Joan Knechel Memorial Walk

    
     Budget is based out of Hackettstown in New Jersey, and right in our backyard is the Hackettstown Regional Medical Center, which houses the Joan Knechel Cancer Center. They are holding a special memorial walk to John Knechel, a nurse at H.R.M.C.. Budget is sponsoring the walk, and we are participating in the walk itself. Know why? It has nothing to do with publicity, or advertisement. It has everything to do with knowing how fantastic and incredible the center is, and how important it is to the residents of northern New Jersey. My grandmother was a patient there, and she is still alive. Oh yes, she conquered cancer twice. Yeah, twice. One was a bout of breast cancer, and the other colon.
     We got to see firsthand the facilities at the Joan Knechel Cancer Center (J.K.C.C.) and how they treat their patients. We were then, and still are, nothing but pleased with the incredible job they do. They were supportive, proactive, and professional. They didn't treat my grandmother (because of her age) as immediately terminal. They treated her with the same care and respect that my family would give her if we were treating her cancer.
     This walk is important. Very important. The annual event, this year held in Liberty Township on October 17th, raises funds for J.K.C.C., and helps keep it going. Helps it keep men and women strong in their fight against cancer. That's why we're walking. The publicity is a far second.
     Personally, I love writing about this stuff. I love telling you all that my grandma survived cancer twice, and I love telling the story of a fantastic local facility being a cornerstone for my grandmother's recovery. Positive is hard to find not because it is scarce. It's because the bad is so much more obvious. My grandmother could have resigned, and just silently slipped away. But no. She didn't. She chose to hunt for the positive, the good, and make sure it kept her alive, which is a good lesson to us all, really.
     So what do you think? Do you think the positive is hard to find because it's scarce, or because we're not looking hard enough? Food for thought, for sure. Think about it.