Thursday, February 26, 2009
Bluebirds on His Shoulders
What a beautiful day in the neighborhood!!!! From the time Howard spotted the two bluebirds this morning in our garden (we believe sent directly from Hartwell, Ga. by daughter Cheri) he felt positive that the third chemo therapy would be beneficial for his body. And so it is...tonight. With his new 2.2 lbs. weight gain, good blood levels, clearing lungs and lessening pain we feel blessed beyond measure. Once againt,thank you, Dear Friends....You are precious also beyond measure. Stand-by for more stories. The Knight has only just begun.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Remembrances - Country Roads - Afternoon Delights
This day, Monday, February 23, our Knight is vastly improved.
Another Thank You, God Moment. Each night we thank Him for gifts innumerable ... both physical and spiritual. Life is now viewed in a more vivid, panoramic way. We remind ourselves it is indeed a time on Planet Earth when.... though we never take one more" Ride " for granted,.... so much is possible. Before this experience we had not truly considered ourselves "elderly", quite amusing in retrospect...everything seeming so relative. We now more fully comprehend the true "preciousness" of life both for the young and the old. Once again we are so humbled and so very grateful for your constant Love and Prayers on this incredible journey. Our unbroken Circle of Love remains constant reassurance on an unfamiliar, often frightening path. You are all more BELOVED than ever even imagined. Thursday we are scheduled for our Knight's third treatment of chemo-therapy. We hold you close and feel your loving presence as we move forward through this process.
This from Sunday p.m., February 2009
Remembrances....it had been a day of reminiscing, a nostalgic journey to simpler Sundays. The yearning for what had been perceived earlier in life as a true sense of freedom seemed very real following the second round of chemo-therapy and radiation earlier in the week.
The memories came rather clearly, interspersed with so many stories that could be told. It was the year 1947. As Howard recalls he was then fifteen years of age.
He cranked his beloved Whizzer Bicycle and left the driveway of home. How he loved the sound
of the motor! All through Sunday School and Church at Bethseda Baptist Church, (earlier in the day.....first order of the day on Sunday,) he hadn't been able to get the thought of the Whizzer out of his head. He hoped his Mother, better known in the community as "Miss Sallie"... wasn't picking up on his mental ramblings. “Amazing Grace” perhaps would drown out his thoughts.. After all, he was the son of a Baptist Preacher...from a long line of Southern Baptist ministers. Thinking of motor-bikes throughout a sermon might not be the best of ideas.
The Wind in His Face
As the engine purred, Howard looked back glimpsing his family still in the kitchen...Mother, Aunt Robbie, Sister Nelle...finishing clean-up in the kitchen. A much smaller house, built from the pines grown on the property after the old house burned in l945, now sat where the old plantation house had stood for many years. Howard himself had helped with the construction of the new homeplace. The original house had been constructed of the virgin pines planted and harvested by Howard's Grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Perry. (Grandpa, as they had called him, had died when Howard was around six years old.)
Memories of the Homeplace
Ship-builders from Savannah had earlier come to Grandfather Perry's pine forest to choose timbers for the tall ships being built.
"Once you touch that tree with your ax," Grandpa would tell the shipbuilders, "that tree is yours' ....$25.00 a piece." He had been a very prosperous business-man, managing the land he had acquired just outside Dublin, during his early years. In later years before his death Howard remembers him, sitting on a pine stump just outside the log crib and speaking to people as they went by on their way home....sometimes commenting on how other people "made their livings."
Howard's mental images of the old place, were vivid. Family treasures that had filled the homeplace,(one room called Noah's Ark because it contained two of almost everything,) were lost on that dark day when a fire began in the kitchen fireplace .Beloved playmate and wonderful Sister Nelle, then a teen-ager, was working in the kitchen and had yelled a warning to Howard, his Mother, and Aunt Robbie who were working in a nearby field. (Big brother Perry, mentor and role model for Howard, had graduated high school with honors and gone on to Georgia Tech).
The day of the fire was one young Howard, then twelve years old, would never forget. A house built of heart-pine lumber becomes embroiled in flames within minutes. Family and neighbors had rushed from the fields but efforts to save the house were in vain....a few pieces of furniture, family pictures, etc., were salvaged before the flames engulfed the much-loved home place . Howard remembered. He had learned how things and places could go "up in smoke"....and life would go on perhaps not as planned...but in a brand new way.
