tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post7063678518583259951..comments2024-02-10T08:35:39.336-05:00Comments on Telling Secrets: The American Liberal LionElizabeth Kaetonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-10684570972482692072008-05-23T09:53:00.000-04:002008-05-23T09:53:00.000-04:00Any glial brain malignancy has a rocky road ahead ...Any glial brain malignancy has a rocky road ahead for the sufferer. I pray for Ted and his family simply because of that. <BR/><BR/>I am a little edgy that the media is not saying what KIND of glioma it is other than "malignant", because it doesn't give me a clue what kind of time frame we are talking about. With everyone speaking of him in the past tense already, I am wondering if it is not a glioblastoma multiforme, the worst kind of malignant glial brain tumor. But that is just "pathologist speculating out loud" stuff on my part.<BR/><BR/>We all talk about miracles and people being "fighters" but I think sometimes we carry on about the measure of people being "how much they fight their cancer" when sometimes I think the bravest people I know is a measure of "how they meet and eventually accept an impending death." <BR/><BR/>I realize I tend to be a bit of a fatalist about serious illness but I also remember the tension in my own family, when my grandmother got small cell lung cancer. My mom, a breast cancer survivor, was horribly upset that "Mom doesn't want to fight her cancer." I was upset with her for upsetting Granny. I remember one heated interchange where I finally blurted out, "Mom, over 90% of people with this are dead in two years. Half of them are dead in one year. Barring a miracle, it ain't gonna happen, and if a miracle DOES happen, whether she fights it or not ain't got shit to do with it!"<BR/><BR/>The family strife over whether Granny was "fighting it or not" made Granny's road harder, and it took me some while to get over how people do that number on other people when the issue becomes "fighting the cancer."Kirkepiscatoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02651684515435040529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-25666767241428494972008-05-22T23:53:00.000-04:002008-05-22T23:53:00.000-04:00My dear, when my heart is heavy, I come here for c...My dear, when my heart is heavy, I come here for comfort.Lisa Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00881671380217888810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-28124421794948417392008-05-22T23:05:00.000-04:002008-05-22T23:05:00.000-04:00Hey, Lisa. Good to see you again. It's been too ...Hey, Lisa. Good to see you again. It's been too long. I'm sorry that it was this sad news that prompted a comment. My heart is still so heavy about this. How very, very sad for this family that has had more than their share of sadness.Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-13393943244290302642008-05-22T22:45:00.000-04:002008-05-22T22:45:00.000-04:00Yes, ma'am. Mine too, despite his flaws he is sti...Yes, ma'am. Mine too, despite his flaws he is still larger than life. May he not be afraid.susankayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15513759507628166408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-78841756696412275452008-05-22T19:29:00.000-04:002008-05-22T19:29:00.000-04:00No, Elizabeth, one doesn't "have to be from Massac...No, Elizabeth, one doesn't "have to be from Massachusetts to understand." The news broke this liberal Southerner's heart. When he dies -- whenever he dies -- it will be the end of an era.Lisa Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00881671380217888810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-52577189312958482282008-05-22T13:54:00.000-04:002008-05-22T13:54:00.000-04:00Of course, he drank too much (perhaps still will)....Of course, he drank too much (perhaps still will). Of course, he has his issues (don't we all)? And I don't think I would let him drive me home after a party...<BR/><BR/>But when I worked for a firm in Taunton, I had a chance to vote for him in an election many people weren't sure he would win--against Mitt Romney. He was my Senator then, and I'm very proud of that vote.Organ Builderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04011202267401097638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-8304887196448728482008-05-21T18:23:00.000-04:002008-05-21T18:23:00.000-04:00What cancer survivors know that normies don't is t...What cancer survivors know that normies don't is that it is not about the disease or its prognosis. It is about learning that we are mortal, that we cannot let the disease defeat us, only if it does, kill us. I rather suspect that the senator will be in the truest sense, a survivor. I should not wish that on my worst enemy, if I had one. But it is a part of the journey for many of us and it is doable. <BR/><BR/>Guide his healers Lord, grant him peace.<BR/><BR/>FWIW<BR/>jimBJimBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17312606954135884910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-42834658739572715302008-05-21T15:55:00.000-04:002008-05-21T15:55:00.000-04:00Bless his heart. He will always be my Senator, ev...Bless his heart. He will always be my Senator, even though I no longer live in Massachusetts. And in fact, he has worked and continues to work for all Americans. He is <I>our</I> Senator. <BR/><BR/>I've posted a little tribute (with photos of him very much alive, as you will see) <A HREF="http://actsofhope.blogspot.com/2008/05/senator-kennedy-doggie-post-with-well.html" REL="nofollow">over at my place</A>.Jane Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13814517077774999407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-11884527143543454402008-05-21T10:34:00.000-04:002008-05-21T10:34:00.000-04:00I'm praying for him. Contrary to popular belief, ...I'm praying for him. Contrary to popular belief, I think they work.<BR/><BR/>This is hard. There are people who represent my formative years. People like Mickey Mantle and John Lennon. Let's all pray and see if we can come up with a miracle.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05623709712119761741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-29626598931098015012008-05-21T00:00:00.000-04:002008-05-21T00:00:00.000-04:00I think what bothered me the most tonight was hear...I think what bothered me the most tonight was hearing some of Sen. Kennedy's colleges eulogizing him-already! Judy Woodruff on PBS's The News Hour, corrected one of the presidential historians with whom she was talking about the Senator, when he spoke of TK in the past tense.<BR/>As an RN I know that the prognosis is grim but Senator Kennedy is a fighter.VTcronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10741867296724712013noreply@blogger.com