Queeniemary Posted September 10, 2014 Report Share Posted September 10, 2014 Great news Harry, looks like perhaps rest will be the healer!! So glad you finally got the results of the Xray. QMary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wifflesnook Posted September 10, 2014 Report Share Posted September 10, 2014 Good news Harry. I am so pleased for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Harry, I'm so glad to hear this. And just for the record, I opt for you to do a SHORTER distance, not push yourself, I don't want you to have more damage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAP Posted September 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Me, too, Kay. The good news is I really don't have to decide on distance before the end of next week. Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enna Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 This calls for some happiness ~ be cautious. I'll be watching you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfh Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 I am with Kay...short distance, Harry!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAP Posted September 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 I'm hoping for 13.1 at this point. I've trained too hard to be happy with less than that. But I'll settle for less if it comes to that. I just won't be happy about it. --H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAP Posted September 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 The knee is much better today. Not 100 percent yet, but much improved. --Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enna Posted September 13, 2014 Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 This is GOOD news. So happy for you, Harry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted September 14, 2014 Report Share Posted September 14, 2014 That is great news, Harry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queeniemary Posted September 16, 2014 Report Share Posted September 16, 2014 So glad that knee is improving Harry. I know being able to do as much as possible is very important to you, so fingers are crossed! QMary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAP Posted September 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 It never ends. I got an email this morning that one of my former students committed suicide yesterday. Every time I think I am finally making some progress--getting a handle on the latest death--bam--there's another one. Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfh Posted September 25, 2014 Report Share Posted September 25, 2014 Trip am so very sorry, Harry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted September 25, 2014 Report Share Posted September 25, 2014 I'm so sorry, Harry...the trouble is, all of your students were your kids, and with that many, there's bound to be some calamity, most of us "parents" don't suffer those odds. There's nothing worse, I'm just so sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAP Posted October 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2014 Dear friends, This doesn't get any better, does it? I just got an email from my best friend from high school. His wife has been diagnosed with breast cancer--a 4 cm tumor near the chest wall in her right breast. She will have to have six months of chemo before they can do surgery to remove the breast. The closeness to the rib cage means they will have difficulty getting clean margins without shrinking the tumor first. They are in western Canada--and well out in the boonies. The winter population is about 500. The nearest cancer center is 3-4 hours away in Prince George. So much for my week away from cancer. Peace, Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wifflesnook Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 Oh Harry. It's blow after blow for you. I hope you can find some joy in today somehow. Life is so cruel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 Harry, I am sorry for your friend's news. It will be tough but they can get through it, somehow we do what we must even if it's really hard. Do they have somewhere to stay near the hospital so they wouldn't have to travel such a distance back the same day as the chemo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAP Posted October 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 Dear Kay, That's on my list when I talk to them. In the winter, there are times they simply can't get out of there. Peace, Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAP Posted November 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Dear friends, I said to Anne elsewhere today that I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. It is not just that Jane would turn 60 today. November 6, I spent most of the day at Dana-Farber talking with doctors and support staff about our plans for next year and the things we need to do to finish this one well. I came home late that night to discover a message from Gail's sister on my answering machine. She had not been able to get her father out of bed that morning and eventually took him to the hospital. By Monday morning, we knew he had developed a rapidly progressing prostate cancer that had--in less than a year--metastasized to his bones from a standing start. Friday continued downhill from there. Another friend called in the afternoon to tell me her mother, who has been fighting Parkinson's for several years, had taken a turn and was not expected to last the weekend. Then, after a trip to the hospital to see Jane's father, Jane's sister--Gail--dropped the third bomb of the day. About a month ago, she found an oddly shaped lump in the breast that was treated for breast cancer almost six years ago. She had a new mammogram and an ultrasound done last week and, while she is seeing her surgeon about the test results on Wednesday, it sounds likely this is a false alarm given what the technician and radiologist say they saw in the tests. The same weekend, Jane's uncle appears to have had a stroke, which he was hospitalized for. He seems to be recovering, but with someone in their 90s, you just never know. My friend's mother was buried on Saturday, Jane's Dad is out of the hospital but so weak they sent him to a residential rehab center for physical therapy. He will travel--at least initially--by ambulance to his dialysis sessions three days a week. He wants to go home--and will, if all goes well, in a few weeks. They are treating the cancer with some kind of hormone and he seems to be recovering. But I wonder how aggressive the cancer is and how long he really has. That these things are happening at the emotionally most difficult part of my year--November 15 was the fourth anniversary of Jane's heart surgery--and today is the fourth anniversary of the first of the carcinoid attacks that would eventually kill her--has left my head spinning and my ability to function more than a little impaired. Still, Gail is counting on me to help her get through this latest crisis with their father--and I don't feel there is much choice in the matter: they are family. Meanwhile, I have to continue to fight my way through the state paperwork for the Foundation and prepare for another series of meetings with the bigwigs at Dana-Farber at the end of the week. I'll get through it all--but it is not going to be easy. However, I remind myself that none of this is as difficult as that last month by Jane's bedside in the hospital. Nothing will ever compare to that. Peace, Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 I am sorry, Harry. Sometimes it seems it pours, I am going through it too. It seems the older we get, the more we are hit with knowing people who are getting devastating news, and frankly, it's hard to digest it all. You're in my thoughts and prayers today dear friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisWife Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Harry, I'm not sure how you are functioning with all that you've been hit with. Know you are in my thoughts, and I hope you take time to care of yourself so you have strength to help others. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAP Posted November 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Thank you both. It seems, as Kay says, that this is becoming a piece of my new normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wifflesnook Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Harry that is more than you should be bearing. I can only wish you strength to get through it. I hope you can feel Jane's presence near you in some form even if it's only the strength we receive from being well loved. Please keep posting to let us know how things are going. Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalady Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 I am so sorry for all you are going through. I also hope you feel Jane's presence now more than ever, close to you, comforting you. I hope you find some strength in the love you shared. Remember we are here for you. Let us know how you are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Remember to breathe and take one day at a time. We are here to pour your heart out to, to vent, to cry, whatever you need. Death does not seem "normal" to us, nor does grief or tragedy or pain or illness. I've had my older sister to watch as I've aged and see her go through the things that I am now facing...she hasn't lost her husband, but she has lost her closest friends to death. To her, that was like my losing George. Her husband is a boorish man, it was her friends that met her needs, and it broke her heart to lose them. She tends to stay in too much and hasn't involved herself with volunteer work. I'm trying to incorporate getting out more and volunteering both into my life...following Anne and Mary and QMary as I see what has worked for them. You have been so busy, maybe too busy. I pray you find respite and peace even in all of the busyness and dogged determination/ambition to accomplish your goals...and even in the midst of sorrow and heartache. You've had more hits than your share...perhaps because you have established more friendships along the way, you've had more to lose. I know how painful this is. I've learned that the 60s and 70s and beyond are hardly what they call "the golden years"...years of challenge, more like it! They are not "bad" years, just very challenging ones. But we are ever growing along the way, our journey teaching us until the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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