Every once in awhile, as a nurse, I've had the opportunity to have my life so touched and blessed by one of my patients. Tuesday, one of those patients passed away and she has touched the lives of many who I work with. She was 16 years old and had been battling ovarian cancer. It had been in remission until about 1 month ago. She had stopped treatments one month previous to that and was clear, but one month later when she went in for a body scan it had spread to her liver. At this point she only weighed about 70 pounds and understandably couldn't put up with another round of chemo to fight it off. Luckily she was able to get a minor surgical procedure and take a minor dose of chemo to prolong her life through the holidays. Her wish before dying was to be able to go shopping for her younger siblings (she was the oldest) and give them a good Christmas since so much of the past couple of years had been focused on her. Many of us and others in the community were able to pull together some funds, and Toys R Us open early just for her to come and shop. We were told she was so happy to have that opportunity. She was supposed to be going to New York City later this month with the "Make A Wish" foundation to go on another shopping spree, but unfortunately she didn't make it. She was always so quick to smile and joke, even though she was always feeling horrible because of the chemo we were giving her. I will never forget her and hope that I will live my life a little better because of her example. My thoughts and prayers are with her family.