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Teddi Mervis lost her fight with cancer when she was 12 years old. Beginning with the diagnosis of her brain tumor, the story tells of her three-year battle for life--a struggle she eventually lost. Although Teddi passed away, her memory inspired those who had helped her to deal with her suffering to band together to aid other children who are facing cancer.
These people and thousands of others inspired by Teddi's story--from construction workers to college students to bank presidents--helped form an organization whose primary purpose is to make the lives of children as happy and rewarding as possible. The organization, Camp Good Days and Special Times, Inc., has become one of the largest and most successful organizations of its kind in the world. It is credited with breaking down the barriers for children with cancer and creating pioneering new programs. The 2001 Edition carries the story forward from 1990 with new photographs and an afterword. This book serves to teach and guide those who must cope with the devastating ordeal of childhood cancer.
List of contents
Preface
A World Comes ApartThat First Night
The First Day
The Ante Goes Up
A World Comes Apart
Wrestling with the Devil
Starting Over
Looking for Miracles
The New Terms of Hope
Hard Lessons
The Quality of Time
New Terms of HopeBack to School
New Hope
The Second Campaign
Waiting and Letting Go
A Dream Gets Born
Good Days
Special Times
The Sound of the Second Shoe
Starting Over
"I Love You Anyway"
Decline
The Second Camp
As Autumn Approached
A New Friend
Hope Rethought
Of Death and a Dream"They've Come for Teddi"
Waiting
A Child Dies
Come Saturday Morning
"Don't Hang onto Good-Bye"
A Dreadful Silence
To Go on Anyway
EpilogueA Place in the World
Afterword
About the author
LOU BUTTINO is Professor of Communication Studies, the University of North Carolina./e He is the author of three books, scores of articles and feature stories, and more than 20 documentaries. He has also earned national recognition for his screenplays, including most recently Carmen Basilio! Basilio!.