The First Ride
With the taste of fried chicken and banana pudding lingering , he proudly revved the engine of
his newly rebuilt bike. Pulling him forward was the vision of the roads of Laurens County.....the small city of Dublin, and Dexter. He could smell the creek water where he remembered watching the rescue of a mule years ago. " Free as the wind" he began his trek down Moore's Station Road, past the Buggy House, past the Pine trees originally planted by his Grandfather Thomas Jefferson Perry, past the crib (where Grandpa always stored the big sugar barrels in earlier years, past the woods where Sol, beloved black friend, would carry Howard as a younger child on his shoulders during "coon hunts," )
At the time. Howard recalls, his motorized Bike was one of only four in Dublin. His interest in motors had brought him together with his first Whizzer Motorbike, purchased from a friend who had become uninterested his earlier purchase. As Howard remembers his friend had paid around $100.00 for the bicycle when he purchased it "brand-new." Howard considered his offer of $25.00 quite fair for the second-hand bike....a special prize for a young man with a dream, eager to do the necessary work to make this bike a unique form of modern transportation. He could not wait to begin the restoration...he had envisioned it from the first sighting. BUT it needed a lot of work.
Now it would come to fruition....a motorized bike of his very own....a young Knight's dream. He was "off...off...and away." The ride was even sweeter than he had ever imagined.
He had later purchased from a man “down the road” parts and pieces of two other Whizzer Bikes. He'd brought the bits and pieces home in a croaker bag.... his excitement overwhelming as he planned the rebuilding...a motor for a bike...a faster, more efficient form of getting around. As long as he could remember the fascination with motors had always been there. He seemed, for the better part, self-taught. Much fascinated also with steam engines he would later construct one himself while working for the Miller Company. Later his knowledge of mechanics would aid him in his work with management of two food industries, one Mrs. Filbert's Foods and The Charles Miller Company, creator of Mary Jane Candies....later his own company.
This from Sunday p.m., February 2009
Remembrances....it had been a day of reminiscing, a nostalgic journey to simpler Sundays. The yearning for what had been perceived earlier in life as a true sense of freedom seemed very real following the second round of chemo-therapy and radiation earlier in the week.
The memories came rather clearly, interspersed with so many stories that could be told. It was the year 1947. As Howard recalls he was then fifteen years of age.
He cranked his beloved Whizzer Bicycle and left the driveway of home. How he loved the sound
of the motor! All through Sunday School and Church at Bethseda Baptist Church, (earlier in the day.....first order of the day on Sunday,) he hadn't been able to get the thought of the Whizzer out of his head. He hoped his Mother, better known in the community as "Miss Sallie"... wasn't picking up on his mental ramblings. “Amazing Grace” perhaps would drown out his thoughts.. After all, he was the son of a Baptist Preacher...from a long line of Southern Baptist ministers. Thinking of motor-bikes throughout a sermon might not be the best of ideas.The Wind in His Face
As the engine purred, Howard looked back glimpsing his family still in the kitchen...Mother, Aunt Robbie, Sister Nelle...finishing clean-up in the kitchen. A much smaller house, built from the pines grown on the property after the old house burned in l945, now sat where the old plantation house had stood for many years. Howard himself had helped with the construction of the new homeplace. The original house had been constructed of the virgin pines planted and harvested by Howard's Grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Perry. (Grandpa, as they had called him, had died when Howard was around six years old.)
Memories of the Homeplace
Ship-builders from Savannah had earlier come to Grandfather Perry's pine forest to choose timbers for the tall ships being built.
"Once you touch that tree with your ax," Grandpa would tell the shipbuilders, "that tree is yours' ....$25.00 a piece." He had been a very prosperous business-man, managing the land he had acquired just outside Dublin, during his early years. In later years before his death Howard remembers him, sitting on a pine stump just outside the log crib and speaking to people as they went by on their way home....sometimes commenting on how other people "made their livings."
Howard's mental images of the old place, were vivid. Family treasures that had filled the homeplace,(one room called Noah's Ark because it contained two of almost everything,) were lost on that dark day when a fire began in the kitchen fireplace .Beloved playmate and wonderful Sister Nelle, then a teen-ager, was working in the kitchen and had yelled a warning to Howard, his Mother, and Aunt Robbie who were working in a nearby field. (Big brother Perry, mentor and role model for Howard, had graduated high school with honors and gone on to Georgia Tech).
The day of the fire was one young Howard, then twelve years old, would never forget. A house built of heart-pine lumber becomes embroiled in flames within minutes. Family and neighbors had rushed from the fields but efforts to save the house were in vain....a few pieces of furniture, family pictures, etc., were salvaged before the flames engulfed the much-loved home place . Howard remembered. He had learned how things and places could go "up in smoke"....and life would go on perhaps not as planned...but in a brand new way.
