I thought it wouldn’t. But it did. It happened again. Kenny G was belting out jazzy, holiday cheer. A burning candle wafted a delicious candy cane scent. I was by myself happily decorating our house for Christmas. I lifted a slightly torn, rectangular box out of the large plastic storage bin and chuckled to myself. This box …
Category: families
Oct 13
Check-up Time: My Oncologist Has Cancer (Part 7)
I haven’t posted anything since March about my oncologist/former boss/dear friend, Dr. Marc Hirsh, who was diagnosed 16 months ago with an extremely rare, large cancerous tumor behind his heart. Last month at his 6-month checkup with his Hershey Medical oncologist, Marc and his wife Elizabeth braced themselves for bad news, still clinging to hope …
Jul 21
The God Who is Enough
When you believe in God, it can be hard to come to terms with the fact that He has allowed adversity to come into your or your loved one’s life. Author David Biebel talks about this fact in his book If God Is So Good, Why Do I Hurt So Bad? He says there are …
Jun 23
An Inspiring Story from an Unlikely Survivor
Today I’d like to introduce you to “Crash,” a red-tailed hawk, who had the misfortune of colliding with a car this spring in Mercer County, PA, and had to be extricated from the front bumper. The good news is that Crash survived his ordeal, was rescued and then taken to a wildlife rehab center. However, …
May 26
How to Love Yourself as Your Neighbor
For most of the past four decades I’ve been a caregiver for family members who were either physically or mentally unwell. I’ve had a relative with dementia living in our home for years, and I’ve made biweekly seven-hour car trips for months to be with another one undergoing chemo. I’ve been so physically fatigued I …
May 12
Turning 70 and Celebrating One Year as a Survivor: My Oncologist Has Cancer (Part 6)
Today Dr. Marc Hirsh, my oncologist, my brother in faith and my dear friend, turns 70. I know others who have recently, or will soon, reach this milestone, but none I’m celebrating more than this guy. That’s because shortly after his birthday last year, Marc was diagnosed with a rare atypical carcinoid tumor of the …
Mar 03
Who or What are You Missing Today?
My Dad would have turned 96 today if he hadn’t passed away in 2011. I can still recall my last phone conversation with him after the hospice nurse called to say his time was short. We lived several hours away and even though we left as soon as we could, we did not get …
Jan 06
My New Year’s Prayer for You
When my granddaughter Abby was 3, she’s wasn’t the best sleeper. She wasn’t the worst sleeper, but definitely not as good as her brothers, then ages 1 and 5. In fact, she was quite the master of “stalling” at bedtime and “needing” things in the middle of the night. You may be familiar with …
Dec 02
“She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her way—and surely it has not—she adjusted her sails.” –Elizabeth Edwards
I think it was quite an understatement when Elizabeth Edwards, wife of then-U.S. Senator and former Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards asserted that the wind had not blown her way. Elizabeth’s firstborn was killed in a car accident at the age of 17. Later while she was fighting recurrent breast cancer, her husband had …
Sep 30
Living with Uncertainty: My Oncologist Has Cancer (Part 4)
Would you like to hear some GOOD NEWS today?It has been 4.5 months since my oncologist and former employer, Dr. Marc Hirsh (pictured above with me in 1999) was diagnosed with an extremely rare cancer. It has no known cure nor effective treatment, but Marc finished his self-prescribed regime of 30 days of radiation …
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