I read a quote somewhere a long time back. It went something like this – an old man is no closer to death than a new born. But when it is a child who stares at this finality, without ever experiencing life on Earth, the pain experienced by people around her is much more.
Even Her Tears Were Yellow is a story of one such child – Chelsea – and her brave fight to endure and live through the big C. Although it might be too painful for most readers, the story is not of the suffering but one of love and perseverance.
We have come a long way from when people died just because of a mysterious disease. We have managed to cure in most cases and are able to do just enough to live with some. But these solutions are not all easy. The side effects of chemicals that we pump in our body can be as painful and harmful as the problem itself. And these become infinitely more severe when the patient is just a child.
Steve Logston narrates Chelsea’s story and struggles when she experienced that first bout of pain at around 4 years of age. An age where she could hardly fathom the gravity of the diagnosis that she was given. Her only grouse – not being able to eat cookies for too long.
Steve Logston grew up in Chester, West Virginia. He and his wife, Joni, now live in Highlandtown, Ohio. He retired, after 35 years of teaching, from Wellsville, Ohio. Steve still enjoys playing music and golfing in his spare time. He and Joni continue to promote organ donation awareness, in honor of Chelsea.
Even Her Tears Were Yellow
Author: Steve Logston
Paperback: 234 pages
Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd (April 29, 2016)
ISBN: 1786120070, 978-1786120076
Going through chemo cycles is tough. What it does to your immune system is worse. Your body becomes susceptible to mildest of infections and makes you sick. Chelsea had to endure the pain of chemo and had to run to the emergency room to make sure that she doesn’t succumb to a simple fever after fighting the big C.
The surgery and chemo, however, did not resolve her issues – she needed a Liver transplant. But it was extremely difficult to find a liver of her size that was a match. Organ donation is a difficult decision. Some people do not want to do it for religious reasons, others do not want their body mutilated, still other do not ever think of that. But with organ donation, your loss can give someone a lease of life. What better legacy can any one of us leave than to give someone a second chance?
Even Her Tears Were Yellow chronicles Chelsea’s long fight with the illness and highlights how things could have been better and easier if she could find a donor in time. It is also a story of Joni who tirelessly stood by her daughter and encouraged her through school and college years. And it is the story of Chelsea who chose to live life enduring the pain but ignoring the prognosis of her illness.