"The buttons will unite us."

The buttons will unite us. Katharine Schweriner talking about the buttons we made for her family to wear in the Free to Breathe lung cancer walk/run in Philadelphia, November 2nd. I asked Kathatrine to share the story of her Oma and Opa. I think once you read the story you'll know why the picture she chose is so perfectly matched to this sweet love story.

After you reead the story come back and click here to make a donation direct to the Schweriner Family team!

A Red Rose and a White Carnation  

Betty and Harold Schweriner were my husband's parents but most people knew them as "Oma and Opa."  Those were the names they chose when their first grandchild, our daughter Jennie, was born in 1979.  As parents they were endlessly supportive and loving.  As grandparents they were fun, involved, caring, and generous.  The photograph on the button was taken in our backyard at Opa's 70th birthday party.  Being in their early 70's and thinking they were both healthy, they looked ahead to the future. 

Oma was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after she and Opa returned from a trip to England, Scotland and Wales. It was thought that she had a bad cold, or at worst, possibly pneumonia… the diagnosis was devastating to them and to the rest of our family.  For the next year and a half, Opa cared for her, through the ups and downs, through chemo, through radiation, through hair loss and weight loss.  His optimism continued through the most dreadful days, he never gave up, he was a rock and the whole family leaned on him for strength. Oma lost her battle on January 25, 2001.  Shortly after that, during a routine stress test, Opa collapsed, and the long story short is that he was diagnosed with the same god awful inoperable lung cancer that Oma had.  To complicate it further, the tumor in his lung had made its way to his heart, an impossible situation.  He was strong and he was able to hang on a bit longer than Oma, in fact we joked that we celebrated his last Christmas with us two years in a row… but he too lost his battle on March 19, 2004.

There is not a day that goes by that we don't think of them, they are sadly missed but they are also an inspiration to our family and we wanted to find a way to keep their memory alive. We had been looking for a meaningful way to help raise funds and awareness specifically for lung cancer research. Opa was always so hopeful that a cure was just around the corner. When we heard about "Free to Breathe" in Philadelphia we wanted to get involved.  Through that effort we learned about the buttons...  putting faces to the cause, it makes it real and it feels so great to do something positive, something hopeful.  So on November 2, 2008 "Team Oma and Opa" will be walking and the buttons will unite us, and it will feel like Oma and Opa are there with us in spirit.  And… we hope the money we have raised will help to make a difference!  

Throughout their married life, Oma and Opa had a symbol for their relationship… one red rose, one white carnation.  The red rose represented Oma, beautiful and lovely. The carnation represented Opa, sturdy and strong.  He always told her, “you can always lean on me” and in their home you could usually count on seeing a vase with a rose leaning on a carnation… now, a red rose and a white carnation find their way to most family gatherings and it brings a reassuring smile to all of us to know they are with us in spirit.

We thank Katharine for sharing her story of love and devotion and  her family's will to make a difference in honor and memory of her Oma and Opa. What's your story?