Hope this message finds you well. It has been a while since my last update. A big part of the reason is mom has been and continues to be doing wonderfully well. As of last Friday, mom’s most recent scans showed barely any sign of tumors; virtually non-existent! She’s still undergoing chemo treatments once per week, three weeks in a row with one week off. Being here in the Seattle area I’m convinced has allowed for the best possible care and treatment.
For the past month and a half, mom and Al have been spending
quite a bit of time getting settled in their new place, which is coming
together so nicely. For Mother’s Day Terry and I gave her our iPad 2, so she’s
all setup on email and Facebook. Tech support is beyond not my forte, and it almost went a bit
like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6A331B1oq8
I recall having mentioned in a previous email, and just in case, please feel free to reach out to Patty direct anytime:
Please, she’d love to hear from you, especially to just catch up with you, what’s been happening in your life, etc.
Earlier this month I took mom to Gilda’s Club Seattle’s
Surviving With Style fashion show lunch benefit. When my mom was much younger,
my Grandma took she and her sister to department store fashion show luncheons. Our
event was of course much different; quite an elaborate production with about
500+ attendees. Every model is a cancer survivor from all walks of life, very young
to elder. Each model was introduced with their story. I for one found it beyond
inspiring to see so many strong, courageous survivors as well as learn about
their challenges. I thought it was great for my mom to know a vibrant community
of people who know first hand what she’s dealing with are available to her and
are wonderful people with the heart to celebrate life in spite of life
threatening illness.
Martin Short was the master of ceremonies, and he killed it.
Sincere, touching and of course laugh out loud hilarious, he shared unabashedly
about how cancer has touched his life profoundly. Quite sobering to learn one
in two men and one in three women (indeed the stronger of our species) will
receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. To me this phenomenon is more a
symptom of an underlying problem and begs all of our collective, deeper curiosity.
The gentleman who quite reluctantly followed Short to make
the donation ask had a very inspiring story of his own to share. He was
diagnosed with stage three lung cancer. This was a man who coached his kids’
sports teams, was a professional and husband who was in his 40s; an active, fit
non-smoker. He didn’t respond to any of the treatments. His disease progressed
to stage four when the tumors spread to his other lung. At one point he was so
ill, he was mostly in bed, lost his voice and could maybe make it up the stairs
once a day.
Determination drove this man to further research options. He
found a study he became eligible for. Only 26 people in the world were on this
particular clinical trial. Within one week, most all of his symptoms subsided.
Within three weeks his voice returned and he was back to jogging daily. I found
this story miraculous and full of hope.
It’s important to regard each day a blessing, an opportunity
to, as someone very close to me wisely put it, want what we have over having what
we want. I digress …
Couldn’t resist a photo opportunity with mom at the event. I
think she may be open to participating next year as a model. :)
In the meantime, Gilda’s Club provides free support and community
to cancer survivors and their loved ones. Such an increasingly important
nonprofit in our brave new world.
All my best
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