She’s Baaaaaaaack!

Is it just ME, (and I KNOW it’s not!) or are you, too, just so happy that Robin Roberts was able to rejoin the gang of Good Morning America (ABC News, USA)?

I am a big fan of Robin’s.  I view her as a pro in every sense of the word.  She knows her business and she gets the job done without ever making it about herself.

I love that she is a family-person, that she speaks lovingly and respectfully of others and that she never generates controversy.

I admire Robin because of her courage in the face of adversity and that she sees what challenges her in life as opportunity to grow as a person.

I think we all care about Robin because she cares.

As a breast cancer survivor, Robin taught us about resilience and acceptance.  As a result of triumph over cancer, Robin was stricken with an even more rare disease for which there were fewer options, fewer case studies, and fewer survivors.

Five months to the day of a bone marrow transplant, Robin was back at the desk of the popular morning show looking a little thinner than usual – which only made her smile appear bigger! 

Despite the ongoing media-hype in anticipation of her return, Robin is really just the “poster-child” of the real story – and I am confident Robin would be the first to agree…this isn’t just about Robin.

This is a story of the power of people coming together; uniting to become a force that none of us has the power to be alone.  This is about the need to share information and the power of the result of doing so.  This is about humanity at its greatest depth and highest height – this is about what is possible.  It’s about learning that precious few things are impossible - if the why is strong enough.

While Robin has been genuinely sincere in thanking all her well-wishers, the medical professionals that joined “Team Robin”, her family, friends, colleagues – and very importantly – her faith, I think this is really about us thanking her.

From her hospital room and in her fussy slippers, Robin faced cameras just as she does after hair and makeup but with a bald head, a scrubbed face, circles under her eyes, thinner, and with a weaker voice.  This is the definition of humility and raw honesty.  Who wouldn’t admire that?

What never diminished was Robin’s hope that her outcomes would be as favorable as they are proving to be.  What never diminished was her will to get through another day.  What never diminished was that this journey would not be one made in vain; she waged the war for many and her trials will help others survive more easily in the future.  In fact, it’s already happening.  The exposure of her condition has educated others, encouraged countless people to volunteer to become donors, matches have been made, and strangers are saving the lives of other strangers. 

I told you I was a Robin fan!

Equally so, I am a fan of anyone who never surrenders because it’s just the easier thing to do.  I am a fan of faith and hope.  I am a fan of triumph over trial. I am a fan of every possibility that makes any situation a better one for as many people as possible.  I am a fan of never giving up.  I am fan of exhausting options and then coming up with new ones.  I am a fan of fighting the good fight.

That’s why I am a fan of Robin Roberts! That’s why I am a fan of Robin Robert’s fans!  They have come together because they saw the opportunity to do something that would be good for another.  What a notion, eh?

I am a fan of Robin’s sister, Sally, who was her donor.  It took the two of them and an arsenal of medical professionals to see this through – and so they have. 

I hope that very few people – and no others that I know and love – face a crisis as Robin did.  I do hope that many – including those that I know and love – accept the opportunity to become a donor, a volunteer, a cheerleader for those who need to know you care.  In so doing, you gift yourself more than you can ever humanly gift another – because you did something.  You loved enough!

So, IS it just me, or are you, too,  deciding what it is that you have been blessed with that you can share with the world – or even just one other person?

“Take the mess and become the messenger”

The wise and inspiring words of Robin’s Beloved Mother