Lighting our way

By Stacy Schorr Chandler


The world lost a brilliant soul when Casey Kane passed away last week. Brilliant in terms of wisdom, sure, but Casey's brilliance was most apparent in terms of light.

She lit up the lives of everyone around her with her big smile, her hearty laugh and her passion for living. It was impossible -- impossible -- to be sad around Casey. Even when her friends found out in 2000 that she'd been diagnosed with cancer at the age of 24. We cried, sure, and we raged against the injustice of something like that happening to someone so young, so vibrant, so kind. But her courage -- and unfailing ability to crack a joke and to be the comforter even when she was the one in danger -- buoyed us all. Even when I accompanied her to chemotherapy once, that grin never stopped. I'd brought magazines with me in the expectation that she'd want to sleep, or at least not be yammered at, at some point during the 3-4 hour procedure. I didn't get to look at a single page. We talked and laughed and behaved badly until it was time to go home. Last November, she made the trip from Massachusetts (not easy for her, I know) to come to my wedding reception and was the belle of the ball. Maybe a month or two before she died, she sent us an Elvis postcard for no reason -- just to brighten our day, I guess, which it certainly accomplished. I heard that even in the days just before she left us, she was making jokes and keeping a smile on her face.

And now one might assume with her passing that her light has gone out. But in the few days since her death, I can already tell it is still with us -- that she is still with us. It shines in the way her friends have been calling each other, to plan logistics of getting to her funeral, sure, but also just to say hello and "I love you" and to talk about old times. I've been on the phone constantly the past couple days, reconnecting with folks who call just to check on us, just to say hello. That's very much in Casey's spirit, and it is a very positive side-effect of what otherwise is a very painful event. It's just the beginning of her legacy, I think. She taught all of us a lot, even as she cracked us up and showed us a good time, and she'll continue guiding us with her light for the rest of our lives.

Thanks Casey.

Stacy worked with Casey at the Anderson Independent Mail