Words of Hope
This time last year…
By Linda Solomons, mother of Eric and David, July 28, 2005
This time last year, we were following the stories of Michael Phelps and Carly Patterson as they won gold medals for USA in the Olympics...
This time last year, Lance Armstrong had just won his 6th Tour de France, an amazing accomplishment for a cancer survivor...
This time last year, my 6-year-old son Eric had been breathing HEPA-filtered air in isolation for the past 7 days...
This time last year, Eric had undergone intense treatment—chemotherapy that could burn through his skin if he didn’t take a shower every 6 hours...
This time last year Eric (wrapped in a blanket and mask) and a nurse would take the basement route through the children’s hospital into the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for radiation treatment, where he would lie still and listen to music while deadly invisible, odorless rays would penetrate his body.
This time last year, family, friends and also strangers around the world were anxious and nervous and sad for what my family was about to experience...
This time last year I was watching the sun come up over the City of Philadelphia as I drove my 6-year old son, Brian, to the hospital where he would give his identical twin Eric a future...
This time last year I was numb.
Today is Eric’s 1st BIRTHDAY and Brian’s HERO day! No words can describe the emotions that David and I feel today. Our hope is that days will continue along very normal and that Eric will continue to have a bright future. 
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