In Loving Memory

A few days ago I received an email from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network saying "with your help we raised over $100,000 dollars." What a wonderful Christmas present! As many of you know, Paul Wilson passed away from this disease on October 16, 2010. Paul was not only my best friend's father, but he also known as a "second dad" to me, or Uncle Monster, as well.

Here is the email I sent thanking my friends and family for their generous donations to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network 5K in Paul's Memory:

I just wanted to say thank you SO much for donating to the Purplestride 5k and Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Pauli's Girls ended up being the #1 fundraising team, raising OVER $14,300 dollars, and Concetta was the #1 fundraiser. The events fundraising goal was $25,000 and they ended up raising over $90,000! Overall, I would say it was a HUGE success!!

I honestly can not express how much your generosity means, not only to me, but also to the Wilsons. Paul was a huge part of my life, and I can confidently say that yesterday he was there with us as we accepted our awards and ran in his memory. As I said at the burial, in my graduation card Mr. Wilson wrote "Yelts, You will always be my Supergirl. May you have many adventures to Afriganistan." If you read my fundraising page, you know what the Afriganistan was about; but as far as the Supergirl goes, you all helped me reach that status. Having raised over $700 dollars, I am awestruck by the amazing generosity of the people I know and love.

Now, as I continue aiming to reach Supergirl status in other aspects of my life, I hope we all remember Paul for the incredible husband, father, and friend he was. The race may be over, but my love for Mr. Wilson and the Wilson family, will continue for the rest of my life.

I will leave you with one last thought: As most of you know, Mr. Wilson's bedtime stories always began "in the deepest darkest jungles of Afriganistan" where Concetta and I faced a some sort of hardship, no matter how humorous it was, but ultimately always prevailed. He has left her and I, along with everyone else he knew, with the capability to prevail. Even in the face of the greatest adversity, he found the absolute best in life. You all showed me a glemse of that through your generosity, and I hope I continue to show people that as I continue to grow into the person he knew we could all become. Thank you again for your amazing support  over the past month, hopefully we will be able to prevent other families, friends, and complete strangers from facing this horrible disease.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Jessica


I believe that sums up the race and shows you a glimpse of the importance of it. However, it does not sum up the true resilience of  Concetta, her brother, George and their mother Christie. They have continued to amaze me throughout the past three months, and have acted with more grace, bravery and generosity than many in their situation can even imagine.

As for Uncle Monster, he was everything you could hope to find in a person. He spent every hot summer afternoon tossing us around in the pool, and every dark scary night chasing us around the house playing "Monster" or telling us stories of our favorite make-believe land, Afriganistan. He wrote us songs for our graduations, called on every birthday, and always tried to make the best of every situation. And most importantly he never, ever, gave up.

And so to Uncle Monster: I, like many, miss you everyday.  And to the Wilson's: I love you all so much. You have shown us that even in the most difficult times we can all prevail.

Christie, Paul, Me and Concetta on My Graduation Day