Dad

I have not been able to post anything about Dad's illness til now. It has been 50 days since he called and said there is a huge lump under my left arm. It seems like several years have passed and yet it is only 50 days. These two pictures show Dad at his best, goofing around with Doug and Bruce and setting the table at his house last Thanksgiving.

He has always had such a great attitude about life, he says, "it isn't a day, if there isn't a happening of some sort". He loves to talk to people. He never meets a stranger. He has made many new friends in the hospital which makes it easier.

It is so hard to believe that he is fighting for his life. I watch the other patients and their families and know that most of them will not win the struggle. Yesterday, I sat with him in the "infusion" room where people get their out-patient chemo, something that he has only done once. There were six women, most with breast cancer, most younger than 50. One woman looked about 65, she was very thin and told the nurse that she had cancer 5 years ago and thought she was cured, but here she is again. I want to reach out to them and let them know that someone sees what they are going through, but it seems to personal to mention. Isn't that bizarre?

Dad tries very hard to keep his spirits up and be cheerful. I tell him silly jokes and we read the funnies together each day. I wish he liked the computer because he could tell his story so much better than I can. He has received many, many cards and had a great birthday party last weekend. Friends came that he has partied with before and it made him feel normal for a couple of hours. He had a great time but tired out very fast. He is doing better now, eating more and walking around more. Tomorrow he may start the second round of chemo. I pray that it will not be as hard for him to bear.