Yesterday, I had an allergy attack and sneezed about 200 times. That might be an exaggeration, but not by much. I took an Allegra-D. It didn’t work. I took a Claritin. It didn’t work. Finally, 12 hours later, I stopped sneezing. Somewhere in all that sneezing I became really really crabby. And that’s a shame considering what I’d experienced Saturday, when Rachel Baumgartner married Gabe Lozano and I went to the wedding. 

I met Rachel five years ago. I’d written a feature story about a woman who sued a salon and was awarded $6,000 for emotional distress, depression, counseling and lost income from taking early retirement after a chemical treatment caused her hair to become brittle and fall out in clumps.

Rachel e-mailed me to say she was offended by the story. After all, she’d battled a rare and deadly form of cancer twice, losing her hair to chemotherapy both times. (The cancer would return a 3rd time, and Rachel was given only weeks to a few months to live. Her story is so amazing) In any case, hair was the least of her worries and besides, it provided an opportunity to paint her bald head with flowers and stars. But that’s just how Rachel is: sweet, positive and ethereal — almost like she’s from another world.  I found this out when I called her and invited her for lunch after she wrote. We’ve remained friends since. You can read more about her at her “I’m Obsessed With Life” blog. Be sure to scroll down and read the commencement address Rachel gave recently. Inspiring.

But that’s not all. At the wedding I had the pleasure of sitting next to a guy named Jason, who met Rachel at a cancer support group.  Jason was also very sweet and lively and, only after sitting next to him for more than hour, did he mention rather matter-of-factly that he’s battling cancer for the third time and that it’s in his bones. When I tried to tell him how awestruck I was by him, he seemed puzzled by this. Like anyone would be able to handle three bouts of cancer with as much grace and dignity. If he’d seen me yesterday, he might not have been so puzzled. Not everyone’s as strong as Rachel and Jason.