Mar 14
STABLE. As an adjective, Merriam-Webster defines it as “not changing or fluctuating” and gives it synonyms like firm, solid, steady, secure, fixed and strong. Those words have positive connotations and especially when applied to a disease not considered curable. Like the very large, very rare, neuroendocrine carcinoma of thymus origin lurking behind the heart of …
Feb 28
Probably not many people outside of my immediate family know this, but…I am the Queen of Recycling! Yes, it’s true. I attained this title by memorizing what’s recyclable and then fanatically making sure nothing gets missed. I even bring home all the plastic containers from fast-food restaurants so I can rinse and toss everything into …
Feb 14
Last year when my friend Carolyn took ornaments off the Christmas tree, she wondered what changes would come to her family before she unpacked them again. Never could she have imagined what 2022 would bring. But neither could she have foreseen what God was going to supply for one of the most difficult years of …
Jan 03
Do you know the first word you ever spoke? Perhaps “da-da” or maybe “ma-ma?” I don’t recall whether my mother ever told me mine, but I know for certain what our oldest daughter initially uttered. Danielle was 8.5 months old and crawling after my parents’ Siamese cat when my mother and I heard her say …
Sep 28
Bill and Pat Shifflet have faced five cancers in their 80+ years–some cured, others not–but please don’t feel sorry for them. The very happy couple doesn’t spend time bemoaning their own struggles; they’re too busy helping others. “Everyday I pray ‘God, show me a need’,” explains, 82-year-old Pat, who loves to pray for people, send …
Jul 26
My husband’s Cousin Marge, born a premie in 1919, came with a doctor’s warning to her parents: “Don’t get too attached because she’s not going to survive.” For years Marge loved to tell that story, including the detail of spending her first few months sleeping in a shoebox. That precarious beginning seemed to set the …
Apr 06
You may or may not be familiar with the 1969 Beatles’ song, “Give Peace a Chance” but years later John Lennon explained its message: “It wasn’t like ‘You have to have peace!’ Just give it a chance. We ain’t giving any gospel here – just saying how about this version for a change? We think we have the right to …
Nov 17
It’s pretty easy to thank God when everything’s going well. When you feel happy. When you have your health. When your loved ones are doing fine. It’s a lot harder when some things—maybe most things—are not going well. In those first dark days after my cancer diagnosis in 1990, I literally could not pray. Sentences simply …
Oct 13
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 …
Sep 15
I miss my dad. It’s been a decade since he took his last breath on this earth and I still miss him. Especially during college football season as I’m frantically cheering on my Ohio State Buckeyes (with apologies to all my friends in that state up north!) My dad was an incredible multi-sport athlete, as …
