Dear Friends,
Greetings! I began a new and fifth chemo infusion treatment yesterday at the Oregon Health Sciences University Knight Cancer Center under the direction of Dr. Matt Taylor. That big word in the title section above is the new cancer drug I am taking. It will be infused two more times on December 31st and January 21st. The brand name for the drug is Keytruda.
I am grateful that so far the side effects have been minimal though I have been tired today but am having no pain. As those of you know who have been impacted by cancer, if you actually read all the possible nasty things that could happen to you, then no one would take the treatment. I am thankful to all the scientists, researchers, and doctors who are working on this disease. In honor of Jimmy V Week, I am working hard to remind myself to "Never Give Up." If you have never seen Coach Valvano's speech at the ESPYs 20 years ago as he was facing his own death due to cancer, then google it up and let him inspire you as he did our family this week again. We all sat together and wept tears of sadness, joy, thanks, and concern.
Your amazing kindness, grace, and generosity keep pouring into our family through texts, emails, cards, and calls. One of my former Resident Assistants at Oregon State visited and said, "I'm not buying any of your books. You've given them all to me already. My brother and my Mother and I are going to pay the twins tuition at Oregon State until they graduate." Wow! They set up an account at Oregon State and Donna can tell y'all more about that if you are interested. His wife said, "For all you have done for so many, this is a small way to say thank you." It is not small to Donna and I, nor the twins! I remain stunned because we always taught our residential life staffs that we were a family but to see it, and be the recipient of if, was humbling. Thank you!
Two nights ago the high school volleyball Coach asked to stop by and I worried all day that he wanted to talk about his marriage as I had officiated the ceremony. When he arrived, he handed me an envelope with money raised by the Corvallis High Volleyball team for our family because in their words, "Your family and you have always been there for our team." Amazing. Some big lessons cancer has taught me is that I am better at giving than receiving, better at visiting the sick than being one, and that the humility cancer has taught me would have been a lesson better learned earlier than later. I think I would have been a better person. I am learning to say, "Thank you so very much for your kindness.", and mean it with my whole being.
This Christmas will be a special and emotional one for our family as so many of you have been Santa Claus to us since we found out about my disease. We have so much to be thankful for! My big cancer insight over the pass few weeks is that cancer will always be part of my life. Even if by the power of Pembrolizumab, the skills of Dr. Taylor, and the grace of Almighty God I become free of the disease in my body, I will always think about it, those with it, and their families. I am pleased that colleges and universities continue to book me to speak because cancer has brought a depth to my thoughts and words that was missing before. I feel like now I have something to say and the courage to say it. Might I find a way and the words to convince my students, and you, how precious your life is without you having to host the disease? This is my prayer and my hope. Each of you matter more than you know. You are a thread in a mighty tapestry called life. You are connected and counted on.
As Coach Bruce Alexander addressed my son JJ and the other Band of Brothers youth football team years ago for the last time, facing his impending death due to cancer, he said with great emotion, "I finally got it boys. It is about Love. That's all the matters." He was right. And that is why it is now so easy for me to say to each of you:
I love you. I am grateful for you. And though my capacities may become diminished, I will do whatever I can for as long as I can to help you see the miracle that you are. To help you believe that you deserve to be loved and have infinite capacity to give love. Love. That's all that matters.
Will Keim
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Monday, November 17, 2014
Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Clarity
Dear Friends,
It has been about six weeks since I posted and I understand that this has been a) a violation of 'blog etiquette', and b) disconcerting to many of you who have texted, emailed, and called Donna and asked, "Is Will OK?". On both accounts I plead guilty and apologize for not opening my computer and letting y'all know what has been going on in my pursuit of life, liberty, and clarity. I hope you will chalk it up to being busy, traveling through 24 states, and age. I am pleased to be back with you and to update you on what has been going on in my life.
I am first grateful to share with you that I made all of my lecture stops this late Summer and Fall while having one surgery, one MRI, 2 PET Scans, 4 Doctor's appointments, and four chemo infusion treatments, the last of which was November 3rd. This includes visits to California State University San Bernardino, The Oregon School Resource Officers Association, Drury University MO, Elmhurst College IL, Iowa State University IA, The University of Redlands CA, Whitman College WA, Linfield College OR, Seattle University WA, Western Oregon University OR, Eastern Oregon University OR, Northwest College WY, Southwest Oregon Community College OR, The University of Alabama AL, and Northern Michigan University MI. I am thankful to have had the invitations and the warm receptions from the students and professionals at these institutions.
