The Honks Keep Coming In

A double dose of hope

What expresses hope for the future better than a rainbow? And two rainbows are even better. Hope can be amazing, and perhaps it was that message of hope about my little great-niece on my Facebook page that has so touched people. 

The honks are still coming in. If you didn't see my earlier post on this, the picture I posted was of my little niece smiling and standing behind her car with the message "Honk for No More Chemo." The fact that she's a cute little girl with an appealing smile didn't hurt either. But I'm not sure anything explains how the photo went viral and is still collecting comments at the rate of 100 every hour. 

A little bit ago the post had been viewed 17,841,285 times. The picture had been shared 24,252 times. 1,470,011 people had clicked the like button and 50,317 people had taken the time to leave a comment. I read through the last 221 comments and here is a sampling from those. 

"Honk Honk!!!!!!" (from Hawaii) (The honks are such fun.)

"I don't know her personally, but I will remember that face. What a gift!"

"I have not read a better post then this on. Congratulations."

"Good for you kid. Live a long and happy life. Don't know you but that doesn't matter. As for the parents, congratulations."
 
"St. Jude's is my charity of choice. Hurray Hurray." (In the comments I've read since I posted this on August 15, I seen a lot of support for St. Jude. Some of those who gave to St. Jude on a regular basis like the next commenter were extra pleased to see the picture of my niece and to know a child their money had helped to cure.)

"AAWW how great. God is good. We always give to St.Jude. I am going outside to blow her a kiss, the wind will carry it to her..GOD BLESS YOU ALL...♥" (Indiana)

"Chili's raising money for St. Jude's for the month if September. Please go in and donate." (Others mentioned fundraising opportunities.)

"more than like, LOVE!!!" (Saw this kind of comment often)

"Praise God & YOU ROCK KAELYN!!!" 

"Let's have a Praise Party for Kaelyn!! Thank you Lord and congratulations young lady!" (There are so many praise God messages every time I read through some of the comments that I think we're having that praise party already!)

"double, triple, quad-triple LIKE this!"

"honk honk honk great news happy for all of you" (Texas)

"This is awesome!! All the kids at St Jude are warriors and there is no better cause to donate to. Trust me I know." (Usually when I dip into the comments, I see at least one from a cancer survivor or a family member telling about a child who also was cured and now has children of his or her own. The saddest message I read was from the mother of a survivor who in his teen years died of a drug overdose.)

"Father God please Bless her with a lifetime of Remission. Thank you Jesus Amen." (So many wonderful prayers were offered up for my niece and her family and many more promises of prayers.)


"Honk honk !!!!! Praise God" (Georgia) (I have to admit I loved it every time I read a honk, honk comment. Great the way people got into the spirit of celebration.)

"Finally something worth reading!! GREAT NEWS!! Congrats!!"

"I don't know her but that is wonderful news." (I found it very touching that so many people were so ready to celebrate with this little girl they didn't even know.)
 
"HONKKKKK! nothing more then AMAZING!!" (And that is my feeling exactly - about my niece's great news of no more cancer and also the outpouring of support by strangers from all over the world.)

"And the people said.......... AMEN!" (I think they did. Over and over and the amens [honks] keep coming in.)

Thanks for reading and I hope you have many reasons to celebrate life and hope as we move toward fall. We won't talk about winter yet. Enjoy the days and the seasons one at a time.

              

  

Honk, Honk, Honk for the Good News



The horns are still honking!

I'm totally amazed by the response on my Facebook author's page to the photo I posted about my great-niece having her No More Chemo party at St. Jude's Hospital last week. I've tried to figure out why so many people were touched by the photo enough to share it with their friends and on and on until tonight the views are over 6 million and the comments over 20,000. That's a lot of people celebrating with our family about my niece's good news.

I think one of the things that might have struck a chord with the people on Facebook - besides my niece's beautiful smile - was that we put the number of days Kaelyn had been taking treatments. 969 is a lot of days. Then the message on the back car window "Honk for No More Chemo" was fun. It set off a lot of honking all over the country and even the world via keyboards.

