I know I've been quiet around these parts lately, and I apologize. But it’s been a rough week and a half, partly because of my own dumb-assedness and because I suck with money. And I didn’t want to whine, and I didn’t want to complain.
But this morning, I got hit with three sucker punches. And I need your help right now.
1) The Jab.
A good friend of mine who lives in Baltimore, his father has been diagnosed with, of all things, breast cancer. Yes, men can get it too. They are optimistic, but you know how these things go: surgery, radiation therapy, etc. It’s still going to be a rough road. We like Good friend in Baltimore a lot along with his lovely wife. It makes us sad that his father is sick.
2) The Right Hook.
I received an email from my aunt this morning with the cheerful news that she’s been diagnosed with both Grave’s Disease and Hashimoto’s Disease. Long story short: both hyperactive and under active thyroid diseases, which you would think would even itself out, but apparently not. She also has nodules on her thyroid and some cysts. She needs to undergo a biopsy and possibly an operation. This is known to be a heredity condition and guess what? I just found out that my grandmother, great aunt and second cousins had similar conditions. Yes, Virginia, this means I need to start getting my thyroid regularly checked because it’s more prevalent in women.
3) The Surprise Left.
Some of you have heard me talk about my friend John, the one I’ve dubbed as “The Ashley Wilkes to my Rhett Butler.” I’ve known him since I was 10 and over the years my crush on him turned into a surrogate brother/sister relationship. In 2000 he moved to West Virginia and married a girl there and started a family with her. I got an email from his wife this morning telling me that his youngest daughter, an 11 month old beauty named Maggie, has been diagnosed with Hepatoblastoma. Basically, she has an aggressive malignant tumor. She’s not even a year old yet, and she has liver cancer. This is, without a doubt, one of the saddest and one of the worst things I could think to have happen to my friend and his family. Maggie is undergoing surgery on Thursday. There are no words for this. Because anyway I think about this, it’s so awful. Never before has the distance from West Virginia to Pennsylvania seemed so far. I just want to give my friend a hug, and it’s impossible. And let me tell you something about John: He is one of the sweetest, kindest, most wonderful boys on the planet. I mean, look at it this way —— he’s put up with my dorky ass for 14+ years. And John is a great father. I know this, because John can’t be anything else: it’s against his nature. This has to be one of the most heart breaking things for him, because he loves his daughters and step kids with every inch of his being.
I guess I am just asking for you to think about all these people when you get a chance. Send out a silent prayer for them, or a good thought, karma, wishes, whatever you’ve got. In a special way, I want to ask you to remember John and his family. Nothing against Good Friend in Baltimore or my Aunt, but when I think of them I have the feeling that they’re going to turn out OK. They’re strong folk. They can handle this. But an 11 month old girl? Not fair, I say. And when I think of Maggie…
Just think of them for me, OK? I appreciate it, and I know they do too.
But this morning, I got hit with three sucker punches. And I need your help right now.
1) The Jab.
A good friend of mine who lives in Baltimore, his father has been diagnosed with, of all things, breast cancer. Yes, men can get it too. They are optimistic, but you know how these things go: surgery, radiation therapy, etc. It’s still going to be a rough road. We like Good friend in Baltimore a lot along with his lovely wife. It makes us sad that his father is sick.
2) The Right Hook.
I received an email from my aunt this morning with the cheerful news that she’s been diagnosed with both Grave’s Disease and Hashimoto’s Disease. Long story short: both hyperactive and under active thyroid diseases, which you would think would even itself out, but apparently not. She also has nodules on her thyroid and some cysts. She needs to undergo a biopsy and possibly an operation. This is known to be a heredity condition and guess what? I just found out that my grandmother, great aunt and second cousins had similar conditions. Yes, Virginia, this means I need to start getting my thyroid regularly checked because it’s more prevalent in women.
3) The Surprise Left.
Some of you have heard me talk about my friend John, the one I’ve dubbed as “The Ashley Wilkes to my Rhett Butler.” I’ve known him since I was 10 and over the years my crush on him turned into a surrogate brother/sister relationship. In 2000 he moved to West Virginia and married a girl there and started a family with her. I got an email from his wife this morning telling me that his youngest daughter, an 11 month old beauty named Maggie, has been diagnosed with Hepatoblastoma. Basically, she has an aggressive malignant tumor. She’s not even a year old yet, and she has liver cancer. This is, without a doubt, one of the saddest and one of the worst things I could think to have happen to my friend and his family. Maggie is undergoing surgery on Thursday. There are no words for this. Because anyway I think about this, it’s so awful. Never before has the distance from West Virginia to Pennsylvania seemed so far. I just want to give my friend a hug, and it’s impossible. And let me tell you something about John: He is one of the sweetest, kindest, most wonderful boys on the planet. I mean, look at it this way —— he’s put up with my dorky ass for 14+ years. And John is a great father. I know this, because John can’t be anything else: it’s against his nature. This has to be one of the most heart breaking things for him, because he loves his daughters and step kids with every inch of his being.
I guess I am just asking for you to think about all these people when you get a chance. Send out a silent prayer for them, or a good thought, karma, wishes, whatever you’ve got. In a special way, I want to ask you to remember John and his family. Nothing against Good Friend in Baltimore or my Aunt, but when I think of them I have the feeling that they’re going to turn out OK. They’re strong folk. They can handle this. But an 11 month old girl? Not fair, I say. And when I think of Maggie…
Just think of them for me, OK? I appreciate it, and I know they do too.
1 Comments:
For sure, hun.
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