Marlene doesn't want me to discuss her condition, and I find myself reaching out on other topics, which feels heartless, but deflecting may well be worse.
A peaceful and painless conclusion is now the goal.. I've pretty much known this was inevitable since Dr. Kim, the surgeon, met with me outside the OR, 13 months ago. After six hours in surgery he looked defeated. "I wish I had gotten to this years ago," he said. "Is there hope? I asked. There is always hope," he said, head hanging. Today,Marlene's best friend drove up from Chicago and they laughed and even danced a little. (She was with Marlene when we met at a bar in February 1971.) A rare good day, but all we can realistically do now is wait and hug and whisper words of love. Did I tell you I deeply resent the ads from a cancer hospital that suggest they're beating the disease? They're not. It's a blatant lie aimed at getting more Medicare and insurance dollars. Fuck them. Paul via phone Paul via phone -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
