Oh, Caph, honey, I am so truly sorry to hear your bad news. As others have mentioned, even though we have never met I can tell that you are a strong person and I know that you and your family will get through this. I agree that things happen for a reason, even though the reason may be hard to find at times. Just have faith, think positive, and know that we are always here for you.

My uncle had cancer and had to have a bone marrow transplant. My dad was the donor. He underwent the procedure not long after his quadruple bypass but it was the best thing. My uncle is well and you wouldn't even know he was a cancer survivor.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this tough time.

Thank you so much, guys. You're right, Iceeu2, I am *very* blessed to have all of you.

I know that every once in awhile someone will post on FF R&R and say something snide about people baring (spelling?)their souls to complete strangers. I wish I had the words and the psychological training to fully explain it, but suffice it to say that, in a situation like this, "anonymous friends" give a special kind of comfort and support.

I know that there are probably more appropriate boards than a travel board! But I choose to rationalize it by thinking that sharing so much of our lives makes us better travel advisors to each other!

OWJ and ethel, I really appreciate your taking the time to tell me your survivor stories. They very definitely give me hope!

I wanted to respond to all of your kindness. But I guess now we should probably stick to this week's FF R&R!

CAPH52, You are thinking about it exactly right because now he will have ALL the guns out there to fight for him. But I'm sorry for your family to have to go through the dark tunnels to get there.

I know how hard it can be to think about the positive aspects during the real hard spots. Talk to anyone you can, faceless or not.

People who have to disparage others connections and showing or sharing of emotion for whatever reason should be pitied. If that happens, the best thing you could do in this venue is just to ignore them.