Amazing experiences during this time reinforced my core belief that at their center, the great and grand majority of people are good hearted and caring human beings. Mark Hartley and the SOAR Leaders at CSUSB made a video for me sharing what my message had meant to them and wishing and praying for me good health and recovery. They then signed me up for three more years! The President of Elmhurst College told me he and his staff would be praying for me. The Oregon School Resource Officers allowed my daughter Christa to do part of my lectures because of my fatigue at the time. She was magnificent! At Iowa State student after student and my friends Liz Kurt, Sarah Merrill, Tom Hill, and Jeff Johnson hugged me and offered not only their prayers and encouragement, but a contract for two more years as their Destination Iowa State speaker. Do you know what that means to a guy with cancer? It is called Hope! Dean Burgess and her staff at Redlands changed their schedule to accommodate my travel and invited me back for next year! One of the Redlands parents took off her religious medal and said, "I want you to have this. Mother Theresa gave it to me when I worked with her and I want you to have it." I was stunned and speechless, which in the latter case, doesn't happen very often. Dean Cleveland and Barbara Maxwell at Whitman welcomed me back for my 28th visit to campus and at one point there were four men, the Dean and I included, who were or had battled cancer sharing together. It was inspiring. VP Dan Preston at Linfield College and the new students gave me an online shout out video to get well from the Wildcats. Dr. Sparky Reardon led the Phi Delta Theta National Fraternity Leadership School in a selfie to wish me health and healing. Laurie Prince and the 'Red Shirts' (Orientation Staff) offered their prayers and hugs. At Western and Eastern Oregon Universities, I saw many students that I had known since their elementary school days and again, prayers, good thoughts, and hugs greeted me. On the way to Northwest College in Wyoming, Donna and I spent two days in Jackson Hole at the Jenny Lake Lodge where we lived almost thirty years ago and broke bread with our friends David and Kathy, and Debbie and John. A trip to Coos Bay, Oregon took me to SWOCC for the second year and reinforced my belief in the power of community colleges to give students a great start.
The last two schools I visited are freshest in my mind and merit a new paragraph. Marie Robbins, Associate Athletic Director/SWA invited me down to speak to student athletes at the University of Alabama. I have been going down to Tuscaloosa for over 20 years and was once again bowled over by the hospitality, kindness, and goodness of the students and staff at Bama. Because it is the South, student athletes speak freely of their spirituality and family lives, and hundred of students offered their prayers and stories of their own family's battles with cancer. One track athlete said to me, "Dr. Keim, my Dad died of melanoma." I said, "I'm sorry. Throw me a bone here." He said, "The reason I told you that is he lived 19 years after his diagnosis." I said, "Your Dad just helped me have hope." He said, "You will be in my prayers." A young woman shared the story of her Mother's cancer and that she was having Treatment 4 of 12 this week. We just cried together. I was able to have dinner with my dear friends David and Sarah Patterson who retired this year as Gymnastics Coaches at Alabama. They have won National Championships, 8 SEC titles, and remain deeply spiritual and humble. They have raised two great daughters and shaped several generations of student athletes. I visited the home of Dana Duckworth, new Head Coach of Gymnastics, and caught up with Bryan Raschilla, Associate Head Coach, whose two children are likely to be Division One student athletes as well. Patrick Murphy, Ally Habetz, and Stephanie VanBrakle invited me out to the magnificent softball complex and I was able to view a Fall Ball double header. I have often said that I love Oregon, but I would consider moving to Tuscaloosa just to spend more time with David Patterson and Patrick Murphy. To have achieved what they have accomplished and be rooted in humility and spirituality is amazing to me. I am blessed to call them, and the above mentioned Crimson Tide Coaches and Administrators, friends. Throw in Baumhower's Wings and Wangs, and Dreamland Ribs, and the Tide be Rollin'! The cherry on the Alabama sundae for me was a letter from Head Football Coach Nick Saban thanking me for my work with students and wishing me health and his very best. He is a little busy as you know but took time to send a personal letter. I framed it for my study!
