Blog: CircaRigeI on LiveVideo.com

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Age: 33
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SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2008 (12:42 PM)

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PLEASE HELP!!!

(I'm feeling distressed)

I hope you'll bear with this the whole way through, or at least pay attention to the Relay for Life info... This is something that is extremely important to me. It involves the life of one of the best friends I've ever had... and saving many others. I don't know if your help can come in time for him, but there are many others who need that same help as well.

Today, a young friend of Coleman's lost his battle with cancer. John Eric was 2 years old, and until a month ago, was full of life. At the Preakness this weekend, the blanket to be draped over the winning horse is John Eric's. Please offer a moment of silence to honor this little angel.... An angel who's fight leads into something that touches even closer to me than Coleman's story and how John Eric touched him...

The dearest friends are like family. My friend David is like that to me. We met 14 years ago, and through everything, he's been a steadfast friend. I've watched his kids grow up, I watched him get married. I supported him in his worry when his son joined the military and was sent to Kuwait (he's back in the US now). We had good times together, and helped each other out when times were hard. 13 years ago, he gave me another gift and another friend... Rigel. Rigel was 5 then. He's now 18, and nearing his own close. That close, however, should not be coinciding with the possible close of David's life... but that may well happen.

Last Autumn, David began having seizures. Kaiser told him he didn't have epilepsy. A month later, they were telling him he was stressed and just needed to take time off work- he is a tenured satellite engineer at one of the nation's leading aerospace companies. Two weeks after that, outside specialists came up with a different diagnosis. David has brain cancer.

The tumors were in two areas I could consider the worst possible areas to have dysfunction of the brain... Broca's area and Wernicke's area. Let me back up a second, though. Basically, David's seizures were affecting his ability to speak and communicate (this includes writing). Broca's area is the brain's center for expressive communication- such as speech and writing. Wernicke's area is responsible for communication comprehension... understanding speech, espressions and reading. Thus far, the largest tumor is compromising Broca's area, meaning that David can understand communication, but verbalizing his own thoughts either though speech or writing becomes increasingly difficult. David is also a musician. Oddly enough, in the Wernicke's area of function, David has found that irregular rhythms of music tend to reduce his seizures, while regular rhythms increase them (since the seizures involve Broca's area, some of this control appears to be via communication between those two adjacent sections).

I guess I've probably confused the hell out of you by now, and I apologise. I tend to be highly analytical myself and am a medical student, and one way I control my emotions is by analyzing things to death (probably a poor choice of words here, though)... and tonight's circumstances are very emotional for me. I've shed a lot of tears.

Tonight I got an email from David. His chemotherapy isn't working. His primary tumor is growing at an alarming rate. What was originally staged at grade 2 is probably grade 3 or 4. For grade 4, median survival is around 6 months... that's the middle. It could be less, it could be more. Regardless, it's not good news.

David's not giving up. He's a fighter, and his spirits are high. If anyone could beat this on attitude alone, he'd have it in the bag. Unfortunately, in cases like this, we have to rely on medicine as well, and a lot of luck. Prayers won't hurt either, whether they be to God, Buddah, the force, etc... (I'm a Unitarian Universalist).

Ok, I already quoted statistics, but if there's one thing I hate, it's putting a statistic to a person's life. Statistics are for a population. In the individual, anything's possible. I'm living proof of that. I'm the standard deviation of a 100% statistic... and I'm healthy, while just about everyone else diagnosed when I was with the same diagnosis I had hit end stage by four years ago.

Right now, though, I don't know what else to say. I'm tearing up again, because I love my dear friend, and I want him well. I wish he didn't have to suffer. He's in for a rough road I wouldn't wish on anyone, much less a loved one. No one should have to go through this.

I'm angry too. It makes no sense that wealthy people can spend thousands of dollars on something as frivolous as a purse, when people are dying who might be saved with more funding for research. And Why the FUCK is our country squandering billions on a war that is based on LIES, when such money could SAVE lives if it funded research???

You can put a drop in the bucket, though. This weeend is the Relay for Life. Please support it and participate

Please help support this awesome pursuit for the Cure - How many people do you know with cancer that may not be here next year. My friend David is one. I was last able to visit at Christmas, and hope it wont' be the last... but there's a possibility it could be.

PLEASE, We must find a Cure today!

You have heard it before - All it takes is money & time - Time some don't have.

So PLEASE HELP TODAY

Please go to the Cure team page of "Cure Across The World" on the Relay for Life Web site and make your donation today.

The Relay Starts Saturday May 17 at 10AM and continues thru Sunday May 18th at 10AM
PLEASE CLICK ON THEIR BANNER BELOW AND HELP!

AFTER HELPING OUT ON THIER PAGE, PLEASE GO TO THE OFFICIAL MYSPACE FOR THE CURE AND COMMENT THEM. PLEASE ADD THEM AS A FRIEND ON MYSPACE IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO ALREADY AND PLEASE URGE YOUR FRIENDS TO JOIN THEIR MYPSACE PAGE.

I have personaly seen so many die from this Disease - They are getting closer every day in finding the Cure. YOU CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE....

PLEASE HELP TODAY

DON'T PUT IT OFF TILL TOMORROW - YOUR HELP IS NEEDED NOW!

Category: Friends

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Posted May 17, 08 by NewtsNook (

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you know you can count on my prayers sweetie!! hugs~Newt

Posted May 17, 08 by B4Salk (

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My prayers are with David. My husband, David, died of brain cancer in 1987. BIG HUGS

Posted May 17, 08 by CircleofFriends (

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Thank you for this information Belinda, I will read up on it and do all I can to help...including sending positive thoughts and prayers to David. (((hugs))) Barb