The First Ride
With the taste of fried chicken and banana pudding lingering , he proudly revved the engine of
his newly rebuilt bike. Pulling him forward was the vision of the roads of Laurens County.....the small city of Dublin, and Dexter. He could smell the creek water where he remembered watching the rescue of a mule years ago. " Free as the wind" he began his trek down Moore's Station Road, past the Buggy House, past the Pine trees originally planted by his Grandfather Thomas Jefferson Perry, past the crib (where Grandpa always stored the big sugar barrels in earlier years, past the woods where Sol, beloved black friend, would carry Howard as a younger child on his shoulders during "coon hunts," )At the time. Howard recalls, his motorized Bike was one of only four in Dublin. His interest in motors had brought him together with his first Whizzer Motorbike, purchased from a friend who had become uninterested his earlier purchase. As Howard remembers his friend had paid around $100.00 for the bicycle when he purchased it "brand-new." Howard considered his offer of $25.00 quite fair for the second-hand bike....a special prize for a young man with a dream, eager to do the necessary work to make this bike a unique form of modern transportation. He could not wait to begin the restoration...he had envisioned it from the first sighting. BUT it needed a lot of work.
Now it would come to fruition....a motorized bike of his very own....a young Knight's dream. He was "off...off...and away." The ride was even sweeter than he had ever imagined.
He had later purchased from a man “down the road” parts and pieces of two other Whizzer Bikes. He'd brought the bits and pieces home in a croaker bag.... his excitement overwhelming as he planned the rebuilding...a motor for a bike...a faster, more efficient form of getting around. As long as he could remember the fascination with motors had always been there. He seemed, for the better part, self-taught. Much fascinated also with steam engines he would later construct one himself while working for the Miller Company. Later his knowledge of mechanics would aid him in his work with management of two food industries, one Mrs. Filbert's Foods and The Charles Miller Company, creator of Mary Jane Candies....later his own company.
Sightings of Lost Treasure
Ironically, he would learn later, the father of his future bride, Paula, had purchased the dealership in Soperton, Ga., for Whizzer Bikes, along with the dealership for Kaiser-Fraser (sp.) cars, the somewhat futuristic cars from German makers that would prove to be far beyond their time in popularity. In later years, the parts, the motors themselves were discarded from the garage where they were stored after the dealership closed....too bad ....since Howard could have used some of them in restoring an authentic Whizzer Bicycle he purchased at a Great Gatsby Auction in Atlanta. Years later, Paula's Dad and Howard would become close friends. And in the years to follow when he would visit the old tin garage in her parents backyard he would stand and stare at the Whizzer parts and remember...but eventually the parts would slowly disappear in random clearing of "old junk.". Strange the things we toss away to bury in our landfills in order "to bring order" to other places in our lives.
(The Whizzers later disappeared from storage in the Buggy House....possibly upon the dismantling of the building.)
From Whizzer Bikes to Harleys
Later for the Knight's 36th wedding anniversary, his wife, Paula who counted herself one of earth's luckiest women, would give the Knight a much deserved, long-admired Harley- Davidson Motorcycle....a beautiful white classic soft-tail. He would ride it with pride, "free as the wind" until he was seventy years old.....when the two feared, not the lack of skills of a seasoned bike writer, but the possibility of injury to an irreplaceable body. After all, it had been a long, beautiful ride.
.........
Notes of Interest
Eight children had been born and raised there within the walls...many birthed by the beloved freed-slave, Caroline Henderson, (listed in Georgia State Archives), who lived on the farm in a cabin built for her by Grandpa Thomas Jefferson Perry after the War Between the States. Caroline was affectionately known by the family as "Cowline." Wood salvaged by Paul (great grandson of Thomas Jefferson Perry, and wife Delise was reconstructed as a small one room building, now housing chickens at Pineola Farms near Ft. Valley, Ga).
Sallie Perry Knight, youngest of eight children returned to her homeplace with her three small children after the sudden death of her husband, Reverend Blewster Knight, minister of the Eatonton Baptist Church, Eatonton, Ga. Blewster, only thirty-three years of age, had been much loved and admired within the Eatonton Community of Christian faith. The pastor um, then located next to the Baptist Church in Eatonton, had originally been the dwelling of Joel Chandler Harris, famous author and creator of characters such as Brer Rabbit, When Grandpa Perry went to Eatonton for Blewster's funeral service and his youngest child, Sallie, asked: "Whatever shall I do, Papa?" Grandpa quickly answered: "Well, Sallie, you will come home with me. That's exactly what you will do."
