Looking for prayers and good wishes

Do I give you too much sad/bad news? If so, you can be honest with me. I'll take it all into consideration. But first we need to talk about Gail.

Again, not the Gail of Chuck and Gail, my other Gail. I told you a little bit ago that she'd had surgery for a brain tumor. I got more news about her situation today.

She is having another surgery tomorrow, in an attempt to remove more of the tumor. Then they will attack with daily chemo and radiation for six weeks, then put her onto an oral chemo for up to a year.

The journey to this point took them to neuro-oncologhy appointments at Duke Medical at the university in North Carolina and to Sloan Kettering in New York before they decided to place themselves in the hands of the staff at Brigham and Women's and Dana Farber here in Boston. It presents itself with the promise of being a log, hard journey.

I am overwhelmed with sadness at the dire description of what is coming for Gail and her family. I can only hope and pray they they are all in the best possible hands.

I don't know what else to do at this moment but pray. I hope you have one you can share with me, for Gail and her husband Roger, her children Anne and Colin and her new granddaughter Francesca. Bless them, every one of them.

Thank you.

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It was harder than I though it would be

I took a friend to her chemotherapy appointment yesterday.

It was strange to go back into a chemo center. It's a place that's highly sensory: the smells, sights, and sounds came back to me like I'd been there the day before. If you watch and really pay attention you can feel the seriousness that's bubbling just below the surface.

Chemo is a place you go to hold off dying for a while, and if you're lucky, you make that while a long one. People smile and speak in hopeful tones but if you watch them carefully enough, you see it as a kind of trained response. It's their job to get the poison into your system and it's their job to make you believe it's going to make a difference.

I thought I got out of it without any scars, but last night, when Dave told me he was proud of me for what I'd done, I burst into tears and had a good cry. I don't ever want to go back into one of those places, but if I have to, I will.

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A mini sermon for your Sunday

I've sent you to PeaceBang's blog before, and I'm going to send you there again. Find five quiet minutes and read her blog entry dated Saturday, November 1 and titled "Pastoral Letter to Those Toiling in the Vineyards."

The overall message is written to help souls troubled over the goings on in their spiritual congregations, but it's a strong message about striking a balance and getting along with people who have a different point of view.

It's PeaceBang's usual, powerful stuff and you should read it.

Go.

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