Dear Friends,
Greetings! It is a beautiful Fall day in Corvallis, Oregon. Fall Festival is in full operation at Central Park and the temperature is 80 degrees. We will be having a family gathering this evening with all the children, grandchildren, sons-in-law, and Grandma present for a Sunday ham dinner. Old School! I'm feeling pretty darn blessed today my friends!
I received my third chemo infusion on Friday September 26th at 1 p.m. I was apprehensive because treatment number two knocked me down for a few days. By the grace of God, I am feeling good today and have since Friday. This allowed me to speak at Becky McDonnough's mother Charlene's Celebration of Life yesterday. I was worried I would be out of action. It was a beautiful tribute at the Good Samaritan Church. Mike and Becky's daughter Laney gave a beautiful spoken tribute to her Grandmother.
We are beginning to get our house in order through an amazing effort by Donna. The house now breaks down like this...college students on the second floor, those of us older people on the first floor, and Sami and Steve in the basement with my granddog Gus. There are eight of us enjoying each other's company and Christa recently said, "Hey...that's not fair. Every morning is like Christmas morning." It feels an awful lot like family which is great with, and for, me! Speaking of Donna, she and her tennis partner won the City Championship in 8.0 USTA tennis this weekend. The woman can do it all.
Last weekend our good friends John McGuire and John Spaulding came to visit and Scott Spiegelberg of the OSU Football program got us great seats to watch the Beavs play San Diego State.
We have been friends for over 20 years and we had a nice time at Reser Stadium. I actually walked back from the Stadium which made me happy as building back my iron and energy has been a three month process after surgery and treatment. My hemoglobin score rose from 9.1 to 10.7 between treatment. That is still low, but a long way from my initial 5.6!
Donna and I will be heading to Wyoming this week for a speech at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming. We are looking forward to seeing our dear friend David Carpenter in Jackson Hole on the way to Powell. The first night of the trip will be spent with Ken and Nancy Elwer in Boise, Idaho where they are building their new home. It is nice to have friends all across the nation. It always makes me feel a little closer to home.
I continue to pray to God to use the Doctors, the medicine, and the Power of the Holy Spirit to heal me and make me well. I have had so many messages of hope from all of you that I will remain in debt to your kindness for my entire life. Your cards, emails, texts, and calls have been beyond belief. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Many of your have encouraged my children as well and it has meant the world to them.
We have been blessed with over 200 books sales in the first two weeks and I would remind you, and ask you, to visit willkeim.com and check out the "Thanks A Million Dr. Will Keim!" book sale. The money is helping us with our medical and living expenses and the Keim Family is appreciative. Cancer is an unwelcome, uninvited, and expensive visitor. Though, in all honesty, I have learned a lot about myself, my friends, and life because of my melanoma. I would not wish it on anyone but it carries a reminder that life is precious, to be lived and enjoyed each and every day, and that we are all stronger together than we are apart.
Keep me in your prayers and thoughts and know that you are in mine every day as I give God thanks for all of you. Blessings!
Will Keim
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
My Amazing Children: "Thanks A Million Dr. Will Keim!"
Dear Friends,
My friend David Coleman says, "Our children are our legacy to people we will never meet." I have always liked that statement because I think it is true. Our children will go forth to places we have not ventured and take a little bit of us with them. It is a hint of immortality. And in my situation, very comforting as well!
The four Keim children-now-adults, under the direction of the Alpha sibling Christa have launched a campaign to help Donna and me as we face some uncertainties regarding my health. Christa said, "Dad, people want to help and you need to give them the opportunity to say thanks for what you have meant and done for them." My thinking was that you are praying and hoping, sending cards, emails, and texts and surrounding me in a cocoon of friendship and love that is amazing.
Christa knows that Donna and I have worried about cancer related expenses, tuitions, student loans and the like. I have been able to keep my lecture schedule so far but the immediate future is unclear though I am hopeful. Thus the birth of "Thanks A Million Dr. Will Keim!" Christa, Sami, JJ, and Hannah know that we could use your generous help during this time. They know that while we have been humbled by this dis-ease, we still have pride and do not want charity. That is why Christa and her siblings decided to launch a book sale to help us through this time. Her theory is that if my lectures or teachings have helped you or touched your life, you could say thank you by purchasing a book or case of books to pass on my teachings to others and help us financially through this trying time in our lives.
