Compassionate Question

How long have you been on chemotherapy? A few words making up a simple question said with the most compassionate eyes. After a nice morning of snow skiing, my friend and I were sitting in the lodge resting when a lady stopped and posed the question. I had taken off my hat letting my baldness glow from the light of the fire. Smiling, I explained that I didn't have cancer, but that it was a form of Alopecia. She looked a little confused as I continued to explain. She asked if it would grow back and I responded, "Hopefully." With one swift action she reached up and pulled off her short blond wig showing me her regrowth and saying, "When it does begin to grow back it will look like this." By this point she had a bright smile and this compassionate survivor had given me hope. Her journey was much more difficult than mine, and her fight with cancer had settled into a time of remission. This beginner skier was living in the moment and spreading her hope.