The Beast

My cousin Ashley Baird has recently been diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer. It's stage 4 cancer and level 3 in aggression.

Ashley is a 36-year-old mother of 5 and lives in St. George. She's originally from Grantsville and moved to St. George with her family a few years ago. All of this has happened over the last two or three weeks and continues to move quickly. She started chemo last Friday and I hear she's exhausted and sleeping often. Ashley is a strong and funny person. I'm certain she'll get through this and be able to smile often. But, it's not going to be easy.

Today I found out that Ashley and her husband Chad have started a blog. Most of you know her and if you are interested in following her journey it can be found at http://www.sunshinesafterrain.com/.

Ashley and her little family have been on my mind non-stop since this ordeal started. It's devastating to think about how hard this is going to be for all of them. I know they have been overwhelmed with the love and kindness that they've felt over the last couple weeks. I can't help but think these kind of situations bring out the best in people and teach us all a good lesson {although it doesn't seem at all fair}. It makes me all the more grateful for the blessings I enjoy and helps me remember what's really important.

This is also an unfortunate reminder that all of us need to have yearly check-ups, even before the recommended age of 40!