The Fabulous Fight: In Memory of Kasey Swartz

Mark Twain said, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog”. Yep, that was Kasey Swartz alright. Kasey recently lost her battle with cancer. But man, what a fight it was! Kasey was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in January 2012, stage four breast cancer in 2013, was proclaimed cancer free in 2015, then in July 2016 it was back.

She didn’t want you to focus on that, ever. She wrote blogs, she spoke out about her fight against cancer; she spent time with other cancer patients. She loved fiercely- her husband, her daughter, her family and her friends.

She loved to dress sassy and was obsessed with shoes. She wanted to learn, experience and share all that she could. She laughed, cried, screamed and shouted. She was happy, sad, and angry at times. She craved normalcy. When she started work at the YMCA, she bubbled over in happiness. I began to get to know Kasey a little better. One night after swapping stories, she told me that I was one of the bravest people that she knew and she was inspired by me. “By me? You must be crazy, look at the fight you are in!” I said. That told me a great deal about Kasey’s character.

Kasey insisted on being treated like everyone else. She always wanted to learn something new, ask questions, or share ideas.

She never complained to others about feel

ing bad. She was always the one looking out for others. Kasey made a huge impact on my life. She will be missed by so many, but her fight lives on in all of us.

Psalm 103:3 (NLT) He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.