Origins: Brave Betty Hashtag?

If we are lucky, at some point in our lives someone enters our world that is a kindred spirit.  This person is someone who thinks like you, shares your opinions, finishes your thoughts, and understands you without needing explanation.  I have a few people I would consider “best friends” in this world, but as for the kindred spirit, that position is exclusively reserved for my cousin Kathleen.  She might be my cousin by relation, but she is my sister by heart.

Most of my childhood vacations,  memories, and experiences include her.  Now that we are grown women, she continues to play an irreplaceable part in my life.  We laugh at the same crude jokes, we find the same things annoying, and we value the same things in life.

Me, Grampy, & Kathleen

Kathleen was one of the first people I called when I received my diagnosis.  She knew I was headed to the doctor, but like many of our conversations we figured it would be a routine check-up.  I’d end up with a breast cyst, we'd laugh about how afraid I was to go to the appointment, and we’d move on.  It didn't pan out that way.
The first week of my diagnosis was spent in constant communication with her.  She was the shoulder I had to cry on about all my fears, not only of beating cancer, but making it through this battle while not driving my family into financial ruin. 

My husband and I both work, and me being off for treatment was going to be a burden I was not sure we would be able to handle.  She assured me everything was going to be fine. Somehow, someway, she would help me make sure it would all be alright. 

Kathleen is the driving force behind the “Go-Fund-Me” page that was created to help us get through my cancer treatments.  Prior to going live with the page, she spoke with some other family members who had previous experience with it, and was able to get a good idea on how to set it up.  It has been, and continues to be, a necessary part of our lives now.  I have been missing anywhere from 1-3 days of work each week since the fight began.  Our finances have taken a big hit, and unfortunately we aren’t wealthy enough to have a solid nest egg to fall back on.  
So, where did the #BraveBetty come from?  Well, Kathleen of course.  When the cancer fight began Kathleen wanted a hastag that would trend and be catchy.  She threw a few ideas out at me.  
My full name is Elizabeth, most people call me Beth.  She came up with a few things like #BethStrong, #BraveBeth.  Fun fact: my husband is 15 months younger than I am, and he doesn’t like to let me forget it.  Our inside joke, or rather HIS inside joke, is to call me “Grandma Betty.”  I love it, I won’t lie.  Kathleen decided to embrace our inside joke, and asked me what I thought of #BraveBetty.  I don’t know why, but it felt right.

From the moment I went public on my Facebook page on 11/8/18 with the cancer news, the same day I began chemotherapy, I became #BraveBetty.  Truth be told, without all of these people in my corner, especially Kathleen, I wouldn’t be as strong or as brave as I am.  I might be #BraveBetty, but so is everyone else who’s been behind me since this all began.
You can donate to the Go-Fund-Me page Kathleen set up by visiting either one of these two URLs:  www.FuckCancerBraveBetty.com  or  https://www.gofundme.com/6ddj4hs