Anyway, it recently came to my attention that David’s brother, Adam, 36, is waging a pretty gnarly battle with cancer. Having witnessed my mom’s once-upon-a-time war with The Big C herself (she lost, despite one helluva fight), I empathize with the family’s situation. That’s why this story caught my attention: a story where cancer doesn’t hold its victim hostage, but instead opens doors to make a seemingly impossible dream become a reality (geez, I sound like a Lifetime movie again….).

The story goes like this: Adam suffers from brain cancer. He is currently undergoing chemotherapy, but the cancer has already spread to his spine. Last week he attempted to board a commercial flight to LA to attend Idol and see his brother perform, but the flight was grounded when it was determined that Adam couldn’t fly because of his condition (I’m still not clear on the particulars; seems to me that if he was really that bad they shouldn’t have let him board in the first place—and could have avoided grounding the flight entirely—but then again, what do I know? I can barely get on a plane without white knuckles, lots of tears, and a whole bunch of conversations with Jesus in which I promise to shape up and, like, build houses for Habit For Humanity if I just please make it to the end of my journey in one piece). Anyway, Adam practiced law in Terre Haute before his health declined, and his lawyer pals rallied behind him (with the help of a headline-seeking concerned councilman) and arranged for an all-expenses-paid flight on a medical jet for he and his wife, Kendra, complete with a medic and nurse on-board to monitor his health. A local Terre Haute radio station is also footing the bill for the Cooks to stay in a hotel across the street from the Idol studios in LA. The estimated cost of the custom "Pimp My Flight" trip? Get ready for it….$80,000.

Adam and Kendra have plans to “have dinner and hang out” with David while they’re in town (assuming there is a restaurant in LA with a doorframe wide enough to accommodate David’s ginormous head….sorry, I couldn’t resist…) but mostly they’re just excited to see him perform.