The Power of Love

And in the end, the Love you Take, is equal to the Love you make.

                      Lennon- McCartney

Heather, My Grandson Kesten and Myself

      There are many things that I am still in wonder about in this crazy battle. The top of the list goes to the Love that people share with me. The Chemo/ Radiation roller coaster is one of the hardest physical things to date i have fought. We've had a second adverse reaction to the chemo drug and that takes its toll. The sickness, the total exhaustion and the depression of not going forward is a serious bitch. The positive is my support staff.

    My Daughter Heather puts the "A" in Administrator. I have no doubt at some point in time, she will run Group Health. She is driven and smart and willing to do what it takes all the while balancing a family, oh and helping out the Old Man! When the Rockstar Doctors set up the plan, it requires pretty much daily drives into and out of Seattle for radiation. Heather contacted the one other incredible person in my life that could coordinate a mass ride share program, my best friend, Craig. Craig sent out a mass email and the volunteers poured in. Heather found a great,yet still easy to use program called Doodle (doodle.com) that shows the dates and times and allowed everyone to sign up for what they could accommodate. They called it the "Noggin Nukin Ride-share Program" and within a week 45 days were covered! That's a huge weight off my mind. Mary could work most days and I get to visit with some very dear friends. Thanks to all who have signed up it gives me something to look forward to each day. Those of you who are slogging through this know how nice a little friendly talk can be.

    The 2nd part I want to tell you about is the part that warms my heart everyday. Unbeknownst to me, Heather had written to everyone on the list requesting that they send a note of remembrance and encouragement to me as a comfort. This has been a huge blessing. Every week i receive 5 letters from friends, family, and acquaintances.They are heart warming, endearing,and make me feel so lucky that so many others would take the time to care for me. My greatest strength is the Love of the circle around me and this is a great showing of how far that circle extends.I can't say thank you enough to those that have driven me but more importantly have taken time to remind me why we are fighting this nasty battle, time shared and time to be shared. I will go on to the last skidding breath with the goal of being with the ones I Love, out on the boat with Craig and the band, playing guitar with Keegan, around the fire with Chris and Unclay, or simply holding sweet Mary's hand. As I've said before I am a lucky guy!

    If you are a caregiver, this fairly simple gift is worth more than gold! If you are fighting the dragon I wish for you the warmth that is your circle. Keep fighting the best you can and always smile knowing someone has great memories of you!

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