Wednesday, April 23, 2008

More Sad News

I just hung up the phone after talking with my sister, Carol Francis. I had heard yesterday from Clifford that one of her kids was really sick. Linda, her daughter who is 54 and lives in Houston, Texas, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It is inoperable, and they fear it has spread to her liver.

She is having chemo, but that is not fun, either. I fear for her. Her son is in medical school and has a professor that is friends with one of the worlds most sought after doctors in that type of cancer. That doctor is in Houston, but is almost impossible to get into see. Well, Linda got right in due to a call from the doctor's friend at med. school. He asked Linda who she was that made her so important.

Years ago Linda used to ask herself, why me? when referring to this child. He was a tough one for her, but now she knows why.

Linda is a very intelligent person, and has been a very good daughter to Carol and Dean. She has paid as much attention to them as any of the other kids, and she has lived in Houston for years. This will be a tough time for Carol and Dean as well as for Linda's family.

Dad Clark

4 comments:

Jason said...

My least favorite question in the world is "Why me?" Why not me? We spend so much time whining and complaining about our trials that sometimes we fail to remember the importance of the facing them successfully. That doesn't mean that I have never complained about my life - I probably do it too much. In actuality, I have a wonderful life. My trials pale in comparison to Linda's and millions of other people throughout the world. I am very fortunate to have a safe house to live in, a job, a great family, and a healthy body. Our thoughts and prayers will be with Linda and her family.

Papa Doc said...

As Dad mentioned in an earlier blog, we visited my friend, Ginny Petersen, who had liver cancer. I thought I was going up to show my support and love, but I came away feeling supported and loved more back. Her positive attitude is absolutely amazing! She isn't afraid of dying and talks about it openly, which made it a little easier. She looked great and was very calm and happy. I realized that she has the right to be calm and happy because she has lived a good life. She's not perfect, but she has found the balance between what she has been able to do on her own and what the Savior will make up for her inadequacies.
I received an e-mail from her today and she said the following:
"I had a day where I paniced over what I might have to go through eventually. I called a good friend, Sharon Boothe. She told me to live, drink, and be merry, in a righteous way of course, and enjoy today and not worry about what might be down the road. It helped me a lot to enjoy each day and my good heath while I have it."
May we all adopt this same attitude!
Mom

Papa Doc said...

As Dad mentioned in an earlier blog, we visited my friend, Ginny Petersen, who had liver cancer. I thought I was going up to show my support and love, but I came away feeling supported and loved more back. Her positive attitude is absolutely amazing! She isn't afraid of dying and talks about it openly, which made it a little easier. She looked great and was very calm and happy. I realized that she has the right to be calm and happy because she has lived a good life. She's not perfect, but she has found the balance between what she has been able to do on her own and what the Savior will make up for her inadequacies.
I received an e-mail from her today and she said the following:
"I had a day where I paniced over what I might have to go through eventually. I called a good friend, Sharon Boothe. She told me to live, drink, and be merry, in a righteous way of course, and enjoy today and not worry about what might be down the road. It helped me a lot to enjoy each day and my good heath while I have it."
May we all adopt this same attitude!
Mom

chelsey said...

That's really sad! Unfortunately. pancreatic cancer is usually a quick moving one and not caught early enough. We'll be sure to keep her in our prayers too.