As I walked onto the crowded field, my body was filled with warmth. My eyes surveyed all the happy people pitching their tents and decorating the area with purple and white. Today was the day, the relay for life. It made me overflow with joy that so many people had come out for such a good cause. I saw everyone who fought the great battle and won by their shirt, the brave survivors wore a royal purple. As i looked to my left, I was glad to have my favorite survivor by my side, my mother. When I was four my mother was diagnosed with melanoma, fortunately they caught it early enough that it had not spread in her body. Cancer is like a lottery, except when you win this one your not so lucky.

We went to our tents and time went on, and finally it was time for the event to begin. The first lap is always the survivors lap, in honor of the bravery and strength. All the survivors lined up ready to begin, and i made eye contact with my mom. She waved me over, and as I approached her confused she told me to walk with her. At first I was hesitant because I was not a survivor and felt I did not deserve to walk. Then my mother looked at me and said "I only want to walk the lap with you." So I stayed with her, the only one in white. As we walked the lap she told me her story. She remembers how she was having a skin check and her doctor wanted to remove something just because he didn't like the look of it. A few weeks later on super bowl Sunday she got the call, and had to come back in immediately. She told me how scared she was, I can't even imagine the feeling of being told you have the sickness. While she was telling me a pit formed in my stomach. What I remember from the experience is when my mother got a large amount of tissue removed from her arm and a large scar was left.  When I was younger I was fascinated with sharks and asked her if she was bitten by a shark. I recall her laughing and saying yes with a grin. The worst thing that my mother told me the whole lap was what the doctor notified her of after the removal. They said that if she never saw the doctor and didn't treat it, she would of passed away when I was eight. Thats when it all hit me. I realised that I could of lost my mother, the greatest woman in my life. It was like getting punched in the face by the Hulk.

Most people think that things like that will never happen to them. I will never lose my mother this young, those things can't happen to me. Yet I had a startling realization that it could. Bad things can happen and you shouldn't take anything or anyone for granite. Keep the people you love close because in the end nothing else matters. As we rounded the last bend we both were smiling and I could see tears forming in my mother's eyes. It was one of the greatest memories I have with my mother and I will cherish it forever. We finished the lap hand in hand, and I believe her story is an important eye awakening epiphany for me.