Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Cancer and Mr. K

My good friends, Mark and Ingrid (brother and sister twins) found out about a week ago that their pop has advanced pancreatic cancer. The doctors gave him between 3-6 months to live.
I got a message from Mark that he needed help getting "supplies" for his dad. Apparently the nausea from chemo was getting bad, so they were willing to try anything to make him feel better. He asked if I could get him some weed. He had tried a couple joints and it seemed to really help. It got his appetite going and helped him sleep. So of course I did what I could and got him a sack. Ingrid even went out and bought him a bong, which was way too complicated for him. So they settled with getting him a pipe.

Here's a dude who up until this month was one of the healthiest old dudes I knew. An avid swimmer and runner, he was in excellent health. He'd been a pilot of United Airlines for many many years. His daughter Ingrid has since become a pilot and his son Mark, a Captain in the Marine Corps. Sadly, Mark will be leaving for Iraq in a couple weeks. He admits selfishly that he would prefer to be in Iraq rather than watch his pop die slowly at home. Luckily, Ingrid is taking a leave of absence to be at home and watch over mom and dad.

I asked Mark if there's any chance that he might survive. Though they will be trying to get a second opinion, the outlook is bleak. Apparently the cancer has spread throughout his abdomen and his pancreas is practically gone.

I hope the weed helps.

No comments: