Prayers For A Missing Mexican Student

A foreign student at Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed University for Arts and Culture has been reported missing since April 9.

According to police, Acosta Reynaud Cecile Denise, 36, a Mexican student learning Mohini-yattam under ICCR scholarship, joined Kalaman-dalam in September 2011 and was staying as a paying guest at Shoranur.

Quoting her landlord, Kalamandalam authorities said she had left Shoranur last week to meet her husband and kid. Her husband Manric, 40, is a doctoral student at Kalasalingam University, Sriviliputhur.

The state police carried out investigation at Cheruthuruthy and Shoranur on the basis of a complaint lodged with the Tamil Nadu police by her husband who said that he had seen her off at Krishnankovil on April 9 after which she was not available over phone or e-mail. She usually took a bus from Krishnankovil to Madurai enroute Shoranur.

When he tried calling her on the cellphone, someone else answered and disconnected it, the complaint said. “Her landlord alerted us on Saturday saying she had been missing,” said the VC P.N. Suresh.

~ An article in The Asian Age

This story was brought to my attention by one of my high school friends, Kristine.  This woman is Kristine’s boyfriend’s sister.  Cecile has been missing for a week now, and her loved ones are desperate to hear from her.  Even if the very least you can do is pray for Cecile’s safe return, please do it!  It would be much appreciated if you could get the word out as much as possible, ask other people to pray, etc.  I know it is far-fetched, but if any of you have contacts in India (where she disappeared), please tell them to be on high alert.  Not much more is known at this point in time.  Kristine got permission for me to publish her boyfriend’s mother’s email address, so here it is:  cecile.reynaud@hotmail.com.  The newspaper’s contact page is here.  Pray, pray, pray!

Let’s Get the MLB Wearing Gold in September for Pediatric Cancer Awareness

I know I have posted about this before, but I couldn’t resist doing it again, especially since I found out that we need more support than ever before to get this done.  Once we have reached the 1,500 signature mark, change.org will increase the amount of signatures needed.  I don’t really know why they do this, but it doesn’t matter.  The more support we have, the better.  Lorrie, the woman who started this petition, lost her great-niece Riley to neuroblastoma last April, and since Riley loved the Boston Red Sox, Lorrie came up with this idea to get the MLB players wearing gold in September for awareness.  It is genius.

I know I have gotten quite a few new subscribers in the last week or so, so please take a moment and click here (the link will take you to the change.org petition).  Thank you for following me and thank you, in advance, for signing.  I cannot do this without you.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month, but you hardly ever see gold anywhere – instead you see pink for breast cancer.  NFL players even wear pink in their October games, and people know what it is for, because breast cancer pink is that abundant.

There is a very good chance that if we stand together, we can make pediatric cancer awareness as big as breast cancer awareness is today.  Maybe then, more people will start to get involved and curing it will be just a matter of time.

As it is, this past weekend was a particularly horrible one in the childhood cancer community.  I know according to the statistics, more children lost their fight recently than I can put names and faces to, but here are the children I know of.

TANNER EVERS

I found Tanner on Friday, one day before he died.  He has a Facebook group .  He was born on October 17, 2003, and was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in August 2006.  On Saturday afternoon, after a five and a half year fight, he passed away wrapped in his mother’s arms.  His family considers him a miracle because his doctors didn’t think he would even last 2 years with the disease.  What do doctors know?  They call him Super Tanner for a reason.

Ila Jean Rathbone

I have been following Ila Jean Rathbone for a while.  She had neuroblastoma too.  She was born on February 5, 2005, and by August 2006, she was diagnosed with the cancer, stage IV.  She relapsed last May, and again in December four days before Christmas, and yesterday, shortly after 5 pm, she went home to heaven.  She was 7 years old.  Her Caring Bridge site says she never let her cancer win over her spirit – it is the children who know how to do this best.

GAGE DRIVER

Gage  was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) on October 7, 2011.  He had been in a clinical trial in Pittsburgh since January 4th, but on April 5th, a MRI showed the tumor spreading throughout his brain.  I remember reading a heartbreaking post on his Facebook page where it was reported that Gage had said he didn’t want to die, that he was scared.  No eight-year-old should have to say that.  No child should.

Tanner, Ila, and Gage are all without pain today, but their families are not.  What is being done about this monster called pediatric cancer?  Not enough, if you ask me.  You can help bring an end to it.  The number one thing you could do is keep talking about it, as I am, keep spreading awareness.  Sign the MLB, change.org petition, and please share it with every one you know!  We can do this.  I know we can.