Hey, Mr. President!! Let's see that White House light up Gold!

I have been MIA for a while.  Not on purpose, just been so busy with lots of activities, home life, and work.  Seems like I get to bed around midnight or 1 and am up again around 6 or 7 am and going non-stop lately.  I'm not complaining, it helps to keep me busy and my mind busy.  I have less a need to blog or journal when I don't have time to sit and think and stew over what's going on.  Well today, I hit a road block.  I have a million and one things to do, and all I can think about is how much I am hating cancer today.  Specifically, childhood cancer.
We have a lot going on.  My uncle passed away almost 2 weeks ago in a tragic construction accident, Zach had surgery and its not healing well. Lucy has a horrid cough and today at clinic, her port was NOT cooperating, and poor poor Jack.  He has a lot of stuff going on emotionally and is acting out.  We can't seem to get him to talk to us about it.  I think we need a private family vacation for a weekend in the Dells.  Oh yea.....we CAN'T!!  why?? Because cancer is an asshole.  And we can't go that far from St Jude, and the environment is not "cancer friendly".  Ok, now I'm complaining...maybe even whining a bit.
The only thing I have been seeing on Facebook for the past week is how many of our precious children have lost their battle to cancer. OR how many are in the fight for the life at the buzzer.  OR how many literally have a short amount of time left on this earth.  What a horrible thing to see everyday, and yet, I don't block the posts, I share the statuses, and I cry. No I am NOT a Debbie downer when I share these posts, I'm a realist.  Whether or not you want to see it, its happening.  Whether or not it is in your immediate circle, children are dying every day from a disease that is seriously lacking funds in the childhood arena.  Cancer is the number 1 killer of children, yet its rare??  For every dollar that goes to ACS for cancer research, a penny goes to the kids.  There has been ONE drug developed specifically for childhood cancer in the past 60 years, the children have to take adult chemos, yet the White House lit up Pink the first day of October.  No gold for September.
 I know a little girl, Alivia, who has 30-90 days left to live because of a horrible brain tumor that has no cure or even treatment, and lost another one of our friend's child, Julian, to the same disease because there is NOT enough money to fund a treatment cure, and yet I walked into Kroger and was saturated with Pink.  Please do not mistake that I think there is anything wrong with Pink.  They have done a successful job of branding breast cancer.  They have done a successful job of raising awareness and funding for cures that were unheard of even just 10 years ago.  They have saved lives of my friends and family.  No, I do not hate the Pink.  I do not hate what it represents.  I embrace it.  I am just pissed off that its so branded and marketed that companies use it to make money, period.  Do NOT mistake their marketing for good will (not most of them). They are selling you Pink for one reason.  You will buy it.  And they will make money off of it.  When presented with an opportunity to help Brand Gold, most companies have politely said "no thank you".  People don't want to see bald kids. It makes them sad, and sadness does not create a buying need subconsciously for people, thus they feel sales may be lacking for their product if they "Go Gold" for that reason.  I understand, they run a business, they need to make money.  But duh! Pink didn't use to make money either.  Breast cancer was something that was NOT said outloud. It was a dirty word and not to be discussed unless behind closed doors.  Women died in hospitals from it not at home.  The chance for a cure after a relapse was slim to none, now the percent is high.  Have you seen "Terms of Endearment?"  That is how the face of breast cancer used to be.  So kuddos to them for Branding their pink, and bringing conversations out to talk about it and get companies to help with their branding efforts. NOW people start doing the same for the kids.  These little girls don't even have time to grow up to have boobs.  Or the little boys don't have time to oogle over them. If you can't survive childhood cancer, you have no opportunity to even care about boobs. And I want our children to care about boobs!
Lane Goodwin has gotten all sorts of thumbs up from people around the world, including numerous public figures and celebrities.   They are telling him to fight the fight.  Now why don't you take that thumb, and put it to work.  Go put in your pin number at the ATM, and send some money to Curesearch.  Use that thumb to dial some numbers of connections you have to take childhood cancer to the next level of awareness.  I know Lane appreciates the support as does his family, but do you really read their story??? I mean REALLY read it?  Lane is dying.  Lane is dying from a horrible disease that is lacking in research funds.  Yes, I said it. I said it out loud!  Stop hushing about it and whispering.  Do you not think anybody knows this?? Think his parents don't think about it EVERY single second of every single day?  Say it! shout it! be mad about it! And then do something about it.  It cannot just be us cancer families promoting gold.  We need your help.  We need to stop whispering, pointing, grieving in private.  We need to start yelling and shouting in public.
Somebody PLEASE ask the White House to Light up with GOLD!!!!!!! And then we can all send them our "thumbs up" for helping us to brand our disease so maybe a company will latch on a little tighter and makes some money and go Gold permanently in September.  That is the kind of money we need, and that is the kind of exposure we need to raise it.
Thumbs up...Lane and Alivia.  Your life will not go unnoticed and you will not die in vain.  I promise that!  Even if I have to spend my life making it so.....