Christa wants to sell one hundred thousand books between now and Christmas to give us the time we need to heal and be home. I asked her, "Isn't that optimistic?" She said, "Dad, we're shooting for a cure here. Let's be optimistic. Sometimes I don't think you know what you have meant to people across the country." I have always felt that I was just trying to make good on my vocation, my calling to educate, inspire, and give confidence to students. I never thought for a moment that I was paying it forward. But honestly, I do believe this is a time for me to receive your love, prayers, hope, care, concern, and if you are so inclined, your financial assistance as we face this new reality.
Below you will see two YouTube links that explain what the Keim Kids are trying to do for Donna and me. One of the videos is of the four of them being the four of them. I take some serious heat in that one! The second video is a thank you from Christa and I. When they told me what they wanted to do it brought me to tears because as I have said, the only thing about this whole deal that makes me mad is the heavy, heavy burden this is placed on the shoulders and hearts of my children when they are at a time of life that should be filled with blissful joy, hope, and thoughts of a great future. Cancer has changed us all, and not all for the worse. We are closer than we have ever been and "Thanks A Million Dr. Will Keim!" will give us time together which we cherish.
Hannah and JJ have moved home and Sami and her husband Steve moved into our basement. Some of this is due to financial concerns, but I think it is highly motivated by our desire to be together as much as possible. Your generosity will help make that happen and give us the gift of time. The YouTube
video links are:
http://youtu.be/XPzufIWBS94
http://youtu.be/DBpIytkaKXE?list=UUaB100UrDuiNUB5-1CfF8Fw
Christa, Sami, JJ, and Hannah have chosen two of their favorite books to feature and they
are:
Keys To Success In College And Life, and
The Tao of Christ: The Way Of Love For A World Of Hurt
Keys is an excellent book for anyone who has a young person in their life and for students
going to or contemplating higher education. The Tao of Christ is my favorite book and revealsthe amazing symmetry of the The Tao, an ancient Chinese teaching, and the Parables of Jesus.Written 2,500 years apart, the wisdom is life changing in both of these traditions. Both ofthese teachings are poetic and relevant today. They pave the way of love in a world of hurt.
To order, you may go directly to my website at www.willkeim.com. Books are sold individually,or in cases of 40 copies at a 10% discount. For larger orders, please contact me directlyat willkeim@willkeim.com or call 541-740-1318. There is a 25% discount on purchases of 1,000 books or more. We can complete larger orders on Square over the phone. Christa asked me to encourage you to consider buying copies for:
Your self, your friends, and your family Boys & Girls Club membersYour Church membersLocal high school studentsStudent Athletes and teamsHoliday presentsNational fraternity and sorority membershipsLocal service clubsYour alma mater's first year studentsLibraries
In the event you want to participate and do not have a specific group in mind, we will donatethe books your purchase to students and other people who might otherwise not be able to
purchase them.
Lastly, I would ask that you forward this blog and the information it contains to your
friends on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media outlets. Send the videos on as well as many folks around the country will remember the Keim Kids leaning over balconies and sleepingunder tables when they travelled with me 20 years ago. They have grown up and are a joy in myheart and life. This program is something I never would have thought of, but the reality is, it will help all of us be together and for that I am thankful.
Blessings to all of you. We will place the order for the books you choose on November
15th. I sincerely want to thank you for participating in this effort and look forward to
seeing you soon. Please continue the prayers and good thoughts as I feel them lift me up
especially during the days when things are not going so well. God's continued blessings to usall!
Will Keimwww.willkeim.com
541-740-1318
*Special thanks to John Harris at Horsepower Productions for his work on the videos and to Dennis Clevenger of CleverConcepts for his help making the ordering process easy on my website. You guys really stepped up!
My friend David Coleman says, "Our children are our legacy to people we will never meet." I have always liked that statement because I think it is true. Our children will go forth to places we have not ventured and take a little bit of us with them. It is a hint of immortality. And in my situation, very comforting as well!
