So it goes...

It was four years ago this weekend that I made my second trip to the Mayo Clinic to visit my brother Rob for the weekend. Rob had two chemotherapy treatments while he was battling his cancer, one in January and one in February. When I found out, I told Donna that I thought it was important that I be there over a couple of weekends if I could. I missed out on being there during his back surgeries, so wanted to support him during his therapy. These were difficult trips. Good trips; I'm so glad I made them, but difficult. I went up on Saturday morning and stayed overnight in the hotel across the street. Rob knew I was coming and I think he appreciated the company. Both times I brought a care package from Wisconsin, including his favorite cookies from Donna and a very rough draft of Dirty Shirt . He loved the cookies and said the book was "spot on". That review was worth more than every Amazon review to me. We had some crazy good conversations. We talked for hours about...

The rest of the weekend with Rob was good. I stopped over on Sunday morning about 10:00 and he was sleeping, snoring away. I thought I'd be sneaky and work on my laptop while he slept. As I was getting it out of my bag, he woke up saying "I smell coffee. It must be Jim." He knows me pretty well. I had brought him a couple of muffins from the nearby Panekoeken House, but his lack of appetite made them unappealing to him. He didn't eat much all weekend, but later that morning he did force some french toast and sausages down. It has to be terrible to worry not only about eating, but about pain, nausea, pain relief for the hardware in his back, twitching legs, bowel movements etc. The man is a living testimony of patience and a strong will. I admire him unlike I ever have before. God Bless him. We had some great, deep conversations when we were together. He is in a good place with his condition and more than anything doesn't want to be a burden on Jane and the rest of...

As we prepare to head to my sister Jane's holiday party this weekend, we got word last night that my brother Rob was rushed to Mayo for emergency surgery to remove a small, ping-pong ball sized growth from his spine. He was having trouble walking, so they went to the doc, and he recommended right away that they go to Mayo. At the clinic, they injected dye into his spinal column and found the growth. They determined that it was best to get it out right away. He was in surgery for 6 hours from 6:30 - 12:30 or so. Word is that he looked good this morning and today, so that is encouraging. He will however, be in the hospital for a week recovering. The whole thing just about knocked us over. We ALL thought Rob was in the clear, and on the way to a full recovery. This just stopped us in our tracks. I could barely think last night after I heard it. It's not fair and it just shouldn't happen to someone so young and vibrant. I was so emotional today and last night that I would tear-...