It Takes A Village

Greetings from Oregon. My children and I just returned from the garden where they helped me stake the beans, mow the weed volunteers, and check the tomatoes and potatoes. My Grandfather, Will Seward Keim (the first!) was oft to say, "When you have problems, put your hands in the earth." He farmed and gardened his whole life.

I have been overwhelmed by the mountain of support that has come in from all over the country. Close to 2,500 people have checked in and offered care, concern, condolence, love, and prayer. I assure you prayer and positive wishes work because my spirit has been truly buoyed by your words. I now have current and former students, the Texas Softball Team, the Linfield College Softball team, The Gymnastics Team at Alabama, The Nuns of St. Gertrudes, Yoopers from Michigan, a Medical School Dean, a Broadway singer, several cancer survivors including Rob Durbin, Lynnie Evans, Connie Rodman, and David Patterson, a Monsignor,  the former Soprano from the New York Metropolitan Opera, and you praying and hoping for me. I've taken the liberty to amend the scripture to read, "If God and my friends be for me, who be against me?"

The cancer appears to be a melanoma, and I will be going up to the Knight Cancer Center at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland to meet with surgical and medical oncologists. Their motto is, "We fight cancer different. We win." I am hoping to see Dr. John Vetto who is an expert in melanoma and a surgical oncologist. I want to thank Dr. Rong Wang, Dr. Peter Hudson, and Dr. Connie Rodman for their care so far. While Phil Knight and his wife are often associated with University of Oregon athletics, his $100 million dollar gift to OHSU for cancer research and treatment are certainly appreciated by me at this time. A great example of a Duck showing some love for a Beaver in my case!

I appreciate every single view and response, and I wanted to share one phone response because it reflected on my first post. Dan Preston, Vice President of Enrollment Management at Sami's alma mater Linfield College said, "I'll tell you 'Why Not You.' The answer is you have too many lives left to be touched by you." I liked that. My daughters Christa, Sami, and Hannah lifted me this morning while we  were anticipating Grandma Mary's great breakfast, designing, and pardon me,  a myriad  of "F**k Cancer" shirts online using all the creativity that they could muster. I am thinking of selecting the one with Jack Nicholson. Donna and I looked at each other with the look all parents know.;)

Please note that my humor is not in denial, but in full awareness that as the Buddhists say, "Where there is enough faith there will be enough darkness." Humor is my tool to be able to fall asleep at night and get up with hope. Blessings to you all. Thank you for caring. And at the risk of plagiarizing the great Lou Gehrig at his retirement in Yankee Stadium, "With my family and you my friends, I feel like the luckiest man in the world." It takes a village and the one I live in is filled with wonderful people.

Will Keim