This is a very sad, but also joyful weekend for us as we celebrate the life of our friend's mother, Elizabeth Burke Smith, also known as "Cookie".
We knew her as Liz, and she came into my life through my friend, Megan. Megan and I studied for our licensing exams together, and became fast friends. When Randy and I bought this house, it was not too long after Liz and her husband, Mike, had bought a new construction home in Doylestown, PA. The Smith family moved around a lot, so Liz was an old pro at the new house thing. She would send me helpful new-house tips through Megan, such as not to paint any rooms in the first year (due to nail pops), and even the name of her favorite Benjamin Moore paint color, the most perfect tan that matches everything. Her advice became gospel to Randy and I, and we didn't touch the walls for the first year. Of course, we still haven't touched most of the walls due to color choice paralysis, which would have been cured if I had just painted everything that Benjamin Moore tan she had recommended.
Liz was very supportive. She became my first Sugar Whim customer, although back then it was a different incarnation called "...And eat it too". It was their Easter cake that year, a white cake with cream cheese icing, covered in coconut. I still have the money on my refrigerator.
In spring of 2008, Liz was having trouble remembering words. Her speech was a little slurred, and her handwriting wasn't quite as neat as it once was. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She was lucky and got in with some top docs down at John Hopkins. They operated and removed all they could of the tumor. My mother and I went to church the morning of the surgery and prayed everything would go ok. I still remember the exact moment Megan called me from the hospital that night. I was in bed, with my phone by my head, waiting to hear. Liz had woken up with full speech, everything was back to normal. Even the doctors were amazed.
Unfortunately it was a glioma, a very aggressive form of brain cancer. The doctors warned her she would probably only live a year, and that only 3% of patients make it five years. She was determined to fight.
Over the next couple of years she underwent cancer treatments and MRIs. She kept fighting, and she was doing well. There were countless more early morning church services. There was a spot that doctors were not sure if it was scar tissue, or another tumor. They kept their eye on that spot, but it didn't grow. I think it was around Christmas two years ago that they noticed it was starting to swell. The doctors scheduled another surgery and removed it, but another tumor appeared. It was too far into her brain to operate on.
Liz fought long and hard, long enough to enjoy two grandchildren, and saw
Megan walk down the aisle at her wedding this past May.
She went into hospice soon after the wedding, but her fight didn't end there. She pushed on. She quietly moved on this past Monday, August 27th, 4 1/2 years after the doctors told her she probably wouldn't live another year.
To honor Liz, her great love, and great strength, we will be walking in the Philadelphia Race for Hope on November 4th to benefit the National Brain Tumor Society. To join our team, or to sponsor Megan, Matt, Randy or I, please click
here.
Liz defied the odds fighting for as long as she did. Let's continue to fight for her and hopefully make brain tumors a thing of the past.
Edit: We have reached our team goal, but we have not all reached our individual goals. You will get a receipt for tax purposes. Please consider sponsoring us.
To Megan and your family, I tried to get all of the details right. Let me know if I made any mistakes, they can always be remedied.