For 25 years, I have been going to Northern Michigan University to be their Leader in Residence for the Student Leader Fellowship Program. I went back this year late in October and stayed with the now retired Dave and Sandy Bonsall. I finally got them to come visit Oregon this Fall and they brought 11 Yoopers with them. The Upper Peninsula (UP, ergo Yoopers) breeds a friendship and family based on being hardy in the face of the most severe weather nature can muster and Lake Superior can reinforce. If you know one Yooper, then their friends are your friends, and it was with great happiness that we greeted the Superior 13 to our home for dinners, wine tasting, and a trip to the Oregon Coast. John and Pat made Pasties for 30 from scratch, and we met great, great people. At one point, Dave's former roommate Paul, surveying our walls, said, "Softball is important to you." I said, "Yes, my daughter Sami and I coach together and she is a National Champion." He said, "My cousin coaches softball." I said, "Where?" Paul said, "Alabama." I asked, "Is your cousin Patrick Murphy?" He said, "Have you heard of him?" :):):) Small world. When I returned to NMU at the invitation of my friends Jon Barch and Rachel Harris, The Superior 13 had a wine and cheese party for me at the home of Jack and Stormin' Norma overlooking Lake Superior and then dinner at the Casa Calabria for steaks and shells. A trip to Jon's cabin on a beautiful lake in the woods and ribs with Dave out in the middle of nowhere made the trip very special. Sandy's Mother Grandma Viv came up from Menominee and at 90 years old is rocking the casbah. She takes no prisoners and made me stay up to watch Letterman with her. I want to thank the Superior 13 for their hospitality and for buying a copy of Welcome To The Time Of Your Life for each of the 65 Student Leader Fellows. It was very generous of them. The trip was made perfect by a coffee and muffins date at Baby Cakes with retired Professor John Argeropoulos who is a vital engaging man who helped me write Welcome and whose Granddaughter is now a Student Leader Fellow.
In between Alabama and Northern Michigan I surprised Donna, her Mom Mary, and her sisters Regina and Patty in Florida on Saint George Island in the middle of their 7800 mile trip to see relatives and friends across America. Dubbed "Giggles Across America" by Grandma Mary, we stayed with Aunt Ruth and Cousins Ernie and Ruth on the Island. Ernie took us out into the gulf for some fishing and we saw sea turtles and dolphins. We ate a bunch of oysters and fish in Apalachicola
and had some great family time. Aunt Ruth offered a dinner prayer that was so eloquent and touching, telling God that cancer had taught me many lessons with which I could help students in my speeches, and that I had learned them, but now it was time for Him to heal me. It was powerful and heartfelt and she is a beautiful lady and a gracious host.
So there you have it...the story of my life, liberty, and pursuit of clarity. This week I will sit down with my oncologist in Portland, Dr. Matt Taylor, who will go over the PET scan with me and assess the progress of my treatment and dis-ease. I ask for your prayers. I attended Mass last Friday with my friend Tim and he and Father Robert Silva continue to enlist the Catholic Community in prayer for me. After my Doctor's appointments this week, Donna, our Granddaughter Addie, and I will head down to Templeton, California to Ed and Mary Konopa's home to participate and be witness to a Celebration of Life for Steve Konopa, Ed's brother, who died of cancer last month. It will be challenging for me because I knew and admired Steve, so I decided to take my wonderful three year old font of happiness, Addie with us.
One last request, for now...tomorrow I will be meeting with the Resident Assistants at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon to try to help them make sense of the death of Parker Moore, a football player and RA who was stabbed to death Saturday evening. He was on rounds and went across the street from campus to grab a sandwich and was attacked by a deranged stranger. The attacker returned to the scene as the paramedics were attempting to save him, was identified by witnesses, and confronted by police. Brandishing his knife again, the attacker was shot to death.
Please pray for Parker, his parents, and his friends who are grieving and suffering their son's and friend's death. The football team is reeling as well. Prayers would be greatly appreciated.
My mission for the remainder of my life came to me mid-speech at Alabama to the track and field teams. When I heard it in my head, I stopped, and immediately shared it with them. Now you. My vocation at this time, as I understand it, is to teach the lessons cancer has taught me without any else having to get the dis-ease, or be faced with a tragedy like Parker's, and know right now right here how precious each of them is and how precious each second of their lives are. We all take our lives for granted and worry about the silliest things. For me, cancer was like a hand that came into the cage of comfortableness I was living in, grabbed the treadmill I was on, stopped it, and said, "Hey. Pay attention." I want the students to be able to get this in their twenties and create lives based on being in the moment each and every day. When I ask audiences, "How many of you have had cancer in your family?", over 85% of the hands go up. We are in this together. Most of us have been touched.
