I participated in a memorial service for Becky Shelby today. Becky died from breast cancer on my birthday in January. Her family is all in Tennessee, so they did not have any service here. All her friends at Unitrin Insurance here wanted to do something to remember this neat lady. So we were asked to each write our thoughts of Becky and bring that paper with us to the top of our 5 story parking garage at noon today.
We tied our notes to a pink helium-filled balloon. Several of us then spoke about rememberances of Becky. She always amazed me while I was going through my chemo. Becky came by routinely to check on me and to give me a hug. She was fighting her cancer again and again, but she took the time to come see me in my "cot room" to see how I was doing. That meant a lot to me and I was proud to share that with the friends assembled on the parking garage roof. When everyone was finished, we let the balloons go. The wind carried them up, up and away between 2 of the 3 buildings in our complex. It was amazing, none of them got caught on wires or anything. They just floated away, but like Becky did.
On my note I wrote, "Good friend, good supporter. If you find this, make sure that everyone you love gets a regular mammogram and does self-exams. From one breast cancer bearer to another. Love you, Becky!!!"
