On Anniversary of Mother's Death, Man Sings to Patients Battling Cancer
It was Aug. 15, 2001, when a young Ryan Alexander lost his mother to a long battle with breast cancer. She’d fought hard since 1995, but eventually, her body couldn’t fight any longer.
Alexander, from Columbus, Georgia, struggled to come to grips with the loss, and had a difficult time healing his very deep wound.
He turned to alcohol for a period of time, hoping to numb the pain.
But now, Alexander has found something much more life-giving not only for himself, but for those around him.
Seventeen years after his mother’s death, Alexander stood confident, guitar in hand. He was ready to honor his mother’s memory by visiting patients who are also battling cancer, performing a little country music that is good for the soul.
Alexander visited the John B. Amos Cancer Center to meet patients, using music as a way to encourage those who are walking through a difficult season.
Music, Alexander believes, is a powerful way to “help take their minds off the devastation cancer tends to bring.”
“17 years ago my mother lost her battle with cancer,” Alexander explained on Facebook. “For years I held on to the pain but have really searched my soul for peace & comfort.”
After his hospital visit, Alexander played an evening show, with all proceeds benefiting the American Cancer Society.
“I know she would be proud that we are turning her memory into something that will help others,” he said.
Alexander said his mother had always encouraged him to pursue music.
He is confident that his late mother would be bursting with pride over the musician her son is today.
“I think she’d be really really proud that I found my calling and my dream — with something that no matter what I’m doing,” Alexander said.
“It’s something that I can run to that makes me happy.”
No matter how many years or decades pass, the anniversary of a loved one’s death is not forgotten. It’s a day that will always be tainted with a bittersweet sorrow, a feeling Alexander knows well.
But this year, it felt appropriate for Alexander to do something extra special in his mother’s memory.
August 15 will always be a bittersweet day for Alexander, but this year, channeling the pain into helping others proved to be a powerful way for the young musician to also help himself.
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