Writing this fanfic, I wanted to make it as real as possible. So, I read Maya’s blog again and other parents’ blogs, did research and such to try and make it as authentic as possible. When I say I did research I mean I spent hours reading medical stuff and parent blogs, stories for children's hospitals, and just as much as I could find. When the time comes, for it to be necessary, I will credit and link some of those blogs or stories told by mothers, fathers, caregivers and surviors. Maya was a huge inspiration for me - but it wasn't just her - it was every family who has dealt with cancer - including my own..
The emotion for me, is the same - awareness for childhood cancer. I lost one of my friends from High School when we were just 16 - after he battled this disease not once but twice. I found out the other day that one of my other high school friends has been recently diagnosed. A friend of mine is getting her last round of chemo in a few weeks (this now being a month later is officially cancer free!). I’m not gonna even get into what I’ve seen cancer wise in my family. I’ve seen this, too many times, and cancer awareness is so important to me. Especially for children, who receive the least amount of funding from the American Cancer Society as well as the government.
I wouldn’t say I’m really going off Maya and Ronan, with writing this fanfic but of pediatric cancer in general. I did read her blog (as well as many others) to get a better feel of it from a parent perspective as I am not a parent, but the pain of it is real to me too. Once I remove my aunts and uncles and two friends I have now that are fighting, the biggest inspiration comes from when I was oh, about thirteen to eighteen. I lost a good friend of mine when I was in high school from the disease which he fought twice - I watched his sister, a girl I tutored after school because she was missing so much to be with her brother, deal with it all from the side of a sibling. This little girl who is now in high school, is an inspiration in so many ways and her mother's blog will be linked eventually, because everything about her makes me want to be a better person.
A lot of this story that I’m telling, eventually, will be inspired by that beautiful little girl, now going on nearly four years without her brother - because like so many things I’ve learned, those two siblings opened my heart and inspired me so long ago, for so many things. She’s one of the first tutoring experiences I had and made me know I wanted to go into teaching. Her brother, was my stand partner in Orchestra for several years, and we had a class together even though he was two years younger than me, showed me importances in life I never would have found otherwise - one of them being music.
Also, because the goal of this fanfic - one that I've been working on now for a few months was aimed to be put out in it's entirety at the release for something that is Ronan and Maya related but because of school and the fact that this is turning out to be much longer than I imagined, that wasn't possible. I'd like for you all to go on itunes and support the Rock For Ronan project, it's amazing, trust me. And if you can't buy it all, buy Brooke's song. :)
