The Firefighter's Cinderella Read Online Free PDF Page B

best friend before. At Tim’s funeral only family had spoken, leaving out whole aspects of his life, such as fireman and friend. This was her chance to talk about the man she’d known and loved.
    Stares from the elegantly dressed assembly grew more probing as the guests waited for the program to start. Tasha broke out in a cold sweat. She could see that all her hard work over the past year had paid off, for the room was packed. But none of that mattered if she let stage fright get the best of her.
    She should have brought cue cards, she decided, feeling her hands tremble. She had arrogantly thought she could handle anything. After all, she’d been blessed with a good memory and had never needed to use them before.
    With her thoughts reeling wildly, she realized the hubbub in the ballroom had subsided. How could a gathering of over four hundred people be this silent? Great! Now the press had something else to add to the embarrassing faults of Congressman Bennington’s daughter.
    Tasha’s breathing came faster. She clung to the podium for support, noting she’d been up here too long without saying anything. Her eyes searched out C.J., who was seated nearby.
    Those deep pools of blue were full of concern and encouragement. In that instant, memories of Tim flooded her mind, and the speech she’d prepared didn’t seem right anymore.
    She cleared her throat. “I’d like to thank all of you for coming to the Tim McGinnis Firefighters against Cancer Foundation Charity Ball. I hope some of you enjoyed the marathon today. I know I did. Though I doubt I’ll be able to walk normally for a week. It was a great experience I wouldn’t have missed.” She heard a few hoots from the audience.
    â€œThose of us who knew Tim recall he was a man who lived life to the fullest. He was far too young to die.” Tasha looked over at Tim’s parents and could see tears in Gina’s eyes.
    â€œStatistics tell us that one in two people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. This is not a disease that affects someone else. It affects everyone, whetherit be the patient or their family and friends.” Her throat began to constrict. “Tim was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a tricky one to catch at an early, treatable stage.
    â€œCancer statics for firefighters are staggeringly higher than the norm. Researchers found they have a one hundred percent greater risk of developing testicular cancer, a fifty percent higher risk for multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and for prostate cancer it’s a twenty-eight percent increase, compared with non-firefighters.
    â€œFor all of us who knew Tim, the tragedy of cancer was brutal, since the disease wasn’t caught until it had metastasized, leaving him with only a few weeks left to live. But that didn’t stop him from living every moment to the fullest. He rode his wheelchair around the hospital wards cheering up other patients, trying to make them laugh. Sometimes a laugh was all he had left to give after a round of chemo. He fought his cancer like the hero and firefighter he was, to the very end.”
    Tasha blinked back tears. “I was one of those lucky people who had the privilege of knowing Tim McGinnis my whole life. We were best friends ever since I can remember. I know he would want to help fight this disease by putting money into research, by aiding families with co-pays, and by funding extended hospital stays for his fellow firefighters.
    â€œTim’s parents, Timothy and Regina, created this charity along with many other benefactors to help prevent other parents from losing their children at such a young age. The charity’s goal is to aid these true heroes who face dangers on the job every day. The money raised will fund research programs, and give financialaid to firefighters of the Bay area with cancer, so that they don’t have to worry about fighting cancer fiscally,