Every person has special values that he or she holds near and dear to his or her heart. Penn State women's gymnastics senior co-captain Leslie Bair holds a special someone in her heart. That someone would be her little sister Kelly Bair, who died of cancer when she was just eight years old.

"Kelly [Streicher] and I always start off our meet with a prayer and it has been 10 years now and at first it was always a big issue for me, but now it is just remembering her and remembering everything," Bair said. Bair's experience with the entire issue has taught her a new way to look at life in an entirely different perspective.

"The whole experience has just given me a whole different outlook on stuff because you never know what is going to happen and you never know what tomorrow brings," Bair said. "So take advantage of everything that you have now."

Kelly, who was born on July 30, 1985, developed a brain tumor (ependymona) and in 1992 had surgery to remove it at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia. As Kelly's year-long treatment of chemotherapy and radiation carried on, 12-year-old Leslie was improving as a gymnast.

"When Kelly was ill, gymnastics was a big part of Leslie's life," Leslie's father, Rob Bair said. "A lot of her skills took off during that time period and she really immersed herself in that activity as a great outlet for herself."

With the family facing expenses for treating Kelly and supporting Leslie in gymnastics, the bills started to add up.

"Our expenses with the cancer were pretty high and we were actually thinking of pulling her [Leslie] out [of gymnastics] and our neighbors during Kelly's illness, paid for Leslie for a few months to keep her going," Leslie's mother, Lisa Bair said. "Then the Four Diamonds Fund became a huge help for us." After going through many treatments to get rid of the cancerous tumor, it began to grow back.

"We knew she was dying [in August] a month before she died and [doctors] told us that if you are going to do something as a family, do it now," Lisa said.

With time winding down for Kelly, the Bair family went on her Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World in September of 1993.

"It was so much fun," Bair said. "Our family was all together and we did everything and had a really good time."

As the family was returning home from a fun-filled vacation, Kelly's brain began to hemorrhage.

"Within ten minutes of coming back into our driveway, Kelly's brain hemorrhaged and she went into a coma and died the next day," Lisa said. "Sunday Sept. 19 at 4 o'clock she was petting dolphins at Sea World and Monday Sept. 20 at 4 o'clock she was dead, it was quite an ending. I could just burst into tears thinking about that."

Since Kelly's death, Lisa has written a book called A Table For Two to help with her grieving process.

"It is about a dream that Kelly had of eating with Jesus at a table for two," she said. "I was afraid I think that if I didn't write it, I would lose all the memories and connections and I wanted to write it all down in hopes that it would help other people too."

Besides the book, the Bair family takes great pride in seeing people help with the Interfaternity Council/ Panhellenic Dance Marathon because they were a Thon family in February of 1993.

"I would like to thank all the students who danced and who did all the organizational work and we are still grateful ten years later," Lisa said. "We are so enormously appreciative and we speak for many families."

Bair, who worked this past summer at the Penn State Children's Hospital in Hershey as a child life volunteer and recently donated 10 inches of her hair to Locks for Love (the hair is used to make wigs for children who have lost their hair due to radiation treatments), is coping with her grief better and better as time passes by.

"I think she is coping with it a lot better as years go by because it becomes easier for her to cope with it, but obviously it is a tragic part of her past and it is something that is probably with her 24 hours a day 7 days a week," Penn State women's gymnastics coach Steve Shephard said.

Although it is a sad story, the Bair family does not look to be pitied because they are just one story to the great puzzle of life.

"I don't want it to be a pity kind of a thing because so many people go through so many tragic things in their life, so you take what you get from life and it is a sad story but so many things have helped me from it," Bair said. "You grow a lot from experiences like that."

With that in mind, Bair and the rest of her family will always hold a special place for Kelly in their hearts.