The birth of Howard, youngest of the three children, had taken place only six weeks before Blewster's unexpected death from pneumonia which developed following a small surgical procedure for a growth on the shoulder. Grandpa Perry was an elderly man at that time. Aunt Robbie, older maiden sister of Sallie, had resided with her father throughout the years. She quickly became also a loving caretaker of the three young children Sallie brought back to the homeplace. Sallie was a determined, loving, devoted single Mother to her three children and remained at the homeplace until her death in the l980's. Robbie, her older sister, became bedridden for many years. Sallie Perry Knight remained by her side as caretaker until her death in the 1970's.)
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Unbroken Circle
A couple of hours before the appointment time for the radiation treatment a peace descended upon us which seemed to embrace us, envelope us. At that point we felt no fear and any apprehension seemed to disappear to be replaced by warm comfort. We knew it was you all and our very loving Creator... lifting us up through our Circle of Love. WE ARE FOREVER GRATEFUL to Him and to each and one of you with your Gifts of the Spirit. We never felt more surrounded by LOVE than during this time..... feeling your presence as surely as our own heartbeats. Tonight we go to bed with the reassuring words of our young doctor...that this treatment worked well and that while the area of the brain where this lesion occurs is quite complicated to treat, he felt that the tumor could be reduced greatly in size and over a matter of weeks, depending on response of Howard's body...healed. There will be a follow-up MRI in about eight weeks to fully determine the true success of today's treatment. We feel very positive about the success of the procedure. "God worked through your hands," we reminded our young radiology oncologist.
We had...for days...considered all the problems others might be enduring....all the pain, all the stories much more horrific than our own. The little children who suffer through all manner of illnesses, diseases...the poor, the lonely, the homeless.. and always. the ones without faith to help them sustain their strength through the storms of life . Reminding ourselves each day how very blessed we have been... this did not take away the dread of going into such unknown territory. After all, the "unknown" presents all humans with a discomfort not to be denied. But today....our journeying into that place became tolerable...enveloped in His Love and your own ...so generously offered to us. While the Knight is of the bravest among us, your love and prayers strengthened his armor. Thank You...Thank You. You were so surely there with us in that very moment in time.
As we walked into the location of treatment today we were the only patient in the office. There was no one about whose story we might wonder or write. As if set up to spare the Knight further delay in treatment of the small brain lesion... he was immediately ushered into the treatment room. This time alone....this time wearing the mask formed for him weeks before. (Howard was given the mask today to bring home as a souvenir of his bravery....an awesome thing to behold. Another reminder of what a wonderful time it is to be alive on Planet Earth. Perhaps a reminder to someone else at some point who needs some reassurance that we can indeed, through faith and the love of those supporting us, survive previously unimagined experiences.) All in this thing called Life together....we feeling so incredibly blessed to have YOU beside us in this journey. They say...once again we remind ourselves..."there are no coincidences." Be assured...no matter what....we all have each other. The Knight knows that to be a truth tonight as he goes peacefully to bed.....feeling a true measure of healing.
PEACE, JOY, LOVE to each of you.
A very grateful Knight and his Paula
1 Cor.13:13
We had...for days...considered all the problems others might be enduring....all the pain, all the stories much more horrific than our own. The little children who suffer through all manner of illnesses, diseases...the poor, the lonely, the homeless.. and always. the ones without faith to help them sustain their strength through the storms of life . Reminding ourselves each day how very blessed we have been... this did not take away the dread of going into such unknown territory. After all, the "unknown" presents all humans with a discomfort not to be denied. But today....our journeying into that place became tolerable...enveloped in His Love and your own ...so generously offered to us. While the Knight is of the bravest among us, your love and prayers strengthened his armor. Thank You...Thank You. You were so surely there with us in that very moment in time.
As we walked into the location of treatment today we were the only patient in the office. There was no one about whose story we might wonder or write. As if set up to spare the Knight further delay in treatment of the small brain lesion... he was immediately ushered into the treatment room. This time alone....this time wearing the mask formed for him weeks before. (Howard was given the mask today to bring home as a souvenir of his bravery....an awesome thing to behold. Another reminder of what a wonderful time it is to be alive on Planet Earth. Perhaps a reminder to someone else at some point who needs some reassurance that we can indeed, through faith and the love of those supporting us, survive previously unimagined experiences.) All in this thing called Life together....we feeling so incredibly blessed to have YOU beside us in this journey. They say...once again we remind ourselves..."there are no coincidences." Be assured...no matter what....we all have each other. The Knight knows that to be a truth tonight as he goes peacefully to bed.....feeling a true measure of healing.
PEACE, JOY, LOVE to each of you.
A very grateful Knight and his Paula
1 Cor.13:13
Gathering of the Circle of Love
Dear Ones....Today is the day of the radiation for the small brain lesion. PLEASE gather hand in hand...we go forward trusting completely God's healing touch through the doctors.
CIRCLE of LOVE gathering....3:00 p.m.
