"I Challenge You To Live," Dr. J. Fitzgerald

Dr. Jerri Fitzgerald, has died. She was 57.
When Dr. Fitzgerald spoke at a commencement before her death, she urged the graduates to not be passive about life. "I challenge you to live," she said. "The only thing that matters is: Did you live? Do you really live? Did you make a choice?"

Dr. Fitzgerald’s story is riveting.

In 1999, Fitzgerald found a lump in her breast, the final flight of the season had departed the South Pole. No chance of rescue for at least 6 months. She performed her own biopsy, with the assistance of a member of the team who was a welder. The biopsy tested positive for breast cancer. She would have to wait for treatment in November, but the cancer was aggressive. Treatment had to began quickly. In July, the U.S. Air Force staged a middle-of-the-night, middle-of-the-winter, very rare and dangerous airdrop to an ice field lit by fire. She began the treatment regimen immediately and was evacuated when spring arrived to continue treatment. Her cancer went into remission but unfortunately returned in 2005. Dr. Jerri Fitzgerald, documented her whole ordeal in a best-selling book, 'Ice Bound.

In her book, she states, "Everyone has to get something, some people are ugly, some people are stupid. I get cancer.”

God Bless this brave & strong woman. And I know one just as brave. Her name is Carroll. I'm privledged to have her in my life.