Thank YOU, Leroy…
Stephanie, the hospice nurse made her first official visit to our house three years ago today. A stranger with only good intentions and a soft, nurturing touch, who would eventually prescribe a morphine drip that would drown cancer’s last grasp on Leroy.
Three years ago..
I’d like to ask you all to do me a favor this weekend….Please, think back to when you first found “My Cancer” and the man who gave it a voice. What was it that drew you into his daily account of living with cancer? This gift he shared with all of us was special.
He touched us in different ways….but there was a common thread, something that built a community still going strong today.
It’s the best way to honor his memory…the best way to say “Thank you, Leroy.”
August 16, 2011 @ 2:55 pm
When I worked in public broadcasting, I stumbled across Leory’s blog and instantly became addicted. My husband is a colorectal cancer survivor and I was amazed at all the good information that I could have used when he had gone through the ordeal of discovery and treatment. I also realized that many feelings I had at the time were normal. And I admired Leroy for being so open during a very hard struggle. He did leave the world a little better than he found it.
August 16, 2011 @ 6:14 am
Thanks for the great info dog I owe you biiggty.
August 13, 2011 @ 11:09 pm
It was the Ted Koppel special, I was just thrown into the cancer world with Neil’s diagnosis of lung cancer. We were looking for answers and I was looking for support. I found it in Leroy’s blog. I didn’t blog much until after Neil passed, from then on, I wanted to “Pay it Forward”. I think it was Kim that said that! It was not only Leroy’s voice that kept me coming back, but it was the family that he brought together. It was filled with love and strength, Mo with her poems, Stan with his tractor and Al with his light of hope.
So many voices have been silenced, Leroy, Melody, Stan, Eileen, John, to name just a few and so many caregivers have moved forward. I often wonder what happened to Bruce, Sasha, Kathy, so many voices that I hope and pray are moving forward with their lives. It’s ok too, there voices are not silenced, there words and memories forever live on. Our hearts remember them and we are all better because of a “Garden” of hope.
Thank you Leroy for your gift and Laurie, thank you for carrying it forward.
August 13, 2011 @ 2:34 pm
When my daughter was diagnosed, my dental hygienist told me that her sister also had advanced lung cancer and was inspired by Leroy’s site. That was the first I had ever heard of Leroy or his site. I was completely fascinated with how Leroy spoke, his compassion, his honesty, his courage and his caring. He, and the people who responded, helped me so much during my daughter’s treatment and death and the subsequent diagnosis and treatment of my husband. Like everyone else, I was devastated when Leroy died but so very grateful to Laurie for picking up the reins and continuing to help us all.
One of the comments that I remember most that helped me a lot was submitted by a person who was following Leroy’s blog. I don’t remember her name but she said something like “we all die, but not everyone truly lives.” I think this says so much about Leroy…he lived his life to the fullest….the best of times and the worst of times….and he did it with dignity, love and courage and helped so many others by doing so.
August 12, 2011 @ 11:51 pm
For me it was Leroy’s voice. A friend was going through treatment for colon cancer and the voice and the topic drew me in. When I faced my own cancer journey, Leroy gave me hope and strength. I could relate to his words and anecdotes because I was having similar experiences. And as Al said, Thanks k you Laurie for continuing to create a place where we can come together, share, lift one another or be lifted. Thinking of you as you go forward through the days ahead.
August 12, 2011 @ 9:31 pm
Joe, my husband gave me Leroy. Gave me the link. I know he read Leroy but I don’t think he ever commented. Joe would not talk about cancer. We both knew he was dying but we never said it out loud. The closest we got was one day I asked about a crystal stone he wore around his neck and he said that goes with me. Here come the tears now, thinking about these two.
Tomorrow I will give my brother in law Rick the cane that Joe used and the hat he wore during chemo, not so much that he needs these, but he might, but because they were the armor of someone who fought the beast as courageously as best he could. Rick starts radiation soon for his colon cancer. He will follow that with a second set of chemo and then he has surgery for appendix cancer. His brother got tested because the doctor felt there was a hereditary aspect and Ricks brother was diagnosed with and just got operated on for bladder cancer. He will start chemo soon too.
August 12, 2011 @ 5:18 pm
I saw the TV special. Since I had been in the fight for some years, I was very interested to hear others express their opinions and feelings. I usually read his blog but what captured my heart and mind was his honesty without pity, his realism tinged with humor, his compassion for all who came to him and his humble approach not “I’m a celebrity, look at me, I have cancer.’ Leroy was our brother and truly one of us. You just know that this is a man I would love to sit with, talk a bit about our experiences and perhaps down a beer or two and listen to his laugh. The Mighty Oak still stands in my front yard and I think of Leroy as I gaze upon it.
You, Laurie, have done him proud and yourself as well. You picked up the mantle and have carried it nobly. Our Cancer is yours and it stands as a beacon for all who need help and support. We are all proud to be here with you. You are now our maestro, our leader and our friend. We are grateful that you continued his legacy. As Leroy gazes down from above, a smile is permanently etched into his face because of what you have done here. 3 years ago was a very painful time for you and the residual pain is still carried in your heart. I would ask you to reflect upon these last 3 years….smile, shed a tear of loss but always know that you cast a different shadow than Leroy but it is no less worthy. You have done good….as we say down here!!!!! God bless you Laurie.
August 12, 2011 @ 3:24 pm
It was the story. A friend told me about the tv special with Ted Koppel and how touched she was by the story and how she thought I would like to check out the blog. I have searched a lot for a showing of the special and never found it but I just knew from his writing what a gentle, melodious voice he must have. I found out later that was the case. I had never heard anyone be so open and honest about a bad situation and to do it with such humor and dedication and complete lack of selfishness. At some point I saw a photo of Leroy with children when he was on assignment and it said everything to me. He matched his voice and his writing perfectly…larger than life with a killer smile! I think his build and demeanor reminded me so much of Jim that I felt an instant attachment to him. Laurie, I remember you posting on the blog (I think it was the last one before he passed away) how you could hear the growling of the beast and that put such a lasting image in my head and I thought of it often in those last weeks of Jim’s life. As you go into this difficult week I want you to know how much Leroy helped me through Jim’s illness and when Leroy no longer had a voice you stepped in and took the reins and kept us together and allowed us to speak about whatever was bothering us without being judged. Learning of Leroy’s passing on that Saturday morning is one of those moments that I think I will always remember where I was and what I was doing. Thank you for always being there for us and for your dedication to a wonderful man. Peace be with you.
August 12, 2011 @ 1:58 pm
His voice, yes. But I do not mean only the voice we could hear that commanded the space it held, the way his physical person commanded the space he occupied. Leroy wrote as if he were telling us our own stories. He expressed what we felt, still feel. And always, that voice, even when it reflected deep pain, put us in a place where Hope held the honors. His specialness was in understanding how much we’re all alike, share the same fears, the same needs. He didn’t write above us but as one of us. And he had a huge heart that always had a place for one more.
August 12, 2011 @ 1:22 pm
I remember driving into work one day probably 5 years ago now and hearing this gorgeous voice on NPR. I do not remember what he said that day, but I do remember that I had the chills and started crying because the topic really hit home. I’ve been hooked ever since. Still lifting. Thank you, Leroy AND Laurie.
August 12, 2011 @ 12:01 pm
It was his actual “voice” that drew me in… Hearing him on the radio and listening to what he had to say…
Thank you, Leroy.