high school passed away early this morning. He had leukemia, and up until his death you’d never know just what kind of pain he was in. Adam always had a smile on his face, he was always laughing, always joking around, and always brightening the world for everyone around him.

I hadn’t actually seen him since high school, but I had him on facebook and actually had the chance to talk to him in June. We had a conversation about the unfairness of cancer, being sick, and I comforted him because he was trying to get his girlfriend back. He was in high spirits, though, and complaining about his insurance company because they denied him of a bone marrow transplant because he failed a drug test. He smoked marijuana, because it was the only thing that kept his entire body from hurting. No pain medications helped, but the marijuana did, and his insurance company said, "Oh, sorry! No bone marrow transplant for you!" And initially, they rescheduled it for a time where he’d pass a drug test, but when it came time for the bone marrow transplant, they denied him completely because apparently he was "too high of a risk."

Time went on, and I didn’t see him online very often. He’d still post his statuses filled with "Adamisms" all full of humor… and well, all Adam. I don’t know what I was thinking, maybe he was getting better and preoccupied with his personal life, but then just a few days ago his sister posted on his account. She said he was in the hospital with pneumonia, and in order to allow his body to heal, they had sedated him. He had lost a lot of strength and his immune system was low, all due to chemotherapy, but they were hopeful and he seemed to be getting better. Then this morning he passed away. He had a streptococcus infection in addition to his pneumonia, his lungs shut down but half of one lung, and it left him severely brain damaged. Adam wished to not be kept alive in that state, and so they pulled the plug.

Adam was a very happy person, always. I know life wasn’t always easy for him, but he always saw the good side in everything. In high school, he was always the class clown. I remember, once, in drama class he came to school dressed up as Annie – red dress, red curly wig, and everything. He was a character, never cared what people thought of him, and lived his life the way he chose.

Adam, I hope you rest in peace. I know you suffered at the end, but you never complained. I hope now you can rest easy and cause a little bit of chaos up there in heaven.

As for you, cancer. Stay the hell out of my life. I’ve had more than enough of you.