A friend ?

[Bill Bentley]

I guess we are all hearing bad news and sad news on a regular basis.
A good friend recently mailed me from hospital telling me he has accute lukemia.
l mailed him this morning asking how he feels.
He replied "Shocked, full of disbelief and worry".
This was my reply:

l hope this helps:
The only guarantee you have at birth is that you will one day die.
This and only this is certain !
You could have choked on your dummy as a baby.
Been run over by a car as a kid.
Choked on your puke after a booze frenzy as a teenager.
Caught an incurable dose of pox from some miss world or that giant nigger in prison.
Been in a plane crash on one of your many journies, etc., etc., etc..
But no, you avoided all of that and got this far in spite of all the odds.
So the chances are still pretty good that you will get through this episode and that 'the guarantee' will as ever fail to live up to expectations.
Whatever, you can't change things, so go with the flow, roll with the punches and come out fighting.
There is no need to worry, about what ?
Disbelief ? l don't recall you being a believer and even those that do believe are not spared their last day.
Ok, shock, i'll buy that, your news shocked me/ us too ! But after the shock we are all still here and pressing on.
l can't imagine that you wanted to reach a hundred and end up like your own old man.
So for today, just smile and carry on and at midnight tomorrow becomes today, so just smile and carry on ... for the certainty of death has been your companion since birth and so nothing has changed ...

He replied with a 'thumbs up'.

Am l a friend or just an ice cold old bastard ?

[Arnie]

Bill,

you missed out the most important word, HONEST!!!

Arnie

To the OK Friend, Keep on fighting the fight, and all the best wishes.

[Bill Bentley]

Thanks Arnie,
honesty is not everyones best friend, many prefer a smile and a lie.
I shall pass on your well wishes as soon as he's fit. Following several blood transfusions and a bucket full of morphine he's sleeping a lot. Starting chemo as soon as he wakes up.

Last thing he said was "Always talked the talk, maybe now it's time to walk the walk, if it's incurable l'm off to Switzerland for the big needle !"

A dutch guy on our camping site returned to Holland last year, when his cancer went maveric, and had himself euthanised.

It's also allowed in Spain now. Gets you thinking ...

[Pinky]

A friend once said as we get older we hear of more passing's than weddings.
Make the most of it fella's.
Only one go on the ride...........

Pinky

[Bill Bentley]

He just mailed me, he's not happy with the care or treatment in Berlin. l didn't mention yet, he's a Yankee. So he's booked an air ambulance to the States, their best hospital. lt'll cost him a house and more, but that's the cost of life.
Switzerland would have been closer, Holland was ... down hill all the way and Spain would have been too hot for him, l guess .

When they introduced euthanasia to Spain we thought it was a great step forwards.
l told Rahi that l had booked her in on the waiting list, she said l know l'm the second name on the list ... l had already reserved your place in advance

[Bill Bentley]

Update:
My friend arrived in Huston Texas in a fairly critical state, pnumonia with a full blown lung infection and for a week it was touch and go.
In the meanwhile he is recovering from the minor ailments, but the leukemia remains serious. After initially stabilizing his conditionn he has had to rent an appartment and now he's on the waiting list for a bone marrow transplant.
He don't seem to be much of a happy chappy and his poor wife is also stressed out to the limit.
Even if a doner crops up next week and they can do a successful transplant he will be on very heavy 'stuff' for the rest of his life ... how ever long or short that might be.
l guess it's like being on 'death row' just waiting for your appeal to get rejected ...

That short Swiss holiday might have been the better option after all