I plan to use the speech gifts God has given me to inspire, comfort, and give hope to people that they can change from regretting the past, being fearful of the future, and move forcefully and wholly into the present moment. Right now, right here.
Thank you for reading this. I will more briefly let you know this week what the PET scan and Dr. Taylor tell me, and how the Linfield presentation went with the RAs. We are all one phone call away from our knees, and yet we all have so much to be thankful for. Again, I am thankful for all the love you have shown me. In my next blog, I will tell you about the efforts a group of former Resident Assistants have put forth to help Donna and I and the family. It just might restore your faith in people!
Blessings,
Will Keim
It has been about six weeks since I posted and I understand that this has been a) a violation of 'blog etiquette', and b) disconcerting to many of you who have texted, emailed, and called Donna and asked, "Is Will OK?". On both accounts I plead guilty and apologize for not opening my computer and letting y'all know what has been going on in my pursuit of life, liberty, and clarity. I hope you will chalk it up to being busy, traveling through 24 states, and age. I am pleased to be back with you and to update you on what has been going on in my life.
I am first grateful to share with you that I made all of my lecture stops this late Summer and Fall while having one surgery, one MRI, 2 PET Scans, 4 Doctor's appointments, and four chemo infusion treatments, the last of which was November 3rd. This includes visits to California State University San Bernardino, The Oregon School Resource Officers Association, Drury University MO, Elmhurst College IL, Iowa State University IA, The University of Redlands CA, Whitman College WA, Linfield College OR, Seattle University WA, Western Oregon University OR, Eastern Oregon University OR, Northwest College WY, Southwest Oregon Community College OR, The University of Alabama AL, and Northern Michigan University MI. I am thankful to have had the invitations and the warm receptions from the students and professionals at these institutions.
Amazing experiences during this time reinforced my core belief that at their center, the great and grand majority of people are good hearted and caring human beings. Mark Hartley and the SOAR Leaders at CSUSB made a video for me sharing what my message had meant to them and wishing and praying for me good health and recovery. They then signed me up for three more years! The President of Elmhurst College told me he and his staff would be praying for me. The Oregon School Resource Officers allowed my daughter Christa to do part of my lectures because of my fatigue at the time. She was magnificent! At Iowa State student after student and my friends Liz Kurt, Sarah Merrill, Tom Hill, and Jeff Johnson hugged me and offered not only their prayers and encouragement, but a contract for two more years as their Destination Iowa State speaker. Do you know what that means to a guy with cancer? It is called Hope! Dean Burgess and her staff at Redlands changed their schedule to accommodate my travel and invited me back for next year! One of the Redlands parents took off her religious medal and said, "I want you to have this. Mother Theresa gave it to me when I worked with her and I want you to have it." I was stunned and speechless, which in the latter case, doesn't happen very often. Dean Cleveland and Barbara Maxwell at Whitman welcomed me back for my 28th visit to campus and at one point there were four men, the Dean and I included, who were or had battled cancer sharing together. It was inspiring. VP Dan Preston at Linfield College and the new students gave me an online shout out video to get well from the Wildcats. Dr. Sparky Reardon led the Phi Delta Theta National Fraternity Leadership School in a selfie to wish me health and healing. Laurie Prince and the 'Red Shirts' (Orientation Staff) offered their prayers and hugs. At Western and Eastern Oregon Universities, I saw many students that I had known since their elementary school days and again, prayers, good thoughts, and hugs greeted me. On the way to Northwest College in Wyoming, Donna and I spent two days in Jackson Hole at the Jenny Lake Lodge where we lived almost thirty years ago and broke bread with our friends David and Kathy, and Debbie and John. A trip to Coos Bay, Oregon took me to SWOCC for the second year and reinforced my belief in the power of community colleges to give students a great start.