We thank Him truly for your presence in our lives..
Loving You All Dearly
Howard the Knight, Paula and Family
1 Cor.13:13
CIRCLE of LOVE gathering....3:00 p.m.
We thank Him truly for your presence in our lives..
Loving You All Dearly
Howard the Knight, Paula and Family
1 Cor.13:13
Friday, February 13, 2009
Wishing You Love
The gentle presence of the man across the way from us made us somehow more comfortable. It was our second round of chemotherapy. He was quite a handsome, elderly African American who had been receiving treatments at the center for eight months. He drives himself to and from the treatments and lives, he told us, about two miles away from the Center.....so "no big deal" he remarked. We learned he had "caddied" for a Macon Candy Company executive in earlier years. (He is now being given a new form of treatment and will receive blood transfusions in the next week or so....and spoke of the fatigue he has experienced after the treatments.) Still his spirit is very visible and life very precious to him...as evidenced by his determination in seeing this "through."
True, it appeared, for all those receiving treatments in adjoining chairs. A female patient of about sixty years of age was receiving her final chemo. The staff joined in a celebration of bubbles blown about her chair and an electronic leopard who performed to the music of "wildthing."We thought it appropriate as we all would be "wildly" happy to be concluding the treatments.
The Center was filled with people, young and old...black and white. Somehow we were all now "family" thrust into a new, uncertain world and an ongoing dreamlike state of consciousness. We still wish to be awakened. The WORLD with all its' complications seems all the simpler now.Nothing seems vitally so important on this level...as we had thought. Aren't we learning this in a "reverse order?" It would be our wish that we could be much wiser, much sooner.
Our thoughtful nurse...now like family to us...also attended our new friend. She offered him candy from a jar of assorted choices kept available for patients...ironically he chose a Mary Jane and a Tootsie Roll. Our Knight, earlier in one of his careers, had been the manager of the Mary Jane Candy Company, so we remembered together some of those busy years. Strange, or perhaps not, how things simply "come together." They say...whoever "they" are...that there are NO COINCIDENCES. It seems to be more and more true.
The Knight and I held hands during the seemingly long period in which we waited for blood level reports to come.The levels must be correct to be given more chemotherapy. Sitting beside each other in the large lounge chairs in a still unfamiliar surround we asked each other how we had gotten HERE. We are learning....things that we never invisioned needing or wanting to know during our lifetimes. "It was," remarked the Knight, "always someone else." We spoke, during our wait, of life....our lives...and how this was never a part of the plan.
We thanked God for each other. Some people do it alone. We are so richly blessed by our children, our friends...even total strangers who somehow pour out their hearts as the story unfolds.
And so...as Valentine's Day approaches...All you precious and dear ones who support this Knight along his journey...WE WISH YOU PEACE, JOY...and MOST OF ALL WE WISH YOU LOVE.
True, it appeared, for all those receiving treatments in adjoining chairs. A female patient of about sixty years of age was receiving her final chemo. The staff joined in a celebration of bubbles blown about her chair and an electronic leopard who performed to the music of "wildthing."We thought it appropriate as we all would be "wildly" happy to be concluding the treatments.
The Center was filled with people, young and old...black and white. Somehow we were all now "family" thrust into a new, uncertain world and an ongoing dreamlike state of consciousness. We still wish to be awakened. The WORLD with all its' complications seems all the simpler now.Nothing seems vitally so important on this level...as we had thought. Aren't we learning this in a "reverse order?" It would be our wish that we could be much wiser, much sooner.
Our thoughtful nurse...now like family to us...also attended our new friend. She offered him candy from a jar of assorted choices kept available for patients...ironically he chose a Mary Jane and a Tootsie Roll. Our Knight, earlier in one of his careers, had been the manager of the Mary Jane Candy Company, so we remembered together some of those busy years. Strange, or perhaps not, how things simply "come together." They say...whoever "they" are...that there are NO COINCIDENCES. It seems to be more and more true.
The Knight and I held hands during the seemingly long period in which we waited for blood level reports to come.The levels must be correct to be given more chemotherapy. Sitting beside each other in the large lounge chairs in a still unfamiliar surround we asked each other how we had gotten HERE. We are learning....things that we never invisioned needing or wanting to know during our lifetimes. "It was," remarked the Knight, "always someone else." We spoke, during our wait, of life....our lives...and how this was never a part of the plan.
We thanked God for each other. Some people do it alone. We are so richly blessed by our children, our friends...even total strangers who somehow pour out their hearts as the story unfolds.
And so...as Valentine's Day approaches...All you precious and dear ones who support this Knight along his journey...WE WISH YOU PEACE, JOY...and MOST OF ALL WE WISH YOU LOVE.
