Goodbye to a Mellon Thumper

I was just watching the news and I saw a story about a website called "Thumping My Mellon". It was done by a man named Terry Harper. He had a form of cancer and posted a blog. He put the good and the bad in it. He recently died and his final blog post was dated June 2nd. I can relate to some of the sentiments that he expressed. For those who are extra sensitive, it's probably not a good idea to read the next paragraph. But, if you can handle it, I really can relate and reading his posting will probably give you a good insight to where my mind is usually at. Of course, being his final post, death comes into play. I'm not planning on dying anytime soon, but the notion of cancer and death is never far from my mind. I guess it's just the nature of the illness that it's impossible to ignore these things. Part of his final blog post is quoted below. Best wishes and big hugs to all,

Tim

A quote from Terry's final blog post:

"I never viewed this disease as a “gift” or that I was on some kind of “journey.” It just was. There was no way of knowing how this thing appeared in my brain so I tried not to waste any time or energy wondering what I should have or could have done differently. That would have been an exercise in futility. I think I recall one of my doctors telling me early on that there was no way to determine the cause of 98 percent of primary brain tumors. I was probably in the other two percent that didn’t forward one of those damn chain E-mails to my eight closest friends. I can’t deny there were times when I felt down about the whole situation. Hell, who wants to die in their mid-40s? Not me. All things considered, I would rather just be going about my life with Lee Ann at my side, watching Dale and Jace grow up and live their lives…and hopefully getting our tile roof replaced one day. I have no idea what lies beyond. I do know that if love transcends the boundaries of life and space and time, I have amassed more than enough to carry me safely to my next destination. And I hope that I have left enough behind to help light a path so that we may one day meet again. And especially to Lee Ann, Dale and Jace…wherever you go and whatever you do, be happy and know that my love will always be with you. Forever. I cannot imagine what my life would have been like without the three of you in it. It was a great ride."

Happy June

Hi all,

I'm happy to report that my mouth is much better. For the last month or so, it's been really bad. Finally, last week, things started to turn around. I can now go back to beef jerky and lemonade. :)

What else? Well, on the health front, I met with my oncologist this week. Things are looking very good. Still no new cancers showing up. He put me in for my next CT scan. It's been a few months, so it's time to get scanned again. Also, it looks like Robin and I will be doing the Chino Relay for Life. Look for more details on that one as the event gets closer.

As for the family, everyone is doing well. Rumor has it that some kids were teasing Erica at school saying that if you touch her you'll get skin cancer. From what I hear, she calmly and coolly told them that you can't get skin cancer from touching someone and that her father has colon cancer--not skin cancer. When we asked her about this whole thing, she was very nonchalant about it and seemed to have taken the whole thing in stride. She constantly amazes me.

Last weekend we went to see Steve and Nancy in Idyllwild. Erica, Robin, and I took a hike up the South Ridge Trail. I'm guessing that we hiked about a mile or so (each way). We took some great pictures along the way. I'll post them to FB.

Best wishes to all,

Tim

Happy June,