Imagine driving sixty miles an hour and hitting a wall—one you didn’t see; one you had no idea how it got there. You are stunned, shocked, and in a daze. And you are trying to piece together how it all happened.

That’s how I felt when I learned that my mom had breast cancer. How can breast cancer happen to somebody who lives a model life? Works out? Eats lots of fruits and vegetables? Makes sure that she doesn’t ingest fatty foods, very little alcohol: a specimen for fit and trim? It wasn’t someone else’s mom. It wasn’t someone else’s aunt. It wasn’t someone else’s friend. It was my mom.

All of a sudden the world was going at a much slower pace; it didn’t make as much sense as the week before, the day before, the hour before I had found out.

So what was I thinking? My primary thought was that I was scared. I was scared because I didn’t know what would happen to my mom. My mom is the kind of person who is always doing for someone else, who is always baking, cooking, and participating in events. She is not usually the person who people are waiting on, and it isn’t easy for her to accept help from others. But when your life is turned upside down, you don’t have much of a choice.

The day my mom arrived home from her first surgery, she brought a pillow home with her to comfort her arm and to prevent her from getting lymphedema, or swelling of the lymph nodes in her arm. After almost a year of innumerable treatments, this pillow has not left my mom’s side.

All I wanted was for my mom to get better, and when I knew my mom was on the path to a full recovery, our attention as a family turned towards other breast cancer patients. Now that we could see the light at the end of the tunnel, it was once again our opportunity to help others after we had received so much help from our community. Because of the effects that breast cancer has had on so many people, including myself and my family, we decided to take the initiative of starting a service project.

I cannot express to you how important it is to give to others. God forbid if you ever need help, someone out there will be willing to reach their hand out to you. Fifty people came to my house, many who were from the Shipley community. We had a goal to produce 100 support pillows. Ultimately, we produced 106 pillows which we delivered to new patients at the Rena Rowan Breast Cancer Center. Their facial expressions made every second of our efforts worth it.

One woman in particular was extremely touched by our gesture. She was at the hospital for her first day of chemotherapy treatment and the bright cheery pillow helped her realize that she was not alone in the fight again cancer; that there are people out there that truly care. All the patients really appreciated our genuine hard work to make a difference in their lives.

Successfully coordinating this project has taught me how an individual idea can make a profound difference. Making a pillow may not be a cure for breast cancer, but it is extremely comforting to those patients that are recovering from surgery. My mom’s rehabilitation was made easier by people who lent their support and gave of themselves.

When are 100 pillows not just 100 pillows? How many people did our service project truly impact? If fifty people assisted in making the pillows, each one on average told their family and a few friends, for an average of about six people. All together that is 300 people that found out about our service project. The hospital included an article in its newsletter, which is sent to over 5,000 employees. One hundred pillows are distributed to patients who tell 8 people how nice it was that they received a pillow. That makes 800 more people who are informed about these pillows. Today’s assembly has over 200 people. That comes to a total of over 6,350 people touched by a pillow. Think about how many people you can impact when you participate in a service project.

Overcoming this obstacle in my life has made me a much stronger person. I have come to realize that you can’t sweat the little things in life. You have to live each and every day and take none of it for granted. You don’t have to wait until you get hit by a wall at 60 miles an hour. Jump ahead, you can make a difference in the lives of others. If you are ever affected by something similar to what slowed down my life, know that people who are giving of themselves will help you in your time of need, just as they did for me.