Paths and Bravery

Boys and their toys. Quad racers, a RZR, and a dirt bike out on the sand dunes of Little Sahara State Park near Waynoka, Oklahoma. Following paths, creating paths, and crossing paths.

 

Paths. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about paths in life. I may not be a believer in ultimate fate where our lives are simply a series of planned out events. However, I have come to believe that while our paths develop as we go, the right people seem to cross our paths. Not to mention the timing of these crossings.

I recently was asked to join the Kroeger family and friends on a trip to Waynoka, Oklahoma for days of riding out on the sand dunes. The boys asked me to come along to help document the trip, as they were aware of my photography hobby. They have been going for years but haven’t really taken many pictures.

Boy oh boy did we snag some good photographs, and I had an absolute blast taking the photos and getting to ride with the guys. It was some of the most fun I had experienced in quite a while and an inspiring trip.

As my path took me to working a temporary position at Ponca State Park, this made it possible for me to step in and help my aunt and uncle like I have for the past three months. Being at the hospital in Omaha when I was led me to spending time with the Kroeger men, great friendships, and the Oklahoma trip. What great timing on many fronts in my life lately.

Quad racers, a RZR, and a dirt bike out on the sand dunes of Little Sahara State Park near Waynoka, Oklahoma.  Popping wheelies, taking jumps, and showing bravery.

Bravery. It was crazy watching the guys catch some of the air that they were on those sand dunes. Crazier yet was timing some of my shots documenting that awesomeness. Takes some guts to just let go and ride the air like that. What a rush, too. I was in the RZR with Nick on a handful of jumps, and often I kept thinking we should have touched ground a second or two before we actually did. :-)

Speaking of bravery, I am sure some of you who follow my blog are aware of Nick and his family’s story. Nick is 16 years old and was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in December of 2014. He had part of his leg amputated in March of 2015 and has gone through several rounds of chemotherapy. Three months post-amputation, some scans showed that the cancer had metastasized in his lungs and lymph nodes despite the chemotherapy. The doctors in Omaha didn’t give much hope in his prognosis but directed him to some doctors at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Nick was recently accepted into a clinical trial up there, and he has received one round of the treatment so far. Nick agreed to let the doctors take biopsies from him throughout the study, which is not a painfree process, but he knew it could help people in the future fighting similar battles to his own. I know how proud Nick’s dad was of him when Nick made this selfless decision.

As you may have read in my last post, through all of this Nick has continued to enjoy life and stay strong. He has been such an inspiration, and I know that my life crossed paths with his family for many reasons. I have no doubt about that.

Not only has Nick been brave through all of it, but also I have to mention two other brave guys - his brother Nate and their dad Mike - and the rest of their family. The process takes its toll on everyone involved. Through my recent life experience, I was told time and time again to remember to take care of myself, too. Often times, a caregiver forgets to care for his- or herself along the way. Nonetheless, thank goodness we are able to support each other.

Sometimes it stinks to think that it takes hard times like this for us to go out of our way to be kind to one another. I challenge people to do more kind things for others. My year in American Samoa taught me that if we help each other regularly, not much then feels like a burden. We all have to remember to be brave and remember that somebody else out there probably is having a worse day than we are even if it seems pretty bad at the time.

Take the story of Nick and the Kroeger family as inspiration. Nick continues to fight, and I am so blessed to be connected with the Kroegers. His family is a joy to be around, too. I’ve been spending a lot of time with them lately, and I love every minute of it. From riding on the sand dunes of Oklahoma, to backyard lawn games in Norfolk, to pulling weeds for hours, to looking through pictures together. Nick and Nate like to tell people that they took their personal photographer with them to Oklahoma and will have her along on all future riding trips. ;-)

 

Personal photographer getting a ride

Quad racers, a RZR, and a dirt bike out on the sand dunes of Little Sahara State Park near Waynoka, Oklahoma. Paths and bravery. Enjoying life. Never ever ever give up.