Note from a Hope Lodge Guest (2007)

This is why I do what I do and why skating for 24 hours straight is going to be a piece of cake…

This note came from one of the first Hope Lodge guests I ever worked with. No idea why she called me “Brat”, could have been the sarcasm? One night when I told her I could play guitar, she asked me if I knew any traditional Irish songs. When I told her I could play The Fields of Athenry, her face lit up and she said I had to go get my guitar right away. We had a little sing-a-long session to that and a few others, and I was telling her how I’ve never been to Ireland and how I don’t drink anymore. She joked that I wasn’t “really Irish” more like a “Plastic Paddy”, and thought I should write a song about it. It’s still in the works, but I’m sure I’ll get it done one of these days…

Her sister and mom stayed with her while she was here, and helped make my first few weeks as night manager easy ones. We joked, laughed, and kept the atmosphere positive. She was also a huge fan of Spaceballs, so we watched that one night she was here too. I could tell early on that I had found a job that suited me well.

I will never forget reading the “You almost made cancer fun…” line for the first time. Although it might sound ridiculous, it’s exactly what I try to do for every guest at Hope Lodge. Whether it’s watching a movie, going to a hockey game, or just joking around; I do my best to make these guests smile as much as possible during their battles with cancer. Each and every Hope Lodge guest gives meaning to my cancer, and this is what drives me to do whatever I can to support Hope Lodge - like Skating for Hope.