The last two schools I visited are freshest in my mind and merit a new paragraph. Marie Robbins, Associate Athletic Director/SWA invited me down to speak to student athletes at the University of Alabama. I have been going down to Tuscaloosa for over 20 years and was once again bowled over by the hospitality, kindness, and goodness of the students and staff at Bama. Because it is the South, student athletes speak freely of their spirituality and family lives, and hundred of students offered their prayers and stories of their own family's battles with cancer. One track athlete said to me, "Dr. Keim, my Dad died of melanoma." I said, "I'm sorry. Throw me a bone here." He said, "The reason I told you that is he lived 19 years after his diagnosis." I said, "Your Dad just helped me have hope." He said, "You will be in my prayers." A young woman shared the story of her Mother's cancer and that she was having Treatment 4 of 12 this week. We just cried together. I was able to have dinner with my dear friends David and Sarah Patterson who retired this year as Gymnastics Coaches at Alabama. They have won National Championships, 8 SEC titles, and remain deeply spiritual and humble. They have raised two great daughters and shaped several generations of student athletes. I visited the home of Dana Duckworth, new Head Coach of Gymnastics, and caught up with Bryan Raschilla, Associate Head Coach, whose two children are likely to be Division One student athletes as well. Patrick Murphy, Ally Habetz, and Stephanie VanBrakle invited me out to the magnificent softball complex and I was able to view a Fall Ball double header. I have often said that I love Oregon, but I would consider moving to Tuscaloosa just to spend more time with David Patterson and Patrick Murphy. To have achieved what they have accomplished and be rooted in humility and spirituality is amazing to me. I am blessed to call them, and the above mentioned Crimson Tide Coaches and Administrators, friends. Throw in Baumhower's Wings and Wangs, and Dreamland Ribs, and the Tide be Rollin'! The cherry on the Alabama sundae for me was a letter from Head Football Coach Nick Saban thanking me for my work with students and wishing me health and his very best. He is a little busy as you know but took time to send a personal letter. I framed it for my study!
For 25 years, I have been going to Northern Michigan University to be their Leader in Residence for the Student Leader Fellowship Program. I went back this year late in October and stayed with the now retired Dave and Sandy Bonsall. I finally got them to come visit Oregon this Fall and they brought 11 Yoopers with them. The Upper Peninsula (UP, ergo Yoopers) breeds a friendship and family based on being hardy in the face of the most severe weather nature can muster and Lake Superior can reinforce. If you know one Yooper, then their friends are your friends, and it was with great happiness that we greeted the Superior 13 to our home for dinners, wine tasting, and a trip to the Oregon Coast. John and Pat made Pasties for 30 from scratch, and we met great, great people. At one point, Dave's former roommate Paul, surveying our walls, said, "Softball is important to you." I said, "Yes, my daughter Sami and I coach together and she is a National Champion." He said, "My cousin coaches softball." I said, "Where?" Paul said, "Alabama." I asked, "Is your cousin Patrick Murphy?" He said, "Have you heard of him?" :):):) Small world. When I returned to NMU at the invitation of my friends Jon Barch and Rachel Harris, The Superior 13 had a wine and cheese party for me at the home of Jack and Stormin' Norma overlooking Lake Superior and then dinner at the Casa Calabria for steaks and shells. A trip to Jon's cabin on a beautiful lake in the woods and ribs with Dave out in the middle of nowhere made the trip very special. Sandy's Mother Grandma Viv came up from Menominee and at 90 years old is rocking the casbah. She takes no prisoners and made me stay up to watch Letterman with her. I want to thank the Superior 13 for their hospitality and for buying a copy of Welcome To The Time Of Your Life for each of the 65 Student Leader Fellows. It was very generous of them. The trip was made perfect by a coffee and muffins date at Baby Cakes with retired Professor John Argeropoulos who is a vital engaging man who helped me write Welcome and whose Granddaughter is now a Student Leader Fellow.
In between Alabama and Northern Michigan I surprised Donna, her Mom Mary, and her sisters Regina and Patty in Florida on Saint George Island in the middle of their 7800 mile trip to see relatives and friends across America. Dubbed "Giggles Across America" by Grandma Mary, we stayed with Aunt Ruth and Cousins Ernie and Ruth on the Island. Ernie took us out into the gulf for some fishing and we saw sea turtles and dolphins. We ate a bunch of oysters and fish in Apalachicola
and had some great family time. Aunt Ruth offered a dinner prayer that was so eloquent and touching, telling God that cancer had taught me many lessons with which I could help students in my speeches, and that I had learned them, but now it was time for Him to heal me. It was powerful and heartfelt and she is a beautiful lady and a gracious host.