The four Keim children-now-adults, under the direction of the Alpha sibling Christa have launched a campaign to help Donna and me as we face some uncertainties regarding my health. Christa said, "Dad, people want to help and you need to give them the opportunity to say thanks for what you have meant and done for them." My thinking was that you are praying and hoping, sending cards, emails, and texts and surrounding me in a cocoon of friendship and love that is amazing.
Christa knows that Donna and I have worried about cancer related expenses, tuitions, student loans and the like. I have been able to keep my lecture schedule so far but the immediate future is unclear though I am hopeful. Thus the birth of "Thanks A Million Dr. Will Keim!" Christa, Sami, JJ, and Hannah know that we could use your generous help during this time. They know that while we have been humbled by this dis-ease, we still have pride and do not want charity. That is why Christa and her siblings decided to launch a book sale to help us through this time. Her theory is that if my lectures or teachings have helped you or touched your life, you could say thank you by purchasing a book or case of books to pass on my teachings to others and help us financially through this trying time in our lives.
Christa wants to sell one hundred thousand books between now and Christmas to give us the time we need to heal and be home. I asked her, "Isn't that optimistic?" She said, "Dad, we're shooting for a cure here. Let's be optimistic. Sometimes I don't think you know what you have meant to people across the country." I have always felt that I was just trying to make good on my vocation, my calling to educate, inspire, and give confidence to students. I never thought for a moment that I was paying it forward. But honestly, I do believe this is a time for me to receive your love, prayers, hope, care, concern, and if you are so inclined, your financial assistance as we face this new reality.
Below you will see two YouTube links that explain what the Keim Kids are trying to do for Donna and me. One of the videos is of the four of them being the four of them. I take some serious heat in that one! The second video is a thank you from Christa and I. When they told me what they wanted to do it brought me to tears because as I have said, the only thing about this whole deal that makes me mad is the heavy, heavy burden this is placed on the shoulders and hearts of my children when they are at a time of life that should be filled with blissful joy, hope, and thoughts of a great future. Cancer has changed us all, and not all for the worse. We are closer than we have ever been and "Thanks A Million Dr. Will Keim!" will give us time together which we cherish.
Hannah and JJ have moved home and Sami and her husband Steve moved into our basement. Some of this is due to financial concerns, but I think it is highly motivated by our desire to be together as much as possible. Your generosity will help make that happen and give us the gift of time. The YouTube
video links are:
http://youtu.be/XPzufIWBS94
http://youtu.be/DBpIytkaKXE?list=UUaB100UrDuiNUB5-1CfF8Fw
Christa, Sami, JJ, and Hannah have chosen two of their favorite books to feature and they
are:
Keys To Success In College And Life, and
The Tao of Christ: The Way Of Love For A World Of Hurt
Keys is an excellent book for anyone who has a young person in their life and for students
going to or contemplating higher education. The Tao of Christ is my favorite book and revealsthe amazing symmetry of the The Tao, an ancient Chinese teaching, and the Parables of Jesus.Written 2,500 years apart, the wisdom is life changing in both of these traditions. Both ofthese teachings are poetic and relevant today. They pave the way of love in a world of hurt.
To order, you may go directly to my website at www.willkeim.com. Books are sold individually,or in cases of 40 copies at a 10% discount. For larger orders, please contact me directlyat willkeim@willkeim.com or call 541-740-1318. There is a 25% discount on purchases of 1,000 books or more. We can complete larger orders on Square over the phone. Christa asked me to encourage you to consider buying copies for:
Your self, your friends, and your family Boys & Girls Club membersYour Church membersLocal high school studentsStudent Athletes and teamsHoliday presentsNational fraternity and sorority membershipsLocal service clubsYour alma mater's first year studentsLibraries
In the event you want to participate and do not have a specific group in mind, we will donatethe books your purchase to students and other people who might otherwise not be able to
purchase them.
Lastly, I would ask that you forward this blog and the information it contains to your
friends on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media outlets. Send the videos on as well as many folks around the country will remember the Keim Kids leaning over balconies and sleepingunder tables when they travelled with me 20 years ago. They have grown up and are a joy in myheart and life. This program is something I never would have thought of, but the reality is, it will help all of us be together and for that I am thankful.
