affected or not affected?

[dadmo]

Sharon:
It's not easy or fair but it is survivable. Why just today, over a very nice glass of fingerlake Chardonnay, Nancy and I were talking about some wonderful future plans.

[Russell's Mom]

thanks

I'm glad you shared the details. My brain is still like gumby rubber and I expect that it will stay like that for a while. (Russell had is first post op tumor markers and chest films today......) What I do know is that the universe keeps throwing me onto my you know what and from there, looking up, the sun gets in my eyes again! I wish that I could put Russell in Heaven, happy to know that the sun shines again for him after he has been down. Here is to finding, building and sharing strength/happiness.
Old saying, life is the river that flows between the banks of pleasure and pain. Personally, I am ready for a sandy beach and a picnic basket. Take care, bundle of emotions and my body aches, Russell's mom, Sharon

[dadmo]

Not to wander to far but this is one of the best pieces of literature ever written and speaks to the suffering of the human spirit. It’s the poem that inspired "Of Mice And Men". The basic question is who is better off those that only see and live today or those of higher consciousness who remember a brighter past and fear the future.
I believe somehow we need to strike a balance. On several posts in this forum I have mentioned that the happiest days of my life are in the past, yes it was just before Jason was diagnosed. Nancy and I paid off the house, a car, and sent out the last tuition bill, the sun was shining we were sharing a glass of wine in our garden and we had nothing but hearts dancing in our eyes. The very next weekend the world turned upside down.
I do not fear the future in terms of my own existence but I do fear for my son and the pain of ever having to see him sick again. Unlike the man in the Robbie Burns poem I have chosen to not simply worry about the future but I am taking steps to try and brighten the future for all who have been stricken by this disease.

[Russell's Mom]

reminder

I understand the wandering thoughts although I am with Scott for Dadmo's post. My family came over on a different boat! Back to the donation concerns, Russell's doctors reminded us with encouragement, to remember that it only takes one! Take care, Russell's mom, Sharon

[Scott]

Say what?

[dadmo]

Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim'rous beastie,
O, what panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murd'ring pattle!

I'm truly sorry Man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle,
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An' fellow-mortal!

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen-icker in a thrave 'S a sma' request:
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss't!

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an' wast,
An' weary Winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.

That wee-bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald.
To thole the Winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld!

But Mousie, thou are no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

Still, thou art blest, compar'd wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But Och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!

[ivannabanana]

Thanks of quick repley dadmo

Haha very funny yeah we have summer... well we get above zero ... Is nice that youare visit Scotland... I lyve on the West coast they lyke to call it Rabbie Burns country.... I am away on holiday but only for 2 weeks...When you making your way over and are you visiting family? Our country only teeny compare to your country but i hope you can enjoy, and im sure the weather wont put you off... keep me up dated Bless yvonne

[dadmo]

The banked sperm will have no trace of cancer and the genetic quality will be fine. He may have produced some that don't swim so fast but it's too cold for much swiming Scotland anyway.

By the way I will be visiting Scotland in the summer (you do have summer?) of 2008.

[ivannabanana]

Hi everyone, I hope everyone is feeling better each day... Thys is my first post for little whyle but i do read fourm 2 or 3 tymes a day... Just because my hubby finished hys treatment dont mean we out of the wooods yet... And we do lyke to know how everyone is doing.... My q today is this... WHen my hubby was starting hys treatment they asked hym to bank sperm, as i thynk they ask everyone to do.... I know that the chemo probably harms these little guys and can in some cases totally make them extinct but does the cancer not harm the sperm that has been banked? ......Any info would be gratefully recieved as usual.... Keep smiling, even tho sometymes its hard to... Bless, Yvonne