Comments on: The Future – It’s not all it’s cracked up to be

By: Marc

Marc — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 00:31:07 +0000

Thanks for that comment. I absolutely agree with you. I certainly hope you don’t think I am advocating giving up hope, although I will admit that sometimes I do feel the urge.

The point of the post is don’t forsake everything for something you may never attain. Enjoy life now while you still can. I don’t know anyone who can predict the future.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:44:46 +0000

This humble comment is based on the belief that we humans are both a physical and especially a spiritual reality. It’s part of human nobility to do things that outlive us. No matter our physical disability and challenges, we should sustain faith and hope till the time we are called to rest. I was diagnosed with MM in October 2005 and had MM-related multi-level spinal compression fractures of which I am still recovering. At the beginning I thought it was all over but soon realized I wasn’t just dying yet. Life had a deeper meaning when I understood we all have opportunities to make the world a better place within the limits of our disabilities and faith. We could help in the search for better treatment and cure for generations yet unborn. Many who made a difference in this world suffered more than we can ever imagine. In a sense, some of us may have been chosen by destiny to suffer justly for a good cause. We cannot aford to give up faith and hope.

By: Suzan

Suzan — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 17:19:57 +0000

I was diagnosed with MCL at 39 years last November, stage 4. I was placed on R CHOP, which now has to be changed 6 cycles further due to the cumulative toxicity of Doxorubicin on my heart. I have run a business the past 15 years, and had to let things slide the past 6 months to cope with my illness. A port is also waiting for insertion next week, since the veins are shot. The prognosis to all accounts is bleak – which leaves one with the question what to do in the meantime. I cannot worry about a cure, since I have not achieved remission yet, and tumors, though down from the size of apples to unshelled peacannuts, have some way to go. Sometimes I am in fighting mode, ready to wait for the curative drug, the next moment, looking for termination of current chemo theraphy… whats the point if it leads to neuropathy, heartburn, fatigue and allround misery? My husband is extremely supportive, and I must drive him insane with my fears and complaints. I have always been dynamic, aggressive, a go-getter. However, realistically that only applies when the odds are even. We all want to believe that our situation will turn out different, and perhaps due to our genetic diversity, it will. As humans we are infinitely hopeful and optimistic, even when we seemed beleagured. Sometimes we win the battle against all expectations.

By: Marc

Marc — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 20:34:43 +0000

Thanks Angie, but you just can’t let those things fade.

Buddha obviously knew what he was talking about, but I do agree it’s easier said than done.

Sometimes you just have to put all that stuff aside, and like the Nike commercial says, “just do it“. Otherwise you won’t. It’s way too easy to be lazy, and what fun is that?

By: Angie Pedley

Angie Pedley — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 00:21:36 +0000

Most people would agree it’s good to live in the present. It’s hard to do. Illness gives us insight into doing that – for me it’s one of the advantages of acquiring a disability. It’s one thing to think it & quite another to do it. I follow a Buddhist path & one of the quotes one monk is fond of is to “sit in meditation as if your hair is on fire” – meaning be entirely in the present & put all you’ve got into it (I think).
It seems to be a thing about living that acute pain isn’t memorable – with acute pain I feel entirely in the present moment. As soon as it subsides I may remember intellectually that something hurt but it fades. And so my resolve to do a few things I always intended to do before my difficulties also fades……….
Thanks for your thoughts. Brenda & Nate were great!