I Hate Brain Tumors

Monday, March 27, 2006 8:28 PM CST

As Cathy said, this has been an awful week in the brain tumor world.

We lost our dear Fred Schappert. We grieve with Cheri and Olivia and his family.

We also lost John Collins, a very young man, who was diagnosed only 18 months ago.

Kevin Terry has had trouble with nausea and awaits MRI results. He has a dedicated wife and four young children.

Eric Busse has had some major symptoms, an MRI showed huge growth in many areas, and he is now on hospice care. He's a young surfer and bike-rider with an incredible mom and a lovely fiance.

Matt Downey is battling a recurrence, after just getting married in August.

Clyde Green has been experiencing increased symptoms and loss of function and is no longer having any kind of treatment. Clyde and Brenda's 13 year old son, Justin needs prayer; it's a rough road for him.

Please pray for these men and their families. Fred and John were much too young, as is Clyde. Kevin, Eric and Matt are all in their 20's or early 30's. These are young, strong men, fighting with all they have. It's unimaginable. Unacceptable.

Love, Shelley

Comments

Goodbyes

So I had my first Walla Walla goodbyes.
The first was my eye doctor, Dr. Poffenroth.
He's taken care of my eyes for 25 years.
He's more than just an eye doctor. He's a caring person and a friend.
As I left my last appointment, he handed me a card with a referral to a friend of his who practices in Port Angeles.
I looked at the card.
And realized...I won't see him again.

I've been living in a bit of denial.
I know. Big surprise.

With all the excitement and chaos of moving,
And all the stress of living in limbo,
I somehow missed that I'd be leaving some things
some people
behind.

I know I'll be back often.
To see my kids and the new grandbaby,
friends and family.
This fact allowed me to forget...
there are some I won't see.

Even though we promise to keep in touch,
Life has a way of getting busy.
Good intentions and all that.

I have written many times about Walla Walla.
It's a magical place.
Safe, nurturing.
I never thought I'd leave.

People ask…

Being a Widow on Father's Day

This day never gets easier.
never

I scroll facebook and I see
that my children and I are not alone.
So many families missing dads on
Father's Day.

We are lucky.
Dave was here,
and fought to stay,
as long as he could.
He left a legacy that we will
always remember.
He was honest and kind and caring.
He was full of faith and joy and love.
His example leads us through every day
without him.
Missing him never goes away.

I want to give a "shout-out"
to all those moms who do double duty.
Who work hard to be the best mom that they can,
and try to fill the empty space left by a dad
who is no longer here.

For the last almost 11 years,
and often in the years before that
when Dave was so sick,
I tried to do what I could.
"There is no way to be a perfect mother,but a million ways to be a good one."
I worked two jobs. Sometimes three.
A few times, even four.
To make sure my kids could stay in their childhood home,
to try to provide some safety, stability and security
in a wo…

Tattoo

So.
I got a tattoo. Christine actually wrote on my facebook post, "You??"
Yeah. Me.

I've been thinking about it for six years.
I finally decided that if after six years, I still wanted it, maybe it was time.

The writing is Dave and Doug's.
Taken from notes they wrote me.
They always signed their notes the same way.

I thought I was doing it in memory of them.
To mark the way they are always on my heart.
To have a visible reminder.
A permanent keepsake,
always with me.

And while it is that.
It is also more.

I didn't realize it,
until afterwards.

It's a marker.
A closing of a chapter.
Closure, if you will.

I don't know how to explain it.
The minute it was finished,
I knew.
I knew something inside me was different.

Dave,
and to a lesser extent,
Doug,
have been part of my every thought
every day
for over 10 years.

Daryl saw the Dali Lama this summer.
One thing he learned:
Interrogate your truth.

I've been thinking about that a lot.

Interrogate implies a…

Team Meyer

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