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Megan Easterday was not your typical 16-year-old.
Her friends will tell you that.
So will her pastor and her parents.
But the best insight into the young woman who lost her battle to cancer last week was communicated through her journal, which was shared during her funeral service Saturday at First United Methodist Church in Warsaw.
Megan was diagnosed on Nov. 10, 1993 with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare, fast-growing cancer. Word of the disease served as another devastating challenge to her parents, Larry and Anne Easterday. Megan's little sister, Lauren, was diagnosed nearly four years earlier with a brain tumor.
At one point, just three years ago, the sisters were both patients at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis.
Over the next few years, Lauren's condition improved while Megan's steadily deteriorated. Regardless, Megan quickly transformed herself from suffering cancer victim to an outspoken supporter of children with cancer.
"I don't want people to remember me as the girl who had cancer," she once wrote. "I want to be remembered as the girl with a positive attitude."
Last year, she received the 1996 Young Indiana Hero Award for noble, selfless efforts, presented by the Indiana Association of Student Councils.
Until her death, Megan remained an active spokesperson for the American Cancer Society. As a result of her illness, she talked with - and some say touched - the lives of IU coach Bobby Knight, pro basketball player Charles Barkley and contemporary Christian singer Michael W. Smith.
On Saturday, her impact was reinforced.
Pictures and mementos of Megan were displayed in the sanctuary, and a banner was erected emblazoned with her motto, 'I'll Just Fight Harder.'
She had once written that while Nov. 10, 1993, was the worst day of her life, it also represented the best day of her life because she discovered a new relationship with God.
Pink roses fashioned with teal ribbon were centered over the middle of the bronze casket as pastor Doug Johns told her story in a eulogy that would make even Barkley, Knight and Smith shudder.
Johns told onlookers Saturday that he was so moved by her incredible faith that when he first read the journal Friday he began to bawl.
Excerpts included the following:
Nov. 29, 1993 - "I cut off all my hair today. I think my face still makes me look pretty ... Dear God, I love you. Please cure me."
April 24, 1995 - "My life has changed so much ... I love my parents so much, I cannot imagine life without them. Please, I ask, let all my friends and family be Christians so we can all meet one day and live together."
May 16, 1996 - "I'm such a lucky person. I really have no reason to be upset. I have been blessed with so many things. Remember, I'm still fighting. I'm going to win. Whether it's here or it's up there, it's up to you, God. I love you."
The Easterdays' battles with cancer were well known as the community rallied on numerous occasions to help defray medical bills.
Nearly 1,200 people attended Friday's visitation at the church.
Twelve-year old Lauren, who continues to recover, sat with her parents in the front pew of First United Methodist Church on Saturday and listened to a tribute to Megan.
Before services began, Larry Easterday addressed the audience, acknowledging the difficulties of coping with two ill children and thanking everyone for their support.
While many helped with finances, the little things, like neighbors cutting their lawn, were especially important, he said.
After learning of her cancer, Megan received a guardian angel as a gift, and the teen began collecting angels. The Easterday home is now littered with angels.
Megan was active in volleyball and basketball, and when those activities were no longer possible, she began to write and read more often.
Her talent for writing exceeded her parent's expectations.
She had been writing her own story for an upcoming book that featured a collection of stories about challenged children.
During the final six weeks, she spent much of her time saying goodbye.
"She was sending anywhere from four to 10 letters a day. She'd have them on my briefcase every morning," Larry recalled. "The last couple weeks, it literally drained her to write them. It would take an hour or so to write a couple words and then she'd fall asleep."
But in the end, the ravages of cancer brought about something special in the petite 16-year-old from Warsaw.
"On Nov. 10, 1993, God gave us an angel," Johns said, referring to the day Megan was diagnosed.
"Megan Easterday had so much to say," he said.
