Dear Friends,

When you hear a child say that God doesn’t cure everyone – you immediately think that they are talking about an older person with an illness. Never did I in my infinite wisdom believe that they were talking about themselves – but they were. And never did I believe that something so awful could affect one of my children. Now I have learned the difficult way, that God does not cure everyone – and that everyone’s name was Victoria.

Victoria, or Tori Jo, as her friends called her, arrived on June 15, 1992 as our third child. We had two girls and a boy, and our family was complete. We thought our life was pretty perfect until….

When Victoria became ill at the young age of 11 – and the diagnosis was Cancer – our world was rocked.

Imagine being 11 years of age – and hearing the word CANCER and knowing that the person who had CANCER was YOU... I can’t even imagine how she felt. When the doctors told her, I saw her tears and I saw her little shoulders shake and I knew at that moment, that our lives as we knew it would never, ever be the same again.

Victoria never cried again! She faced so many, many obstacles and so many bumps in the road, yet she never gave up hope. Once as I was combing her golden blonde hair and it began to just fall out in large clumps, she ended up being the one to reassure me! She told me “it is just hair Mom!” As I comb my hair each day, I am reminded of what she told me. I will never, ever, talk about having a bad hair day!

If I could tell you one thing to remember about Victoria would be that she was always positive that she was going to beat Cancer. She never gave up Hope and she never lost Faith! Her courage was endless. She was a fighter. Today I want you to be a fighter for Victoria and a fighter for all of those children who spend endless days and months in a hospital. For these children the simples things are the things we take for granted. Victoria’s last simple request was to go outside and see the Christmas lights. A very kind man, Jeromy “Doc” Adams granted her that simple request and was able to push her around the grounds of the hospital so that she could see the Christmas lights. Going outside is something we all take for granted. Unfortunately it was her last Christmas gift. She was never to see another Christmas light here on Earth.

When Victoria passed away, I knew again, our lives would never be the same. The hole in our heart is always there and each day I have that reminder that there is never a “do-over” in life. I can not go back and do this over and make it right. I can not make it right for Victoria. That is the guilt that I carry with me each and every day. Victoria never got to go to high school like other children, she didn’t get a driver’s license, go on a date, or even get to graduate and there was nothing that I could do to spare her life. I, as the Mom, could not find a drug that would have cured her, and so I had to tell her goodbye….I felt like I failed her.

As you prepare for your event – please do not give up Hope. Encourage your friends, one more time, to give from their hearts for children like Victoria. Please do not make this their last Christmas! Continue to keep battling for Victoria – and for the other children – YOU CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE! One day we will all see the difference you have made in the lives of a children with cancer and other serious diseases and injuries– they will be cured and saved.

We will all know how you made that difference in your efforts to heal sick children. Thank you all so much for what you are doing for the children!

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.”

With love,
Jo Ellen Enmon
Mother of Victoria (Tori Jo) Enmon