From Jeanne:
August 9th was Pat's and my 24th anniversary. It feels a little bittersweet this year. Dad passed away on the 17th of July, with one of his brothers preceding him in death by about 4 hours. I'm happy for them that they could cruise out together, but it did leave a bit of a hole here for the rest of us.
Dad was a very gentle, patient person, with a great sense of humor. He will be, and is very missed. I know now that he has no pain, has no more earthly concerns, and gets to rest. The rest of us still have to pay our taxes, work out our daily routines, deal with telemarketers from Pakistan and be concerned about identity theft. (Although if anyone were foolish enough to exchange identities with me at this stage of the game, they'd be NUTS!) It's a sad time, but also a season of release: release of Dad's illness, his discomfort, the pain that I had because I was not being able to be with him to care for him during his last months due to my own health. That's still a tough one to get around. I miss stroking his silky hair, and seeing his sparkly eyes.
There was a great DVD made of his life. It helped to remember the days in Alaska when we were all together and he was full of health. (*to view his obituary, see below.) It was a very strengthening time for me to be with my brothers, also. I am very grateful that we were all able to be there for the funeral, and be a support for one another. Kay's children also were there, and it was good to be able to have the extended family around. They were extremely helpful with many of the details of the funeral, housing our kids, etc, as well as being able to be with Dad as he died, as Pat and I were on the road and couldn't make it down in time. Thanks also to my friend since high school, Shelley, her husband Steve and their family, for their hospitality and care.
Thankfully, Dad's passing was quick, and he didn't have to suffer much. The Pastor who performed the funeral was the one who's church we attended as a family in Medford. He did the funeral for Mom, married Dad and Kay, and Pat and I. It was perfect to have someone who had all of that family history with us. It feels a little lonely now doing cancer myself without Dad around, but at least he doesn't have to battle anymore.
From Pat:
Jeanne was very blessed this week by a friend (her timing was perfect) who nominated her for the “Delicious Living Spirit Award.**” While the award is immaterial to us, the words and thoughts that she expressed in her essay about Jeanne touched both of us. As I read it, I was impressed how little things to us, can have a huge impact on others. Jeanne is impacting people in such a lasting way, it makes me proud to be married to her.
Jeanne and I spent our anniversary evening watching the sunset from Mary’s Peak. For those of you that do not know, we were married on Mary’s Peak. During the funeral service for Jeanne’s Dad, the Pastor, (who also married us) fondly recalled our “field fairy” wedding. We have come a long way!
As far as medical news, on Monday, August 15th, Jeanne will have a CT and MRI again to check the progress. We will get results on Thursday the 18th. After all that has been going on, we were concerned there may be some setbacks. Yet, Jeanne's CEA level dropped to 3.6 at her last test. And, her blood test results have been good enough to receive full chemo doses weekly. So, please pray that the scans once again reveal continued reduction in size and number of the tumors. (Ideally, complete absence of tumors in the liver and brain, and no new lesions in the spine.)
* electronic version of Lloyd Lund Sr’s obituary: http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2005/0719/obit/obit.htm
** Delicious Living is a natural foods, healthy living magazine. This is not meant as a pro or con endorsement. (http://www.deliciouslivingmag.com/win/spiritawards/)
