An Ugly Pair of Shoes

A dear family has a child experiencing brain cancer, and have been posting updates over the past couple of years.  Today, there was a poem attached to the end of the update, which I wanted to share.  I don't know who wrote the poem, but it's definitely worth sharing.

"An Ugly Pair of Shoes"  

I hate my shoes.  
Each day I wear them and each day I wish I had another pair.  
Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step. Yet, I continue to wear them.  
I get funny looks wearing these shoes.  
They are looks of sympathy.
I can tell in others eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs. They never talk about my shoes.  
To learn how awful my shoes are might make them uncomfortab​le.  
To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them.  
But, once you put them on, you can never take them off.  
I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes.
There are many pairs in the world.  
Some women are like me and ache daily as they try and walk in them.  
Some have learned how to walk in them so they don't hurt quite as much.  
Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think of how much they hurt.  
No woman deserves to wear these shoes.  
Yet, because of the shoes, I am a stronger woman.
These shoes have given me the strength to face anything.  
Th​ey have made me who I am.  
I will forever walk in the shoes of a woman who has a child that ​is battling cancer.