Jim and Sandi Morrison were
high school sweethearts
and have been married for
over 40 years. Jim said he
wouldn’t be here today if it
wasn’t for Sandi’s love and
support.
Jim’s favorite moment came during the Festival
fashion show with his grandson, Byron.
“I was never supposed to live to see him born, let alone
walk. And here we were getting ready to go down the run-
way and he looks at me and says he’s scared,” Jim said.
“We started walking and I told him to wave, which he
did shyly. Before we got to the end of the runway, he was
smiling and waving with both hands, and the audience
was just going crazy for him. I remember thinking, ‘How
can I thank all the people who helped me see this sight I
was never supposed to see?’ Amazing.”
Since acting as spokesman for the Festival, Jim has
accomplished quite a lot. He now travels nationwide
as a spokesman for Tarceva, a prescription that blocks
and slows tumor growth. In the past few years, Jim has
also been interviewed by several local publications,
been a guest speaker at several churches and groups,
and also wrote a book called
To See Another Sunrise:
How to Overcome Anything One Day at a Time
.
“The book just expands on all of the articles and
speeches,” Jim explained. “It’s more behind the
scenes—it shows all the nights I wasn’t sure I would
live and goes into how I was able to get back up and
keep going.”
He said his book has allowed him to connect with
other cancer patients worldwide. He loves visiting and
talking with them, he tries to answer every email that
pops up in his inbox. Jim’s favorite thing to share with
other patients is his method for surviving cancer:
Faith
,
family
and
facilities
. His three favorite F-words.
“Those are the three things every patient needs,” he
said. “Faith to get you through, family for support and
the best facilities possible so you know your treatment
is right.”
Jim admits that there were many times he was
scared and thought he may not make it. But now, as he
reflects on his journey, he feels like cancer forced him
to make room for what’s important.
“Cancer cleared my vision,” he said. “It prioritizes
life for you so the trivial things are easy to discard and
only the important things are left. I try to live my life
like that to this day.”
W A N T M O R E ?
Jim’s book is for
sale in the Kootenai
Health gift shop. For more
information about Kootenai’s
cancer services, visit
kootenaihealth.org/cancer
.
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