My step daughter Alison wrote a speach for her class. I told her I would post it. She is very proud of this and worked hard on it. So here it is:

Inspiration Speech
By: Allie Guiley♥

How many of you know someone that is or was a victim of cancer? Okay, how many have leukemia? Well, for those of you who don’t know what leukemia is, it’s a group of many related diseases. Basically, it’s when your body produces a plethora of white blood cells. There is not a particular cure, but they do have other choices to help it disappear. Such as, bone marrows transplant. Which is when they take a swab of someone else’s bone marrow that’s has the same type, and they inject it into you, and that’s what my step-dad, Rick, is recovering from as we speak, and he’s my inspiration.

He goes by the name of Rick, although his name is Richard. He is in training and development for a large insurance company. His inspiration or someone he has always looked up to is his grandfather. Which he thinks is the smartest, caring, honest, and most inspirational person he has ever met. He’s also tried to model his life like him. On his spare time he likes to hang out with friends and family, go cycling, play chess, listen to music, and talk about politics; basically, the world in general. For us that know him, we define him as positive, reliable, trusting, and mellow. When I asked him if he had any regrets he replied, “I think everyone has regrets, it’s when you discover them and learn from them that you build character.” I see a lot of character in Rick, as do his friends and family.

Rick has touched the lives of many people in many different ways. One way is he has completely changed the life of my mom, who has taken care of him and has been there for him every step of the way. She has to give him his medicine everyday and keep him active. One time while Rick was in the hospital, there was another patient with the same disease a couple doors down. It was his first time so he was very frantic. The doctors asked Rick if he could go calm him down and tell him everything was alright. Rick accepted, and he ended up telling the guy his whole experience, good and bad. Rick also has a friend in New Jersey who scheduled a run, and named it “Run for Rick”. A percentage of the profits went to Rick to help pay the medical bills. Even the people at his work will go around collecting money to also help pay the medical bills. His work also had a drive collecting bone marrow samples to see if anyone was a match. He is very appreciative for all of these donations.

Rick has a major impact on me! He and my mom have been together ever since I’ve been in diapers! So, he’s like a second dad to me. He talks to me and treats me like his blood-related daughter. When I found out he had leukemia, I didn’t really know how to react because I didn’t know what it was or the seriousness of it. But since now I know what it is, all I can do is hope for the best and keep him in my prayers. Rick had almost died once because he was in a coma for a little over a month. The doctors all said he wasn’t going to make it. We all stayed strong and kept praying. Then he woke up from the coma, and they were all amazed and said it was a miracle! Rick is my miracle! He’s been through thick and thin, and I plan to pray for him every step of the way!

While I interviewed him, I realized how much leukemia has brought to him in a positive and negative way. For instance, it has prevented him from doing a lot of what he set out to do. He has also realized who his true friends are; the ones who have stayed with him this whole time. Now he knows not to take anything for granted and you only live once. One of his favorite quotes is: “You cannot find peace with the outside world, until you find peace within yourself.” Can anybody think of what that might mean? When I asked him if he would take back getting sick, he replied: “Sometimes...I have mixed emotions about that...It changed my life and outlook on life, so it’s hard to say...Probably not.” Rick plans on writing a book about his life experience and would like to travel the world giving speeches about his experience. Rick is a fighter, and that’s why he is my inspiration!