"I'm alive and I don't need a witness to know that I survived..."

I'm struggling to find the words so please forgive me if this doesn't make sense. I'm blogging out of order because this is so important to me.


I flew out to Salt Lake City on Tuesday for a once in a lifetime opportunity. I was invited to be the staff photographer for Cancer Wellness House. Their teen and young adult survivor group was going to a meet and greet with Andrew McMahon (of Jack's Mannequin and Something Corporate), who is also a survivor. The second the offer was made, I knew I had to go. It was worth every moment.

From the second we met him, Andrew was so warm and wonderful. Not only did he read the blurbs about everyone, he remembered. One by one, every single person in our group got to talk to him. Yes, they talked about cancer but they also talked about life and passion and music. We all got signed posters, even me.

Andrew thanked me personally for flying out from Florida to take the photos. I just kept saying "no, thank you for giving me the chance." And when I told him about my heart, he just hugged me.

I didn't tear up until Aunt Terri went to present Andrew with what we brought him. As part of Survivors at the Summit, Cancer Wellness House has tribute flags hanging at the peak. Seeing as Aunt Terri is an even bigger fan that I am, there were flags in honor of Andrew. Watching him read the flags brought me to tears.



When it was time for the sound check, we were allowed to stay and it was amazing. I stood there and cried quietly behind my camera when they played "Swim" and just kept taking photos.








When we came back for the show, all of us were on the Jack's Mannequin list. We all hung out towards the back and I sat down for most of the show. I stood with Aunt Terri for the encore and it was amazing. I felt like me again.

**The title of this post is lyrics from "The Resolution" (by Jack's Mannequin, of course).