Yesterday, while eating at our favorite Mexican restaurant after doing our annual Memorial Day tour with a WWII widow who was my neighbor while growing up, my cell phone rang.
The call was from a girl I used to date in high school and my first year of college. I asked her how she was doing; and what she told me still has me in a state of shock.
She said she has stage 4 cancer in both lungs, and she did not have much longer to live. She told me she loved me and wanted me to be among the few who knew. It was not a good place to talk, so I told her of my dismay and that I would call her when we could talk more privately.
I did call her, and it appears she may not last much longer. Her family is urging her to undergo chemo; she resisted that, feeling that quality of life would be more important than length of life, but they prevailed and she will start chemo on the 15th of June.
My wife said it might be a good idea to go and visit with her - she lives near Prescott, way north of Phoenix. So she and I talked on the phone, and we set a date soon for me come up to see her.
Her life has been marked by tragedy. A number of years ago she was horribly burned trying to rescue her sister from a fire started by a propane tank under their mobile home where they lived. Her sister did not survive, but she did, to live in pain and in a coma for many months. She was living gamely when we last saw her about three years ago in Prescott on a visit to other friends in the area. And now this.
I have a friend in need of compassion and support, which I will try to give as best I can. In addition, I will pray for her, knowing that her chances of surviving this are zero. I ask, if you are so inclined, to pray for her also. This would be appreciated. In the meanwhile, until I see her, I must seek help from the Almighty to understand and to find ways to keep her from depression as she suffers.
Thanks,
John
The call was from a girl I used to date in high school and my first year of college. I asked her how she was doing; and what she told me still has me in a state of shock.
She said she has stage 4 cancer in both lungs, and she did not have much longer to live. She told me she loved me and wanted me to be among the few who knew. It was not a good place to talk, so I told her of my dismay and that I would call her when we could talk more privately.
I did call her, and it appears she may not last much longer. Her family is urging her to undergo chemo; she resisted that, feeling that quality of life would be more important than length of life, but they prevailed and she will start chemo on the 15th of June.
My wife said it might be a good idea to go and visit with her - she lives near Prescott, way north of Phoenix. So she and I talked on the phone, and we set a date soon for me come up to see her.
Her life has been marked by tragedy. A number of years ago she was horribly burned trying to rescue her sister from a fire started by a propane tank under their mobile home where they lived. Her sister did not survive, but she did, to live in pain and in a coma for many months. She was living gamely when we last saw her about three years ago in Prescott on a visit to other friends in the area. And now this.
I have a friend in need of compassion and support, which I will try to give as best I can. In addition, I will pray for her, knowing that her chances of surviving this are zero. I ask, if you are so inclined, to pray for her also. This would be appreciated. In the meanwhile, until I see her, I must seek help from the Almighty to understand and to find ways to keep her from depression as she suffers.
Thanks,
John
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