Blessings to all of you. We will place the order for the books you choose on November
15th. I sincerely want to thank you for participating in this effort and look forward to
seeing you soon. Please continue the prayers and good thoughts as I feel them lift me up
especially during the days when things are not going so well. God's continued blessings to usall!
Will Keimwww.willkeim.com
541-740-1318
*Special thanks to John Harris at Horsepower Productions for his work on the videos and to Dennis Clevenger of CleverConcepts for his help making the ordering process easy on my website. You guys really stepped up!
Monday, September 8, 2014
Day By Day
Dear Friends,
It has been a little while and I must confess that I was waiting to feel better as Treatment #2 on September 3rd kicked my butt for a few days. Doctors and friends had warned me that the effect can be accumulative and it appeared to be. The first treatment went off with one night of chills while the second chemo infusion caused me some pain and swelling, with little sleep at night for a few days. I began to feel much better on Sunday the 7th and today I am actually getting some things done. Thank God for NCAA and NFL football to watch while I was down though I kept thinking if I got hit that hard once it would take a logging helicopter to get me off the field.
A constant message that come through the good days and the bad days is that we should be living each precious moment, each day, day by day. "As soon as I get into school...as soon as I get out of school...as soon as I get into grad school...as soon as I get a job...as soon as I meet my life partner...as soon as we have kids...as soon as the kids get into school...as soon as the kids get out of school...as soon as I get promoted...as soon as I retire...THEN I WILL BE HAPPY!" No wonder life goes so quickly when we live the future today, lauding or remorseful about the past, we miss the only thing we can do anything about, and that it today. Throw in a little technology and social media for distraction, a couple of commercials that tell us the kind of watch we wear or the type of car we drive says a lot about who we are, and it is no wonder so many of us are lost. Wandering from one half lived "I was sort of there" experience to the next, we just miss it. And what is it? LIFE.
If there is a positive to pain, and I would not likely have said this Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, it is that it grounds you in the moment. Prayer helps me. Your texts and emails too. But a side ache just announces to you that it demands your attention. A swelling tells you, "Don't lay on this side. I'm not kidding." Therefore, when people ask how I am doing, I have taken to saying, "Today I am doing well." Or, "Today, I am not feeling so hot." Each day, one at a time. Focus. Be present. Don't take the good ones for granted, and for God's sake, don't live the bad ones in advance.
Yesterday, we had a family dinner and took a family picture. It was important to me and all the children, son in laws, and grandchildren came. Grandma and I fixed dinner and my friend John Harris and Jody took a picture of us and made a small video. It seemed to me that everything I needed to be happy was in one room for a brief moment and I thanked God for that. I believe most of what we need to be happy is around us. What makes people happy is not money, power, or prestige, but being needed by others. And we are all needed. What would I have done without my family and friends during this time? There are people in your lives who need you today. Are you listening? To paraphrase an oft used analogy; yesterday is a cancelled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is the only currency we really have to spend. Let's pledge to each other that we will do out best to spend it wisely.
Lastly, among the nice things that happened to me in the midst of the travails this week were a wonderful card sent by Melody Lane Virding, one of my oldest friends. We worked together at the University of The Pacific a thousand years ago. She is just one of the most wonderful people in the world. Thanks Mel. Continued joke support from Dan Ahern in California who sends me a joke a day because humor heals. We are sick men Dan! Our humor cracks us up. A confirmation from Iowa State University to have me as their Destination Iowa State Orientation speaker for the next two years. That's positive thinking and very validating! Thanks Sarah and Liz! A great email from Father Robert Silva, my spiritual mentor and friend from Stockton. His example of faith, especially in crisis, has guided thousands of us through his campus ministry. A visit from my nephew Tyler Volz and Meghan from Colorado to check up on me during their triathlon in Oregon. A book entitled Being Single With Cancer, by my friend and cancer survivor Tracy Maxwell. She has been very supportive! Thanks for your example Tracy. Check this book out. A "Get Well Will" video from the New Students at Linfield College. Thank you! Nice emails from Jim Matthews and Nancy Hunter Denney, two of my friends who share the road with me as professional speakers. Their messages change lives. Great encouragements from my friend Coach Bryan Oleman, and all of the nice emails and prayers you have sent me. I am grateful and your encouragements supported me through a rough couple of days. I am blessed to call you all friends.