The comments have been touching and I wish I could say I've read them all, but too many have come in for me to keep up. I have dipped into them at various times and I'm moved by the love that is evident in the words of those who took the time to write a comment. They are all so happy for Kaelyn and all of her family. The praises and thanks to the Lord are heartfelt and lovely to read. It's great hearing from the cancer survivors and so sad reading about those who didn't make it. And yet, even those families are rejoicing with Kaelyn while grieving the loss of their own child or family member.

So I thought you might like to see some of the comments pulled from the thousands. These are just a few of the many I could have highlighted. I didn't include any names, just the heartfelt messages as they were posted on my Facebook page.

•  YAYYY KAELYN! YOU ROCK BABYGIRL!!! Welcome to Cancer-Survivor's Club, not only that but now your a member of the VIP GROUP OF CHILDHOOD CANCER SURVIVOR'S! I'm a member of 19 yrs; it's a AWESOME UNBEATABLE club to be part of! that me & you have ANOTHER THING IN COMMON***my daughter (she's 13 yrs old) her name is KAYLYNN too!!! NEAT!!! EXCELLENT WORK, I KNOW FIRST HAND HOW HARD THAT WALK THROUGH THE BURNING, RAGING FIRES OF CHEMO ARE, AND I COULDN'T BE MORE PROUD OF YOU THAN IF YOU WERE MY OWN CHILD!!! I DON'T KNOW YOU PERSONALLY, BUT I DO KNOW THIS, I KNOW I HAVE LOVE FOR YOU IN MY HEART! GOOD LUCK IN THE FUTURE TO YOU & YOUR FAMILY! AND ALWAYS BE BRAVE, REMEMBER THE WORST IS BEHIND YOU! ♥

• FANTABOULOUS. See sweetie, cancer can be beaten. I too am in remission when no Dr. said I would survive, in March 2005, I was at end stage. I love you, now get out there and enjoy life, you lil sweet thang.

• GOD BLESS!! My Nephew also found out yesterday that he was cancer free 6 yrs old. God does miracles. I will pray that she stays in good health ♥

• not in a car...but HONK HONK HONK

• That is good....Congrats.....I hope will be doing the same thing for my Sister Linda...

• Well done Kaelyn, my son Quinn has done 1104 days and has 60 more to go, he's having a no more chemo party in October, and we can't wait! Good luck to you and your family for the future.

• We have all known cancer whether it is ourselves, someone in our family, or very good friends, it is so good to hear happy news. What a beautiful smile she has! 
• God Bless her, it’s because of kids like her I give to St Jude"s each and every month. PLEASE GIVE what you can.
  
• My wife is a pediatrician at St. Jude. She's very attached to all her "babies".

• That is wonderful I am happy for your great niece and hope she has many, many happy cancer free years ahead of her

• Been there done that, good for her!!!!!thank you Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Now I feel good, cause I am a regular donater to St. Jude Childrens Hospital. So Happy for You Sweety

• not sure how to triple like on here. YAY

• This is great news. My daughter went thru this when she was small. She was diagnosed with ALL at the age of 7,we finished chemo at age 11 and she now has 2 almost grown daughters. Congrats little one and a big hug. You had to have been very brave.

• So happy for her.. we give to St Judes each month what we can...best hospital ..no child turned away!! bless their hearts ..

• My granddaughter had chemo 15 years ago, she is now 18 and going off to college tomorrow. God is good, congratulations and best wishes for many years to enjoy this precious child.

• Honk! Honk! Honk! Love from Memphis ♥

• I remember that day, too,Kaelyn. Congratulations. I have been Cancer Free for 9 years. (((( HUGS ))))

• Just shared Kaelyn's picture. My son is on day number 19. The photo of her sweet smile gave me hope. She represents the light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you for posting.
•  this is great news!!! Having spent many months with kids with cancer, I celebrate each victory with tears of joy and a song in my heart.

• Yeah ... outstanding little Kaelyn! I'm a survivor and know how tough it is to make it through!

• Kaelyn best wishes for a life of many birthdays! I am fighting cancer too!

• I would have to honk and not stop honking

• Che Dio vi benedica.auguri.(God bless you greetings.) (Translated by Bing)

Thanks for all the honks and blessings to all those still fighting the fight. Thanks for reading.