First Post: Introduction to my Blog

Aloha,

My name is Shirley Enebrad. I am an author with a background in television production. Not by choice but by happenstance my name became synonymous with childhood cancer and dying children in my hometown of Seattle, Washington. As the mother of Cory, a little boy diagnosed with leukemia at age 3, and Brie, his younger sister, I searched for support groups or some way to help my kids feel less alone. At the time that support wasn’t available to us. This was rather shocking in the city where bone marrow transplants and other medical innovations were pioneered, so, as the old adage goes, “if you need something done, ask a busy woman”. I was eventually fortunate enough to meet Christine a lovely woman who had been involved with support groups in California. Together and with the addition of some great volunteers we launched The Children’s Connection, a monthly gathering that started with a shared meal and then split into a parents’ group and one for the children.

The group experience isn’t for everyone. I know that. But, for us we successfully created a big ‘ohana (family) that came together and shared laughter, tears, triumphs, sadness and joy. This group helped all of us. Having a support group family was especially helpful to me and my children as we faced the devastation of a terminal prognosis and my little boy’s eventual death. If you want to know how to start a support group I would be happy to share our process.

Sad to say, death has been a huge part of my life, which I guess is inevitable since I come from a huge family with many aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and I am fortunate to have many friends.  A few years ago my immediate family experienced the passing of 15 loved ones including my parents, and my sister-in-law, in less than three years. Several died from cancer. A few years later, I was faced with my own cancer diagnosis. I was scared and not too thrilled about the painful procedures. I kept myself sane by remembering Cory’s courage and how he faced a multitude of surgeries, bone marrow and spinal taps.

I am who I am today because of everything we went through before, during and after Cory’s life and death. I chronicled these lessons in a book called “Over the Rainbow Bridge” and recently wrote “Six Word Lessons on Coping with Grief” to give people short digestible lessons on processing the emotions of grief. Both of my books are a result of how Cory touched the lives of thousands of people worldwide and how he put me on my path to help others. So, this blog is the next step in Cory’s plan for me. I hope that you will join me as I share my thoughts about the way Cory’s life lessons pertain to everyone.

Some of the topics I will be writing about are:

1. Life is a gift
2. Live with gratitude
3. Never take life for granted
4. Live with authenticity
5. Fear not-it could be worse
6. WWCD? What would Cory do?
7. The beginning of the end
8. Love heals
9. Facing down fear
10. Life isn’t always easy ( it’s all you’ve got)
11. Make lemonade
12. Grieving
13. Grief is not a mental illness
14. Feel your pain
15. You will survive
16. After death experiences
17. Nightmares and dreams
18. Listen to your body
19. No one grieves the same
20. When does it get better?
21. What’s wrong with me?
22. Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt
23. Taking care of yourself
24. Coping is an art or a cookie
25. The right attitude helps
26. Making it through the holidays