Rochester Mayo

Dear Friends and Family,

I wanted to write a quick post to send an update on my Dad. He is almost done with his first week of treatment at Methodist Hospital at Mayo. He has had very little side affects if any, although they say that may come in week two. His chemo stops tomorrow and then he will remain in the hospital for another week while his body recovers and blood counts are healthy enough to leave the hospital. Things tend to change so we will see what the next few weeks bring. My mom has a nice extended stay hotel to stay in which is just a block away. She has been giving our guests a tour of her favorite restaurants and her favorite hotels in Rochester. Everything is within about 6 blocks so it's a quick tour (although I have been on it about 3 times so I sometimes feel like it is groundshog day :)). My dad has been in pretty good spirits and chatting it up with the nurses, doctors, and patients. He just hangs out in the community room hoping for someone to join him in conversation or suggest some good book authors as they are about to read their own book. We go for walks each day and his only rule is that he can't leave the 7th floor. Fortunately for him the 7th floor stretches through all the Mayo Buildings so we can get pretty far on the 7th floor. We have had quite a few visitors already which has been so nice for all of us. Micki Bell spent a few days here before I came which was wonderful for my mom as she got settled here. Saturday my 3 friends from college Patty, Erin, and Sarah came to visit with my cousin Janel. Bob and Maureen Ryan were here as well to have lunch with my mom and dad. Allison got here on Sunday and stayed until today which was great and we were able to go to my mom's favorite restaurant with her. It was a special dinner. Then today my aunt Betsy and Steve and Nancy and Joe came for lunch. We are hoping they don't kick my dad out for his excessive partying and guests.
All and all things are going pretty well considering his situation. We all hope and pray his treatment gets him healthy so we can continue this party at home in Duluth.
His address at the hospital is: Rochester Methodist Hospital, 201 West Center Street, Room #7-421, Rochester, MN 55905 

Love, Kimber

io non c'e`male

At least I don't feel sick lately. When someone asks you how are you today, most people say fine, great, not bad or some other comment that no one really is listening to anyway. Lately when people ask me they actually want to know, so I tell the truth; "I'm really feeling pretty good." This in spite of the medicine and the side effects are not that profound as yet.
Sammy has been a lot of fun to train as we are making progress every day. She now loves the water and will take a retrieve as far as I can throw. My dad would say that these animals are gifts from God and we should be careful not to ruin the instincts they came with. Working with dogs and nature is such a pleasure for me, so we will just have to put it on hold for a while.
Tomorrow, Linda and I are going to Mayo again with the expectation that they will hospitalize me for a course of chemo therapy and a hopeful remission. Linda will stay in a room in Rochester close to the hospital and when I get a little better we can share the place for a while until the Doctors are agreeing to let us go back to Duluth.
My friend, Father Lepak sent me a note saying that he would pray for us and we hope you will too.
Gary

How do you know when you love someone?

One of the obvious ways is that you like to be close to that person. You like to do things together and gradually your hobbies and interests commingle For Linda and me it has been easy because we like to do a lot of the same things. Just yesterday we spent time in our yard getting ready for spring and trying to make things nicer around the house. For me it is necessary to call over Linda to inspect and give  her approval for what has just been done or to discuss my next idea which might not be good. This gives us a sense of accomplishment, pleasure and closeness.
We have had some times of separation that certainly did not diminish our love, but it was always apparent that something was missing. The first of these was when my country asked me to go to Vietnam. These deployments were almost always for 12 months or more. This is hard to envision for a young newly married couple. We didn't ask to do this, but it was our duty to comply with the requested assignment.
Well I can tell you that we both felt our bouts of loneliness and there is always present a kind of melancholy. You do your work and live your life with just a little less of something. These pictures show a young man and woman who have not been with their loved one for 10 months or so. One is in Southeast Asia and one is in Minnesota. They love each other. They miss each other. They want to be together.

 How could we expect anything but subdued smiles that demonstrate this couples longing

Mai piu cosi lontano 

Now we face a separation of sorts that we certainly did not ask for. This challenge is far more difficult and unpredictable but our love for one another is strong. Linda will help me through it with the gentle hand of God. We have many friends and family to help us too. My Mother is certain that I'll be OK and she knows because she prays to God every day for sure. She also loves Linda like a daughter and is praying for her welfare too.

Tomorrow or Tuesday I'll be in St. Mary's hospital in Rochester for a while to get more aggressive with the disease. I have every confidence that we are doing the right thing and I too pray for my return to health.

The love of my life is close to me now and gives me encouragement every day. 

At least this time our separation will be only a few blocks or a few miles. But again it is too far.

GARY