Erica Harris

Team Harris

The biggest challenge in my blood cancer experience was navigating child care while sick, When you take a young mom out of the house, you need a lot of support to care for your young children; help to keep their hearts happy, to get them to soccer, to prepare healthy meals, etc ... Obtaining the support networks around us was key. We were so fortunate to have been enveloped in love and support from forces worldwide. Having my children well cared was truly the biggest gift that allowed me to focus on my recovery and on getting well.

Despite the obvious hardships and the emotional rollercoaster of all that came in tow, I feel so blessed to have navigated this journey. I have the most profound gratitude for the gift of every day. After once hearing the words 'you have two months to live', then attaining this unexpected, miraculous remission, then a bone marrow transplant, then double lung transplant because of complications, then divorce on the other side of it all, I truly feel as though I've been handpicked to go through this journey and to come out the other side of it being able to serve as I now do. I feel so blessed that I’m able to do so. I have a calm heart that I never had before and a profuse gratitude to get to own every moment of every day. I get to be here to be mommy to my two amazing boys!

In sum, what goes down, must come up. I've been lucky to rebound higher than I ever thought possible! I've come to achieve greater levels of happiness and wellbeing than I could have ever imagined.Light the Night has a special place in my heart. When diagnosed, I was given a 2 month terminal prognosis and didn’t know about LTN. I miraculously obtained remission, on the day I returned to hospital for a bone marrow transplant, it was middle of October, I climbed up the steps up to T-15 for this transplant, I checked in, put up my photos, my family left to have dinner and I tucked myself into my cozy little bed and I looked out the window to see the sky all lit up over Stanley Park. It was the most beautiful sight and to me, it was a sign that I was in the right place at the right time and on the exact road I was meant to be on. I only later came to learn it was LTN that lit up the night and provided this golden symbol of hope. It was all so special.

I now attend many of these events and i can say with all of my heart that LTN is the most moving and inspirational event that I have ever been blessed to attend. It is such a moving night, of honouring and paying homage to those who have been through this same dire struggle and to honour the families who have helped us on our journeys.Light the Night means hope, promise, encouragement, positivity and that I’m supported by this beautiful community. And that I am welcomed with open arms.We really need to support these warriors going through leukemia and lymphoma. It's not just for patients, it’s for everyone involved families, etc, it takes everything you’ve got. This community needs as much support as they can get. Please save the date for LTN and recruit your friends and family to partake as all Canadians really need to rally to support this incredible community!