Daughter of Beorn: The Hobbit Fanfiction

Before you start to send death threats.

Alright.

I suck.

I get it.

I know I haven't updated. But... there's been a lot of stuff going on lately, and I hope you all read this in an attempt to understand.

A month or so back a close friend of mine, who we'll call S for privacy reasons, passed out in the shower due to a migraine. His family took him to the hospital only to discover a good-sized tumor near his cerebellum. (Which is essentially at the back of the skull.) It was the first time anyone I really knew had been diagnosed with cancer... and it was devastating.

The medical staff immediately took him in for surgery, which lasted for over 12 hours. He then spent the following week recovering, hardly able to keep any food down, and sleeping for the majority of the day.

S is only 16 years old. Luckily the surgeons managed to remove all parts of the tumor, but said he must go through radiation and chemotherapy to make sure everything goes well. He and his family are currently in Philadelphia where S is receiving a form of proton treatment that's only available in some hospitals.

Not long after that I was due to go on my mission trip to Nicaragua. The trip was incredible, don't get me wrong- I'm still recovering, however. The entire team became sick the last 2 days due to poor water filtration. Not to mention seeing the impoverished situations of children and their families on a day-to-day basis takes a toll. But who am I to complain, sitting here with electricity and enough food to eat?

Needless to say it's been a rocky couple of weeks. Emotionally draining. Nevertheless I'm expected to get some free time in my limited time before school- I will purposely be setting aside a bit to add another chapter onto this book and My Realistic Fantasy.

I ask that you keep S in your prayers, and if you are not religious, simply wish him and his family well.

~ Orla

{And this part will be deleted upon the next update.}