Real Heroes

I borrowed, or maybe I should say robbed, this photograph from a facebook site of a former high school student. While with his wife in Scotland, they took this picture.

The sign is what caught my eye, identifying real heroes as leukemia victims fighting for their lives. It read as follows: "The true Bravehearts are leukemia victims."

I couldn't resist posting this on my blog. I've already talked enough about my adventures, and I refuse to think about it in the present, although I realize the miracle I'm living every day.

As an oncologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota told me, "There is no explanation for your being alive."

He is supposedly, one of the best oncologists in the world. At the same time, he's also the biggest @$$h*le. I have, however, this bias. A former classmate and friend went there just months before her death from cancer. She left without any hope. He wasn't what you call Mr. Happy. I hated him, and I kept thinking about our dear friend and classmate. She lived close to the same neighborhood as Ann and I, went to Malad Second Ward just like Ann and I, and graduated in '71--just like Ann and I.

Her battle was courageous. We talked briefly a short time before her passing. She was on MSN Messenger, and one day when I was still quite sick, I checked the computer briefly. The IBM compatible we had then made the chiming sound it makes when someone on messenger logged in at any time. We wrote back and forth, occasionally it took a bit to add the sentences. I could tell it was an emotional time for her. Both of us were doing poorly at the time, but her concern was about me. She was a dear friend and a hero.