Courage

Wikepedia defines courage, as bravery, fortitude, will, and intrepidity, and the ability to confront fear, pain, risk/danger, uncertainty, or intimidation.
If you could put a face to the word courage it would show a picture of Donna Ballinger. She is by far the most courageous person I have ever known. For the past three years or so, she has been dealing with colon cancer. She has had chemo every Friday for as long as I can remember. Even though this made her so sick I can count the days she missed school on one hand. She would come to school and not be able to eat or drink anything because of the nausea. When asked why she didn't stay home, she would tell us it did her no good to sit at home and fret or worry. She would still be at school everyday if cancer wasn't attacking her lungs now. She was dedicated to educating our special ed. students. She was tireless and never gave up on a student. If they were willing to stay after school and work she was willing to stay after with them, even though she was not paid for her time.
Today, Donna's husband walked her into Buhler High School so she could collect her books and such for the last time. By the time she got to the special ed. room all she could say was that she was retiring and shortly after that they left.
This afternoon I got the phone call from another para - Nonie, telling me what had happened. I knew it was coming because at the end of the school year she was starting to slip and it was getting harder and harder for her to make it through the day. However, you are never ready to hear that someone you worked with side by side for thirteen years is that sick.
Donna often said that even though you might have cancer it did not define the person that you are. I agree with that. Donna is so much more. Donna was and is my dear dear friend, she is a friend to everyone. She is a christian and believes that God has a plan for everyone. She loves teaching and working with young people. She loves the Nebraska Corn Huskers and is a devout fan, even though she took a lot of grief for it. Donna always asked me how I was feeling even when you could tell she wasn't feeling well. Donna is a grandmother and loved her family. She was never as happy as when she was telling a story about her grand babies or her son. She is funny! When she tells a story it makes you laugh out loud. Her stories about her mother are hilarious and it makes you want to hear them over and over. After my parents died she attended their funerals for no other reason than to show me how much she cared. She would listen to me talk about how much I missed them and we would cry together. Last year when my doctor told me the reason I couldn't sleep was because I had a hard heart she was the first to tell me how wrong the doctor was.
How do I end this? The only way I know how and that is to say I am glad to have had the opportunity to have worked with Donna and to consider her my friend.  I hope Buhler and RCEC know they are going to have a  hard time filling her shoes.