Thank you, Jon Lester

Tuesday, May 20, 2008 by ShawnieMac

Thank you for your incredible accomplishment last night. Thank you for making Red Sox Nation and all the lovers of our national pastime proud. Thank you for your tenacity, your spirit, and your humbleness. Thank you for throwing the 18th no-hitter in Red Sox history and for the victorious look in your eyes as you tipped your cap to the adoring fans at Fenway, and the millions watching around the country. Thank you, most of all, for not letting cancer get the best of you and allowing your accomplishments to be an inspiration to baseball fans, those touched by cancer, and everyone else alike.

The no-hitter, that was about baseball. The fact that it was Jon Lester throwing it, that was something bigger.

I followed Jon Lester's journey, before I even knew of my own recurrence, and watched with tears in my eyes as he clinched the final game of the World Series last year. This time last year, Jon Lester wasn't even in the Red Sox rotation. He was still recovering from his treatments.

Chad Finn's article in today's Boston Globe said

It's impossible to exaggerate how meaningful this is. Every time Lester takes the mound from now until the final pitch his career, he will stand tall as a hero and an inspiration to those scared children getting treatment just a few blocks from Fenway. He could throw a half-dozen more no-hitters, and his status as a survivor would remain his greatest legacy.

Dan Shaughnessy wrote

All of New England will cherish the moment. It's storybook stuff. Seven months after winning the final game of the World Series, the 24-year-old kid who survived cancer pitches a no-hitter at Fenway Park.
This moment reaches far greater distances than the borders of New England. This is not to diminish the fight of those who haven't quite accomplished the feats of Jon Lester - cancer or not - because cancer is a non-discriminating demon, and each individual is uniquely different and each fight is a good fight worth recognizing.

Today, as a cancer survivor, as a baseball fan, and as an eternal optimist even when it seems most implausible - thank you, Jon Lester - for reminding me that all things truly are possible.

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1 comments:

    On May 24, 2008 at 6:52 AM Anonymous said...

    "We are living art, created to hang on, stand up, forbear, continue and encourage others."
    -Maya Angelou


    That is what Jon Lester does and that is what YOU do too!

    Thank you for your gift of encouragement, Vivo.

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