Monday, February 9, 2009
The Long Path
The morning was so beautiful when our Knight walked outside and looked at our garden his first words were "Let's walk to the playhouse." We'd done it a thousand times...walked to the back of the garden where the little house sits amidst trees and vines of ivy. (Directly behind our stone wall which defines the backyard stands the Grotto.....a stone structure built by the Monks of Stanislaus in the early 20th Century. I knew Howard's goal in walking that far would be to look over the wall, beyond the rusty gate, to the structure...always a favorite place for us to hike on beautiful days. The Grotto, built of native field stone from the area, is the last remaining remnant of the Monastic Retreat. It was always the Knight's dream to buy the property and preserve the area....historic trees of magnificent proportion fill the gorge....the meditative path used by the monks winds through the acres of woodlands.....a perfect retreat also for us on many days throughout the years. We welcome the time when we return there....in days to come.)
As we approached the stone pathway the Knight had laid of river stone in former years the walk looked much, much longer...and the decision came soon to simply sit on a bench and enjoy the view...saving the playhouse walk and the Grotto viewing for another day.
He believes that day will come soon....his strength grows day by day...with renewing rest and better nutrition. As we sat he remarked that our garden appeared to have been "a lot of work." The back garden is a tribute to a determined, creative, lover of nature. Our two white felines, Snowboy and DeBleu played around his feet....the happiest they had seemed for days...they too loving his presence in the garden. We gave thanks for such an incredible day in the midst of winter... it seemed a day designed for another celebration of life.
We felt blessed simply to be alive.....to be feeling improved. Things are truly very relative...more so than we had ever realized.
As we approached the stone pathway the Knight had laid of river stone in former years the walk looked much, much longer...and the decision came soon to simply sit on a bench and enjoy the view...saving the playhouse walk and the Grotto viewing for another day.
He believes that day will come soon....his strength grows day by day...with renewing rest and better nutrition. As we sat he remarked that our garden appeared to have been "a lot of work." The back garden is a tribute to a determined, creative, lover of nature. Our two white felines, Snowboy and DeBleu played around his feet....the happiest they had seemed for days...they too loving his presence in the garden. We gave thanks for such an incredible day in the midst of winter... it seemed a day designed for another celebration of life.
We felt blessed simply to be alive.....to be feeling improved. Things are truly very relative...more so than we had ever realized.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Sweet Sunday on Overlook
We now have had about three nights that were much more peaceful...thank you, God....and to all you have been praying for us.
Today has been one of the more "normal" days in several weeks. We even went out for a ride and a chocolate Sunday. Anticipating the coming week...chemo on Thursday. We have no knowledge yet as to when the radiation will take place, but we are hoping it is delayed for a week or so...if possible.
Pray us through. LOVE you all...and thank you endlessly for your prayers and constant support.
Today has been one of the more "normal" days in several weeks. We even went out for a ride and a chocolate Sunday. Anticipating the coming week...chemo on Thursday. We have no knowledge yet as to when the radiation will take place, but we are hoping it is delayed for a week or so...if possible.
Pray us through. LOVE you all...and thank you endlessly for your prayers and constant support.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Some of the Knight's Creations
Howard went to the Medical Center this evening for another MRI in preparation for the Radiation treatment. This was a very precise MRI that concentrated on the area of the tumor. It only took about 10 minutes. He said it was not bad.
Enjoy these pictures of some of Howard & Paula's creations that Candi photographed today.
The Knight's labor of Love
He can levitate columns
and build fairy houses
Enjoy these pictures of some of Howard & Paula's creations that Candi photographed today.
The Knight's labor of Love
He can levitate columns
and build fairy houses
Here is a great description of the Knight's beautiful enchanted forest sent by a friend.
Tuesday
Dear Paula and Howard
I had an amazing dream this weekend. I found myself in the most enchanted
forest where the fish in the pond blew glass bubbles and the
mushrooms grew large enough to actually be
toadstools and the fairies had their own little
cottage. It all seemed so real - but we know
this is the stuff that dreams are made of!
What a magical place you all have created.
I told my mother it was going to take me a while to recover.
I have traveled the world, but your "backyard" might be my most favorite
place on earth - and the both of you the most
talented dreamweavers. Thank you so much for sharing your
paradise with me - and for my wonderful
treasure which will be my touchstone to my dream of an afternoon.
