"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help
in times of trouble"
Psalms 46:1
THINGS I HAVE
LEARNED
by
Lynn (Richard's sister)
When Richard was first diagnosed with cancer, I learned
some new things.
I learned that if you look up sometimes the tears
don't come out.
I learned that brain tumors were the second leading
cause of cancer death for people his age.
I learned that complaining about how old you were
getting no longer made any sense.
I learned that each moment was precious.
I learned that I was more spiritual than I thought.
I learned that we must all count our blessings.
I learned that I was blessed to have Richard as my
brother.
I learned that he was smarter and cooler and braver
than I ever realized.
I learned that he had the greatest friends in the
whole world.
I learned that he loved his family more than anything.
Richard never gave up and he never complained. The
reason why is Talia, his pride and joy.
My daughter wrote the following essay about her cousin
Talia:
TALIA
By
Allison (Richard's niece)
My family
has had to deal with a lot of things these past 2
years. When my mom first found out that her brother
had a brain tumor she was devastated. My whole family
was heartbroken. Everyone was crying all the time and
if they weren't crying they were always upset,
especially for my cousin Talia.
Talia was only three at the time she found out her
daddy was sick. It was very hard for her to understand
what was wrong. It was even harder because she lived
in Switzerland and her dad had to come to New York for
hospital treatment. Her mom tried to explain her what
was going on but it was to hard. But as Talia got
older she began to realize more about her dad's
sickness.
After her dad went to the hospital a couple of times
they finally got most of the tumor out, As the time
went by the tumor started to grow back even bigger.
Talia had no clue what was going on. She came to visit
us and each time it was harder and harder for her.
My whole family had to work together and help Talia
understand what was happening. She came for a long
visit when school began this year. We read her stories
about dying and cancer to help her understand.
It has been very difficult for our whole family to
overcome our sadness. It has been especially hard for
Talia. |