Life is Easier When I Pray for Others

Leah Keigley

“I was diagnosed with CML Leukemia on December 23^rd of 2015. When they told me I might have it, I sorta knew I was going to. It explained my symptoms. I’m on lots of drugs at the moment. They make me feel like I’m an invalid. Sometimes I wake up and my eyes are so swollen that I can’t see. I stumble around. I miss work. My bones are inflamed. If I sit still I’m fine or if I keep moving I’m fine. It’s the in-between part that’s difficult.”

“When I was little I thought I would die before I hit eighteen and when I was eighteen I thought I would die before I was twenty-one. When I was twenty-one I thought I would die before I turned forty. I finally gave up and decided I wasn’t going to die. I can’t die. I was never issued dog tags when I went to Boot Camp so I guess that means I’m immortal.”

Reign Grace and Leah Keigley

“It was sad when my Mom got diagnosed. I was scared. The word “cancer” usually means that it’s over. My best friend in sixth-grade died from leukemia. Her name was Kennedy. I was worried the same thing would happen to my Mom.”

Reign Grace

"I know there’s a God, but I’m pretty sure He doesn't care if I'm Reign or Brandon. I feel like we should be more open. We should respect each other for our differences, because if you look close, we’re not really that different. If someone is polite and kind, that should be what matters. I think God is like that."

“That child is still your child. There’s so many people who think that they don’t want to be associated with someone so different. They ask themselves what they did wrong raising their child. I say, you did nothing wrong. I say, God don't make mistakes."

“Since I’ve been diagnosed, I pray more often. I pray for everybody. Sometimes myself, but life is easier when I pray for others. It feels easier.”