So there you have it...the story of my life, liberty, and pursuit of clarity. This week I will sit down with my oncologist in Portland, Dr. Matt Taylor, who will go over the PET scan with me and assess the progress of my treatment and dis-ease. I ask for your prayers. I attended Mass last Friday with my friend Tim and he and Father Robert Silva continue to enlist the Catholic Community in prayer for me. After my Doctor's appointments this week, Donna, our Granddaughter Addie, and I will head down to Templeton, California to Ed and Mary Konopa's home to participate and be witness to a Celebration of Life for Steve Konopa, Ed's brother, who died of cancer last month. It will be challenging for me because I knew and admired Steve, so I decided to take my wonderful three year old font of happiness, Addie with us.
One last request, for now...tomorrow I will be meeting with the Resident Assistants at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon to try to help them make sense of the death of Parker Moore, a football player and RA who was stabbed to death Saturday evening. He was on rounds and went across the street from campus to grab a sandwich and was attacked by a deranged stranger. The attacker returned to the scene as the paramedics were attempting to save him, was identified by witnesses, and confronted by police. Brandishing his knife again, the attacker was shot to death.
Please pray for Parker, his parents, and his friends who are grieving and suffering their son's and friend's death. The football team is reeling as well. Prayers would be greatly appreciated.
My mission for the remainder of my life came to me mid-speech at Alabama to the track and field teams. When I heard it in my head, I stopped, and immediately shared it with them. Now you. My vocation at this time, as I understand it, is to teach the lessons cancer has taught me without any else having to get the dis-ease, or be faced with a tragedy like Parker's, and know right now right here how precious each of them is and how precious each second of their lives are. We all take our lives for granted and worry about the silliest things. For me, cancer was like a hand that came into the cage of comfortableness I was living in, grabbed the treadmill I was on, stopped it, and said, "Hey. Pay attention." I want the students to be able to get this in their twenties and create lives based on being in the moment each and every day. When I ask audiences, "How many of you have had cancer in your family?", over 85% of the hands go up. We are in this together. Most of us have been touched.
I plan to use the speech gifts God has given me to inspire, comfort, and give hope to people that they can change from regretting the past, being fearful of the future, and move forcefully and wholly into the present moment. Right now, right here.
Thank you for reading this. I will more briefly let you know this week what the PET scan and Dr. Taylor tell me, and how the Linfield presentation went with the RAs. We are all one phone call away from our knees, and yet we all have so much to be thankful for. Again, I am thankful for all the love you have shown me. In my next blog, I will tell you about the efforts a group of former Resident Assistants have put forth to help Donna and I and the family. It just might restore your faith in people!
Blessings,
Will Keim
Saturday, October 4, 2014
"The Unexpected Gift: I Will Life Up Mine Eyes Unto The Hills...
Greetings from Grand Teton National Park in Davey Jackson's Hole, Wyoming. Donna and I are on my next-to-last Fall lecture trip to Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming and back to Southwest Oregon Community College. The route allows us the privilege to visit one of the world's most amazing places. We served 18 months here in the early '80's with A Christian Ministry In The National Parks and every trip seems like the first time we saw the Tetons, the Valley, and the majesty of God's creation. Breathtaking!
The trip began with a stay in Boise with Ken and Nancy Elwer at their daughter Katie's home. Ken and Nancy are moving from Philomath near us to Eagle, Idaho to be near Katie and Ken's brother Steve and his family. We visited the future homesite and had breakfast before we left with John McGuire who is working in Student Affairs at Boise State. John in an OSU Grad. We then detoured to Hagerman, Idaho to see Rudy Shokal, a family friend, on his 20 acres in the beautiful valley where the Malad River runs into the Snake River. So beautiful!
When we crested the Teton Pass into Jackson Hole at 10,000 feet with the mountains hovering another 3,700 feet plus over our heads, Donna said, "Where did the last thirty years go?" We were so full of hope, and other things as well! We came here because I wanted to see if I could stand in front of people and talk about God with any integrity and grace. Standing at 6,000 feet at the base of 13,700 foot mountains provides some mighty fine inspiration. One sermon I actually pointed at the Grand Teton being bathed in a golden ray of sunlight, paused, and said "Amen." That was the entire sermon! Our congregations included Wyoming cowboys, seasonal employees, the Secretary of The Interior, and locals who came because they could not believe anyone would let me be a minister.
I used to tell them that God chooses ministers because He wants to watch them extra close. The locals called me "Sky Pilot."
