I knew him as Hans Gruber...

My kids knew him as Professor Snapes.

From Die Hard to Harry Potter, Alan Rickman had an appeal that spanned generations.

And this week past, we lost him to pancreatic cancer.

I didn't know him, other than from the brilliant characters he portrayed, and yet, I felt as if I had lost a close friend, there was such a heaviness when I heard the news. A wave of grief for a man who struggled with the same pain, the same prognosis as mom... A man who has so recently walked the same road that mom had journeyed.

Pancreatic cancer is simply devastating lives still...

Power, prestige, position... makes no difference to the insidious disease that continues to rip families apart.

And my heart aches for his wife.  And his family, his friends.  And the many, many fans that have followed his work and are reeling from this sudden loss...

There are no answers for why pancreatic cancer is still winning, for the pain that it causes.

5 years ago our family was in the fight of our lives as mom waged war against a cancer that took no prisoners...and we continue that fight today.

In her honor.

And in honor of the thousands that have raised their hand to be counted in the battle, celebrities and ordinary everybodies who make my heart take wing every single day...

As I have read the many tributes to Alan Rickman this week, a quote of his just resonated deeply:

“And it’s a human need to be told stories. The more we’re governed by idiots and have no control over our destinies, the more we need to tell stories to each other about who we are, why we are, where we come from, and what might be possible.”

Our stories are the light that gives hope as we journey this unpredictable road to what might be possible...

Always. 

May we carry the torch for those following behind... 

Fighting Pancreatic Cancer until the Journey is filled with Hope and Healing...to all the tomorrows that might be possible...

My Love, Always,
                          Jane