My Daughter Alex , and Relay for Life

As many of you know, my husband passed away last year. He had Stage IV Lung cancer. My oldest, Alex, has been doing Relay for a while. Please check out her pages and pass along to anyone you care. Thank you so much for your time .

Sincerely,

Lydia

My Reason to Relay

June 2011 will be my sixth Relay for Life! I relay for my father, who passed away in May 2010 from lung cancer, my friend Michael who was only 19 years old when he passed away in 2005 from brain cancer, and everyone else who has been affected by this terrible disease.

Please make a donation to the American Cancer Society to help us all live in a world with less cancer. Everyone has been affected in some way, whether you: have or had it, were a caregiver, knew someone with it, or even had a friend who knew someone with it. Your donation no matter how small can help so many people!

Won't you please donate today?!

THANK YOU!

- Alex

If you are unable to view the message below, click here to view

This year, over 1.4 million Americans will hear the words ‘You have cancer’. I know too many people who are touched by cancer, and that is why I have joined the American Cancer Society on a mission to save lives and create a world with more birthdays by participating in the Relay For Life in my community. At Relay For Life we celebrate loved ones who have won their battle against cancer, remember those who are no longer with us, and fight back against this disease that touches so many. I am determined to make a difference, and I hope you will join me. I will be walking on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at Sherwood High School in Olney, Maryland. Please, support me in my efforts by using the link below to visit my personal web page and make a donation. Every dollar raised brings us one dollar closer to a cure, and to a time when the number of people who have to hear the words “you have cancer” is zero. Thank you so much for your support. Together, we ARE saving lives and creating a world with more birthdays! Thank you for your donation, no matter how small! - Alex Click here to visit my PERSONAL page. If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=5001491&pg=personal&fr_id=33333&fl=en_US&et=gGuotNsxJgsetn3f-KpnYg..&s_tafId=689784 Click here to view the TEAM page for Aspen Hill Club If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?team_id=849887&pg=team&fr_id=33333&fl=en_US&et=pTvI3mr7YRsfwnJKwbMa-w..&s_tafId=689784 This message has been sent by a friend who thought you would be interested in information about the American Cancer Society's special events. If you no longer wish to receive emails messages sent from your friends, family members or colleagues on the subject of the American Cancer Society's special events, please click here or paste this URL into your browser:http://main.acsevents.org/site/TellFriendOpt?action=optout&toe=78b9411dbc3787bfb2362da26e26a935174d5c9fa14c5eff Copyright 2010/2011 © American Cancer Society American Cancer Society | www.RelayForLife.org | 1.800.227.2345 250 Williams Street, Atlanta, GA 30303

31 Years ago today, My Dad Died...1 Year ago today, Ken came home for Hospice

31 years ago today at 5:45 am I received a phone call. I thought that it was a subbing call, but then I looked at the clock and saw how early it was. That wasn't good. My super, well loved father passed away at 52 from fibrosis of the lungs, due to too much radiation treatment for his Hodgkin's Disease.

The radiologist was an awful man. My father was a civil servant, with average pay for the day. The doctor told him,"You took a mortgage out for your home, you took a loan out for your car, I'm not waiting for Blue Cross-Blue Shield, take a loan out to pay me."

I loved my father to the ends of the earth. He made us feel as if all four of us were his favorite. I always figured that if I was 1/2 as good a parent as my Dad was, that my kids would turn out all right. *

So it did not slip my mind in the least when we found out that Ken would come home for Hospice a year ago today. It compounded the memory date, emblazoned it in my heart and soul forever.

Of course, we were hoping to heal Ken. And, after all, while home in Hospice, he got rid of his hematuria, 2 colds, and started to gain weight/eat & drink more, ever so slowly. But then he made a drastic turn for the worst, his body temperature plummeted to 88 degrees, and then the following day, his final day here on earth with us in May, to 87 degrees. He was 55.

My sister said that he had 1 foot in heaven , and three here on earth. That so described Ken. He did not want to leave. But, alas, it was not his decision to make , but it was the decision of the man upstairs.

This is the last nice photo smile that Ken gave us , Thanksgiving Day, 2009, the day before the stroke. He's holding up that smile for us. Shortly after the photo was taken, while driving back to his sister's place, I had to stop the car 3 times for him to vomit. That fall was so uncomfortable for him. His oncologist had swine flu, and he picked up a nasty virus w/the last chemo treatment that he had had.

He tried so hard to have a nice , normal Thanksgiving dinner. Poor baby.

West Side Tennis Club.
Our beautiful children at their cousin's wedding last September.
* I feel awful, but I do not have any photos of my Dad on the computer. So many to scan. He was the best Dad anyone could've had. No lie.