We stopped at David Carpenter's home on the Teton Village Road before tackling the unpaved Moose Road to Jenny Lake to have a beverage of choice. David was part of the Christian Ministry support team when we served here and we have remained friends for 30 years. His brother Craig came by to say hello and was usually part of our extensive hiking adventures here. The Carpenter family was very good to us while we in the Tetons. David lives at the end of the Teewinot Road and his family room windows frame the Grand Teton Range. It doesn't get much better. He is retired now from teaching.
We are staying at the Jenny Lake Lodge in a cabin looking directly up at the Grand. After breakfast this morning, I asked David to take Donna hiking because as you all know, you want to keep her burning energy or she will self generate projects for herself and us. The bolted at 9 a.m. straight up into the mountains where they will inevitably see moose, migrating elk, and perhaps a bear or two. Do not feel sorry for me...I couldn't keep up with them when I was young and totally healthy so I am at the lodge reading, typing, and looking at the snow capped mountains that are preparing themselves for Winter, which at 28 degrees here last night, is just around Fall's corner.
We will journey tomorrow through Yellowstone National Park dodging the 10,000 migrating elk that winter in the valley as we did last night driving in. Amazing animals who winter and begin the courting rituals for the Spring with their nightly bugeling. My lecture is Monday night in Powell, then Tuesday we begin the journey for home with a stop at our family Jack and Donna Taylor's home in Coeur D'Alene. Donna looks more like my Mom Bettye every year.
My friend David Patterson, former Assistant Gymnastics Coach at The University of Alabama sent me a beautiful quote I wanted to share with you today. David is a cancer survivor who is a great person, coach, husband, and father. David and I have shared some times and said some things to each other that men just don't share enough. Cancer it seems pulls back the veils on our eyes and hearts and opens deep channels of communication. The quote David shared is from Ruth McGinnis, a Nashville recording artist and author who when she wrote this had recently been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
"One of the most powerful insights I've had as a result of this unexpected detour in my well-planned life is truly understanding the the value of my work-the books I've written, my instrumental recordings, the speaking and performing I've done for countless years-has nothing to do with commercial success. I always thought that to be 'successful,' I would have to register in the marketplace with some measurable impact, like making the New York Times best sellers list. As a result, even though I've enjoyed a rewarding career as a creative person, I've always felt that somehow I'd never quite arrived-that my life was incomplete. Having cancer has forever changed this. The cards, letters, gifts, phone calls, and emails I've received from people I know-and many I've never met-have revealed to me that the reach of my work and the value of my simply being here is greater than I ever could have imaged. I am convinced this is true for each one of us. That we all tend to be hard on ourselves and measure our achievements against harsh standards. We fail to appreciate our own contributions, and we forget to acknowledge the gifts, beauty and efforts of others. I will never think of success, fulfillment and contentment the way I used to. Cancer has swept the veil away from my eyes-has given me a new way of looking at life and rethinking everything. It is an unexpected gift."
David Patterson continued, "I want you to use that vivid imagination of yours, and just for a moment, imagine all the people you have helped over the years gathered in one place. The school auditorium in the movie Mr. Holland's Opus wouldn't come close to holding the people you have affected. Maybe, and I mean this sincerely, only maybe could Alabama's Bryant Denny Stadium's capacity of 101,821 come close to holding all the people whose lives are better today because of Will Keim. Thank you, and know that I love you."
Can you imagine what this means to me? Today, sitting in the place where I first stood and spoke openly about God, and Christ, and love, and forgiveness...pondering a hopeful yet unsure future, my heart soars with joy because my life seems to have mattered. I have unpaid taxes and bills, I am not on the New York Times best selling list, yet cancer has swept the veil away from my eyes-has given me, as Ruth McGinnis eloquently wrote-"a new way of looking at life and rethinking everything.
It is an unexpected gift." Tracy Maxwell knows this. David Patterson knows this. I have been taught this. It is possible that our experience might teach those of you that are cancer free this lesson without having to get the disease?
You matter. Your life matters. Each day presents opportunities to appreciate your own contributions and to acknowledge the gifts, beauty and efforts of others. To say I love you. To say I forgive you. To start anew. To be the person you have always to be. I know I was just cruising along taking it all for granted. Now each breath, each meal, each sunrise seems to be the most amazing experience ever. And I want that for all of you without the cancer. I want you to be the friend to someone that David Patterson has been to me. All of you for that matter have given me gifts I never earned. That is the amazing thing about Grace. Now I can see it clearly. Will you join me?
