Last Thursday, April 19th was the inaugural Ependymoma Awareness Day. As part of the CERN Foundation’s efforts to raise awareness of, and research funds for this rare form of brain or spinal cord tumor, the foundation released a horde of butterflies.
You can see their highly visual and symbolically important release on the youtube.com video posted at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAm080DtpTc.
The video also contains some heart-felt comments by doctors, researchers and patients.
The event, in which butterflies are literally freed, reminded me of the 1972 film, Butterflies Are Free, based on a play by Leonard Gershe.
The film and the CERN Foundation’s event are similar in that both depict individuals fighting a fight that they didn’t start. In the movie, the protagonist is blind and is fighting to make the best of his blindness.
The CERN Foundation is also fighting - fighting to give (mostly) very young children a fighting chance. It’s a fight they didn’t start. It’s a fight they didn’t want. But it’s a fight they aren’t giving up.
I invite you to watch the video and send them a couple of bucks. If you do, you’ll feel better. I know I did.
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