Rocks and Roles

Rebecca has rocks in her head and they are not coming out. This will not be a post on library technology.

Rebecca is the five-year-old daughter of Kat and Eric, friends in Cleveland that I met while I worked at Case Western Reserve University. This week Kat and Eric told Rebecca that another tumor had grown in her brain, that it could not be removed, and that their search for a drug or a technique to shrink it would probably be fruitless. It was Rebecca who knew this meant she was going to die. Earlier than any child should.

To Kat and Eric: thank you for living this chapter of your life in the open. I hope putting your thoughts and feelings on to the internet have been a helpful form of therapy. I hope the comments from around the world have been a source of buoyancy and strength to you and by extension your family.

Please know your loving response is an inspiration. I'm writing this post in part to add my voice to the chorus of support, and in part to celebrate you as a role model for parents in similar situations. You are in my thoughts, hopes and dreams.