I painted this and I gave it to Sandy, who is an active member of our local coin club.  She has been valiantly fighting cancer, and still managing to get her teenage son to the meetings.  I have remained a member of this coin club, I think, mostly because there are so many good people there.... and Sandy is one of them. Made me feel good to wish her luck this way, and I hope she enjoys it as much as I did making it for her. 

By the way, the coin club has a member auction at the end of each meeting, and Sandy's Dad has this medal for sale.  I thought it was significant that he put it up for sale about the same time I started painting coins.  And if you are wondering why I called this a "medal" rather than a "coin" that is because for coin collectors, a coin is issued by a government and is legal tender, while a medal is issued by anyone else.

Postscript:  Sandy died the first week of August 2009.  Many of us, including me, were quite stunned that she didn't make it... she was such a fighter and had survived for 4 years after she was given 6 months to live with stage sour colon cancer. My heart goes to her son, Jerry, who is going to now live with his aunt, and to Sandy's father Dan.  As he put it, parents don't expect to outlive their children.  Sandy was 47 years old, and touched many of our lives with her determination and love for life and the people around her.  I will miss her, and will give her son a hug everytime I see him...just for her.