Blessings to all of you, day by day!
Will
It has been a little while and I must confess that I was waiting to feel better as Treatment #2 on September 3rd kicked my butt for a few days. Doctors and friends had warned me that the effect can be accumulative and it appeared to be. The first treatment went off with one night of chills while the second chemo infusion caused me some pain and swelling, with little sleep at night for a few days. I began to feel much better on Sunday the 7th and today I am actually getting some things done. Thank God for NCAA and NFL football to watch while I was down though I kept thinking if I got hit that hard once it would take a logging helicopter to get me off the field.
A constant message that come through the good days and the bad days is that we should be living each precious moment, each day, day by day. "As soon as I get into school...as soon as I get out of school...as soon as I get into grad school...as soon as I get a job...as soon as I meet my life partner...as soon as we have kids...as soon as the kids get into school...as soon as the kids get out of school...as soon as I get promoted...as soon as I retire...THEN I WILL BE HAPPY!" No wonder life goes so quickly when we live the future today, lauding or remorseful about the past, we miss the only thing we can do anything about, and that it today. Throw in a little technology and social media for distraction, a couple of commercials that tell us the kind of watch we wear or the type of car we drive says a lot about who we are, and it is no wonder so many of us are lost. Wandering from one half lived "I was sort of there" experience to the next, we just miss it. And what is it? LIFE.
If there is a positive to pain, and I would not likely have said this Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, it is that it grounds you in the moment. Prayer helps me. Your texts and emails too. But a side ache just announces to you that it demands your attention. A swelling tells you, "Don't lay on this side. I'm not kidding." Therefore, when people ask how I am doing, I have taken to saying, "Today I am doing well." Or, "Today, I am not feeling so hot." Each day, one at a time. Focus. Be present. Don't take the good ones for granted, and for God's sake, don't live the bad ones in advance.
Yesterday, we had a family dinner and took a family picture. It was important to me and all the children, son in laws, and grandchildren came. Grandma and I fixed dinner and my friend John Harris and Jody took a picture of us and made a small video. It seemed to me that everything I needed to be happy was in one room for a brief moment and I thanked God for that. I believe most of what we need to be happy is around us. What makes people happy is not money, power, or prestige, but being needed by others. And we are all needed. What would I have done without my family and friends during this time? There are people in your lives who need you today. Are you listening? To paraphrase an oft used analogy; yesterday is a cancelled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is the only currency we really have to spend. Let's pledge to each other that we will do out best to spend it wisely.
Lastly, among the nice things that happened to me in the midst of the travails this week were a wonderful card sent by Melody Lane Virding, one of my oldest friends. We worked together at the University of The Pacific a thousand years ago. She is just one of the most wonderful people in the world. Thanks Mel. Continued joke support from Dan Ahern in California who sends me a joke a day because humor heals. We are sick men Dan! Our humor cracks us up. A confirmation from Iowa State University to have me as their Destination Iowa State Orientation speaker for the next two years. That's positive thinking and very validating! Thanks Sarah and Liz! A great email from Father Robert Silva, my spiritual mentor and friend from Stockton. His example of faith, especially in crisis, has guided thousands of us through his campus ministry. A visit from my nephew Tyler Volz and Meghan from Colorado to check up on me during their triathlon in Oregon. A book entitled Being Single With Cancer, by my friend and cancer survivor Tracy Maxwell. She has been very supportive! Thanks for your example Tracy. Check this book out. A "Get Well Will" video from the New Students at Linfield College. Thank you! Nice emails from Jim Matthews and Nancy Hunter Denney, two of my friends who share the road with me as professional speakers. Their messages change lives. Great encouragements from my friend Coach Bryan Oleman, and all of the nice emails and prayers you have sent me. I am grateful and your encouragements supported me through a rough couple of days. I am blessed to call you all friends.
Blessings to all of you, day by day!
Will
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