In my cabin at Jenny Lake today, The Grand Teton standing guard over me, the air crisp and clean, I open the Gideon's Bible in my room to the 121st Psalm:
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Each minute I have been and will be given...each of you...each life experience...each child Donna and I have been blessed with...the writings of others...my own thoughts...each act of kindness received and given...the mountains, lakes, streams, and trees...my Addie and Harvey...our home...our troubles, trials, and travails, and yes...even cancer...have been 'unexpected gifts,' Please, and I say this from the deepest depths of my soul, lift up your eyes and see your blessings and gifts today, tomorrow, and each day after that. Step out of the mundane daily grind and into the extraordinary human being that You are. You can, without cancer I believe, remove the veils from your eyes and see the unique and precious journey upon which you are embarked. You do not walk alone!
This is my hope for you and me today.
Blessings and love,
Will
Sunday, September 28, 2014
The Third Treatment
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
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
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
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Not So Random Acts Of Kindness
Dear Friends,
Donna and I are in between speeches today at the University of Redlands and California State University, San Bernardino. Many parents today extended amazing acts of kindness to me after I spoke to them in the Chapel.
One man handed me a note that read, "God will work with you on your cancer-either work through it or remove it all together-all depending on your faith." Another dear man said, "I've just been diagnosed." An African American Baptist Minister and his wife told me not only would they be praying for me, but I would be on their prayer list at Church. A Mom said, "I work at a Jesuit school and we will all be praying for you and thinking good thoughts." I met another Mother who went to school with me at the University of The Pacific and was there for her daughter's orientation. We had a brief but meaningful catch-up. A woman who identified herself as a healer told me that she had felt such strong movements of healing for me spiritually and great love that she needed to tell me to keep believing and then hugged me to pass on the healing.
As the last well wishers left the Chapel, a woman approached me and said, "This is the fifth child I have dropped off for college. I have grandchildren in college. I wasn't going to come today but I read that the Chapel was air conditioned. So I came for the comfort. I am so glad I came and heard you." She then took off a small medallion she was wearing and said, "Mother Theresa gave this to me for my work with the Sisters of Charity and the children. I want you to have it." I said, "You should keep that. It is so meaningful." She said, "No. I want you to have it. I hope it doesn't offend you." I could barely keep from crying. I thanked her with all my heart and she took my hand, then left.
Could we ever find a way to be this kind, compassionate, and loving with each other without a dis-ease or a crisis? The love of those parents and the hundreds of others who came up lifted me up and gave me strength and courage to hope, to trust, and to love them back. You would do me a real solid today if you told somebody that you loved them. It would likely come right back at you!
With love,
Will
Donna and I are in between speeches today at the University of Redlands and California State University, San Bernardino. Many parents today extended amazing acts of kindness to me after I spoke to them in the Chapel.
One man handed me a note that read, "God will work with you on your cancer-either work through it or remove it all together-all depending on your faith." Another dear man said, "I've just been diagnosed." An African American Baptist Minister and his wife told me not only would they be praying for me, but I would be on their prayer list at Church. A Mom said, "I work at a Jesuit school and we will all be praying for you and thinking good thoughts." I met another Mother who went to school with me at the University of The Pacific and was there for her daughter's orientation. We had a brief but meaningful catch-up. A woman who identified herself as a healer told me that she had felt such strong movements of healing for me spiritually and great love that she needed to tell me to keep believing and then hugged me to pass on the healing.
As the last well wishers left the Chapel, a woman approached me and said, "This is the fifth child I have dropped off for college. I have grandchildren in college. I wasn't going to come today but I read that the Chapel was air conditioned. So I came for the comfort. I am so glad I came and heard you." She then took off a small medallion she was wearing and said, "Mother Theresa gave this to me for my work with the Sisters of Charity and the children. I want you to have it." I said, "You should keep that. It is so meaningful." She said, "No. I want you to have it. I hope it doesn't offend you." I could barely keep from crying. I thanked her with all my heart and she took my hand, then left.
Could we ever find a way to be this kind, compassionate, and loving with each other without a dis-ease or a crisis? The love of those parents and the hundreds of others who came up lifted me up and gave me strength and courage to hope, to trust, and to love them back. You would do me a real solid today if you told somebody that you loved them. It would likely come right back at you!
With love,
Will
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