Much, much love,
Daneen
Thursday, February 5, 2009
On a Clear Day
Today the Knight feels much stronger. He got out of bed to a morning of cloudless blue skies beckoning him to rise and shine in a complex, new way of "shining." He felt as if he should put on his armor again and just try it for a few hours. It had laid beside him, slightly tarnished from the many days of fighting the pain which had now become all too familiar. Now it seemed that he must let go and allow the chemicals introduced last week to work through his system. He had remarked in recent months that our bodies are, after all, "chemical plants" engineered for processing whatever we choose or must introduce. This man who understands chemistry beyond the norm has truly begun to process the reality of this experience. And after all, in the mind of a chemist more is understood than normally might be. Chemistry being his own chosen subject as a college major gives him a unique way of forming an analysis. He had become a chemist, he said, because "it was the easiest subject" in which to make straight A's....a brilliant pursuit for a brilliant mind...so his mate has always thought. The thought that occupies his mind for the day is his concern for what progress he might anticipate. His analytical brain moves forward to tomorrow afternoon...when the MRI for the small brain lesion will be done.
A very brave Knight is he. His fabulous children, Paul, Candi, and Cheri, who brought us Delise, Jeffie,,and Jay, our new loving friend, Emanuel, our awesomely wonderful, beautiful grandchildren, Karlene, Austin, Katie..and now great granddaughter, Ella Grace...our big brother, Perry, our Sister Nelle, their families...our extended family of friends who have so blessed our lives...all surround us and form OUR CIRCLE OF LOVE.....lifting us up each day and night...you all make it possible for us to fight the good fight. THANK YOU WITH ALL OUR HEARTS. You cannot be replaced on Planet Earth.
What a wonderful, long healthy life we have experienced. We thank God for it all. Truly we never took a day forgranted....neither did we realize the full extent of an event such as this and the impact on those personally involved and those who love and have loved him. We know your prayers go out endlessly. Don't stop. Inhale the days, the nights....Keep the faith. Know WE LOVE YOU each and every one.
Owen, bless your sweet heart for coming all the way from Maine just to see Uncle Howard. It meant the world to him and to us all. And Nelle...what a Princess of a Sister you are. We look forward to being with all our family in the days to come.
P. S.
Some day soon we will send you a short biographical sketch of some things the Knight has accomplished and the ways he spent so many of his days before this experience.
A very brave Knight is he. His fabulous children, Paul, Candi, and Cheri, who brought us Delise, Jeffie,,and Jay, our new loving friend, Emanuel, our awesomely wonderful, beautiful grandchildren, Karlene, Austin, Katie..and now great granddaughter, Ella Grace...our big brother, Perry, our Sister Nelle, their families...our extended family of friends who have so blessed our lives...all surround us and form OUR CIRCLE OF LOVE.....lifting us up each day and night...you all make it possible for us to fight the good fight. THANK YOU WITH ALL OUR HEARTS. You cannot be replaced on Planet Earth.
What a wonderful, long healthy life we have experienced. We thank God for it all. Truly we never took a day forgranted....neither did we realize the full extent of an event such as this and the impact on those personally involved and those who love and have loved him. We know your prayers go out endlessly. Don't stop. Inhale the days, the nights....Keep the faith. Know WE LOVE YOU each and every one.
Owen, bless your sweet heart for coming all the way from Maine just to see Uncle Howard. It meant the world to him and to us all. And Nelle...what a Princess of a Sister you are. We look forward to being with all our family in the days to come.
P. S.
Some day soon we will send you a short biographical sketch of some things the Knight has accomplished and the ways he spent so many of his days before this experience.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Right Reverend
Today was a good day.
Thought you might enjoy this note from our cousin whom we call Hunting Man.
The Right Reverend
A funny thing happened the other day. A truck went past the house, a box fell off the truck. I went out and picked it up to see what it was. There was no name or any way to identify who it belonged to, so I opened it. Inside were two bottles of scotch. I opened one and tried it, and it was absolutely heavenly. The were identical, and I remembered that you said that you liked the smokey scotch, so I am giving this bottle to you.
In exchange, I would like to ask a small favor. A family cousin (Whose name is Howard Knight, he and his wife came to Steve and Emily's wedding) has just discovered that he has cancer of the lung, and it is spreading into his back. The next time you talk to your boss, would you put in a good word for Howard. Not that he would undergo a miracle cure (although we hope for that), but that he would be granted the strength and courage to be the dignified gentleman that he has been all of his life, and that he could tolerate the pain. A quick word for peace and understanding for his wife and kids wouldn't hurt anything either. You get to keep the bottle of scotch whether you are able to do this or not, because I was giving it to you before I found out about Howard.
Thank you very much, and I hope you find this scotch enjoyable.
CW King
Thought you might enjoy this note from our cousin whom we call Hunting Man.
