Lori and Heather

A New LA Friend

I met Lori through a friend over a year ago.  I’ll never forget the first day we met; she was coming out of her apartment to meet me and my friend Ali and looked absolutely adorable in her sun dress and boots.  “Why couldn’t I have taken the time to dress cute today?”  I reprimanded myself.

Over the next few months, and with the help of Ali, Lori and I became good friends.  We went on hikes, spent time at the beach and of course, talked often about boys.   Eventually we ventured out on our own, without the guidance of Ali, for a day of shopping.  That’s when I knew it must be official.  I had made a new friend - a task that, in Los Angeles, isn’t always a breeze.

The Dating Game

Dating is never easy, especially in LA

Lori didn’t always have the best luck with guys.  I mean, I guess we can all say that we’ve hit rough patches with men at some point in our life and it just so happened that at the time of our meeting  Lori was going through one of those times.  We talked about past boyfriends, bad dates, horrible breakups and even dating sites.  I would go to Lori if I was having a bad “boy day” because I trusted her advice.

Chris and Lori at the Hollywood Sign

Then she found Chris -a tall man with a great smile and caring eyes, but one she initially wasn’t quite sure about.  Lori has many types, but she wasn’t sure if he was one of them.

Chris makes sense

Then one day it just clicked.  After a great date, the tides changed and Lori IM’d me, ecstatic that Chris was, at least for the time being, definitely the guy.  As they continued to date, and though I had not yet met Chris, I could tell her interest in him was growing rapidly. Then Chris and I finally met at Ali’s wedding.  To me he was a Nick Cage meets David Schwimmer with an obvious affinity for Lori, which made me happy.

The News

It wasn’t long after the wedding when I got the news.  “There’s something wrong with Chris,” Lori explained.  “We have to go in for tests and it may be cancer.”

Heather and Lori at Ali's Wedding

Confident that such an ailment couldn’t hit someone our age (we’re only in our late 20’s), I forbade myself from thinking the worst and tried to pass that optimism on to Lori.  “He’s going to be fine,” I said confidently.

A week later Chris was diagnosed with seminoma testicular cancer.  He would be going in to surgery to have one testicle removed and I watched, in awe, as my friend supported him with the love, devotion and fury of a woman who had been married for 20 years.

Here was this young couple, dating for barely half a year, and facing some of the toughest decisions a couple will and should ever have to make.  They were facing numerous doctors, days of pain and sickness, and discussions about future children.  I was touched and impressed.

Through it all Chris has remained lighthearted and strong.  Though I’m sure there are days of weakness, he displays the utmost in courage and vigor for life.  Lori and Chris have learned to snowboard together and Chris throws regular barbecues for his friends.  He has embraced the fact that this is not the end, but more a new beginning in a direction he never knew he’d be forced to follow. Yet he goes as willingly as anyone could…all the while, holding Lori’s hand.  A true survivor in my eyes.

The battle is nowhere near over.  Chris faces radiation and a whole slew of things that will come with that.   And, of course, a pile of bills no one is ever ready to face.

Chris and Lori Snowboarding

Lori has created a donation site for Chris which we at STC support wholeheartedly.  We encourage you to check it out.  Leave a comment, leave a dollar, or pass it on to a friend.  Anything you can do to help will be greatly appreciated.

Every day STC readers “Survive the City.”  Occasionally they are forced to survive just a bit more.  This is one of those true survival situations.

Chris’s website - Chris Riehl’s Cancer Fund

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