The Right Reverend
A funny thing happened the other day. A truck went past the house, a box fell off the truck. I went out and picked it up to see what it was. There was no name or any way to identify who it belonged to, so I opened it. Inside were two bottles of scotch. I opened one and tried it, and it was absolutely heavenly. The were identical, and I remembered that you said that you liked the smokey scotch, so I am giving this bottle to you.
In exchange, I would like to ask a small favor. A family cousin (Whose name is Howard Knight, he and his wife came to Steve and Emily's wedding) has just discovered that he has cancer of the lung, and it is spreading into his back. The next time you talk to your boss, would you put in a good word for Howard. Not that he would undergo a miracle cure (although we hope for that), but that he would be granted the strength and courage to be the dignified gentleman that he has been all of his life, and that he could tolerate the pain. A quick word for peace and understanding for his wife and kids wouldn't hurt anything either. You get to keep the bottle of scotch whether you are able to do this or not, because I was giving it to you before I found out about Howard.
Thank you very much, and I hope you find this scotch enjoyable.
CW King
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
WHAT SUPERBOWL?
Sleeping seemed to be the priority of the day ,even during an event that had been much anticipated in former years. Our Knight, this year, neither cared who was playing nor who was winning. The chemo treatment on Friday had taken its' course...fatigue was the order of the day.
He had watched short segments of the game and sat for a long period in his recliner which gives him comfort for an hour or so at the time. That being as it was we all gave thanks for his rest, free of the nausea which so often accompanies the chemo treatments. We count our blessings, however small.
Monday was a dark day in many ways, but the sleep came still for hours at the time. However, during the waking times Howard ate and drank much more food and liquid...another good thing.
Reading on the bottles of Ensure that it helps build muscle has helped him develop a taste for the nutruitional drink. He has them in all flavors and we are encouraging just as much water as he can tolerate. His hunger comes from the motivation of building strength. He has been very concerned through these weeks that he has lost his strength and his muscle tone....things that were vitally important to him through the years. During this entire process we see that his wonderful sense of humor is still in tact. While we were still at Medical Center days ago, a very excellent nurse was giving him a sponge bath while he was standing. Suddenly as she was bathing his back side...he remarked: " I worked my butt off several years ago. I knew you would be wondering what happened to it! "
Today is bright and sunny and we kept our appointment with the neuro surgeon at Medical Center for a consultation. He will work with the radiologic oncologist who will perform the stereotactic radiotherapy on the brain lesion next week. We will see what transpires as the FLOW continues for our gallant Knight
Today is a brighter day in many ways. We will take them as they come.
Know that we LOVE you all so dearly...more news soon..
He had watched short segments of the game and sat for a long period in his recliner which gives him comfort for an hour or so at the time. That being as it was we all gave thanks for his rest, free of the nausea which so often accompanies the chemo treatments. We count our blessings, however small.
Monday was a dark day in many ways, but the sleep came still for hours at the time. However, during the waking times Howard ate and drank much more food and liquid...another good thing.
Reading on the bottles of Ensure that it helps build muscle has helped him develop a taste for the nutruitional drink. He has them in all flavors and we are encouraging just as much water as he can tolerate. His hunger comes from the motivation of building strength. He has been very concerned through these weeks that he has lost his strength and his muscle tone....things that were vitally important to him through the years. During this entire process we see that his wonderful sense of humor is still in tact. While we were still at Medical Center days ago, a very excellent nurse was giving him a sponge bath while he was standing. Suddenly as she was bathing his back side...he remarked: " I worked my butt off several years ago. I knew you would be wondering what happened to it! "
Today is bright and sunny and we kept our appointment with the neuro surgeon at Medical Center for a consultation. He will work with the radiologic oncologist who will perform the stereotactic radiotherapy on the brain lesion next week. We will see what transpires as the FLOW continues for our gallant Knight
Today is a brighter day in many ways. We will take them as they come.
Know that we LOVE you all so dearly...more news soon..
Consultation Day
Today we go for a consultation with the Neurosurgeon about the small lesion in the brain. It will 
probably be treated with Radiosurgery (Radiosurgery is a surgical procedure where narrow beams of radiation are targeted to a precisely defined volume of tissue within the brain. This highly focused and effective dose of radiation is given in a single session and avoids potentially harmful radiation to surrounding brain structures.) Howard has already been fitted with the headpiece for the treatment.
probably be treated with Radiosurgery (Radiosurgery is a surgical procedure where narrow beams of radiation are targeted to a precisely defined volume of tissue within the brain. This highly focused and effective dose of radiation is given in a single session and avoids potentially harmful radiation to surrounding brain structures.) Howard has already been fitted with the headpiece for the treatment.
The Knight enjoyed wearing
this old mask much more while
in Europe several years ago.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)