To Robyn

Happy birthday to the most wonderful daughter a father could ever wish for.

21. Wow.

We had the most incredible time together at World Cup and I look forward to spending many more World Cups with you. Maybe mom and Mike will join us :)

Carpe Diem.

Lots going on

Still no call from Governor or for those that are thoroughly confused, no results yet from the PET/CT scan.

But lots going on. I just heard from a lady at the American Cancer Society here in Baltimore and I will soon have a job. I finally did what my parents told me to do many years ago. "Go get a job". I will be driving chemo patients to therapy a couple of days a week. No, I'm not doing this for money. I'm volunteering. How cool is that ?

Also, there has been lots of positive developments with regards ZimKids in Bulawayo. Jen, my oncology nurse has been collecting medical supplies and other assorted stuff for the children and also for the doctor who takes care of the children pro bono. Jen, along with many of her co-workers, friends and family, has collected an amazing amount and array of stuff. A lot of the medical stuff will also go to a private hospital in Bulawayo.

On a sad note, I would like to wish the Jenkins family well and offer my condolences. Rosh, a fellow UPS pilot, husband to Julie and father to Brandon, Tyler & Hannah passed away recently after a valiant battle with cancer. Blue skies and tale winds Rosh.

Carpe Diem.

Bio 9 (Round 1)

This morning I had my PET/CT scan. I was out of there in about 2 hours and then went for my Avastin infusion.

Vitals were good, weight is stable and the blood work was all fine.

Now it's hurry up and wait for the call from the Governor !!!

Carpe Diem.

A call from the Governor

Work with me here.

Lets say that you have this recurring dream/nightmare and that you are in prison on death row. Your execution day has arrived and you have gone through the whole "ritual" and have been strapped into the gurney with the IV attached to your arm. Now the hour approaches and all of a sudden the phone rings. It's the Governor calling with what you hope is a reprieve. This time he does indeed give you a reprieve but..........................

That's what it's like when you live from scan to scan with this awful disease. Thousands upon thousands of people deal with this reality every day. My reality is tomorrow. I have my PET/CT scan tomorrow morning followed by my treatment in the afternoon. For now, I'm living this nightmare every 3 months. Will the Governor call with a reprieve or will there be no phone call ?

Carpe Diem.

What an amazing quote

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why they call it the present".

Alice Morse Earle.

Carpe Diem.

Zimkids Project Update August, 2010

The following is a Zimkids update from Dennis:

Dear friends of Zimkids,

A year and a half ago, 10-year old Brian Dube showed up at Zimkids coughing and weak. We took him to the doctor, who diagnosed him with both HIV and active tuberculosis and put him on medications for both. It was too late for his tiny body; he died in the middle of his night while sleeping with his grandmother.

Six months later, we lost 17-year-old Simsethu. HIV positive and on antiretroviral treatment, she’d run out of medication and informed no one. After two strokes, she succumbed in the summer of 2009.

Their deaths were a wake-up call, and I realized that food wasn’t enough; we had to make health care for the children a priority. Since then, we have tested all of them for HIV, and those who proved positive are now on medication. And we regularly take kids in for treatment for scabies and worms, tuberculosis and myriad other infections. We have had no deaths among the children since then.

But our caregivers have not fared so well.

Sizi Moyo, mother of Musa and Mthabisi, died this February at the age of 42 of HIV-related illnesses, having refused antiretroviral treatment. Three weeks earlier, she’d given birth to a 4-pound baby boy.

Esther Mashaba’s mother Sekai, died later that month at the age of 35, also of an HIV-related illness. She had refused to be tested.

At the beginning of June, we buried Sidumisile Ngwenya’s mother, Sithibile, following what appeared to be a diabetic coma. We’ll never know for sure since the hospital did nothing to figure out what was wrong with this funny, energetic woman who’d seemed in perfect health.

Then, Busisizwe Fuyani’s mother, Sibongile, suddenly fell ill. She’d had a rough time after her husband, Vigour, died in 2008. His family had taken everything they’d owned, and she’d been forced to move in with her sister. But she’d raised an amazing son, who’d just been elected to our Council of Elders. Sibongile languished in the hospital without treatment or diagnosis. Her nieces had to feed and bathe her. She died two weeks later.

We at Zimkids made a decision long ago that we would rather provide ever-deeper care to the children we serve than to increase our numbers, and we now provide them with food, medical, educational and social resources. After this year’s disasters, we realized that we also need to protect our caregivers’ health and provide them with the tools to support the children. When a caregiver dies, the children left behind are too often sent to live in rural areas, where there is no schooling, no healthcare and no support. Thus far, we have managed to keep Busisizwe, Sidumisile, Musa and Mthabisi and Esther in the community, where we can continue to provide for them. But we cannot risk adding to their numbers by neglecting their grandparents and aunts.

We’ve updated our website with more thorough biographies of both the individual children and their caregivers. In the caregivers bios we included their wish for the tools that would bring in income.

I’m back in the States fundraising until November and while I’m gone, all Zimkids programs continue under Tinashe’s guidance. I’m hoping to be able to take back a stack of educational DVDs and used laptops when I return. If you have either that you no longer need, please think of us. This year, we’re really hoping to bolster our educational programs.

Thank you for your continued kindness, support and concern.

Post World Cup

Wow. Where do I begin? The last couple of months have been simply amazing and sad.

Let me start with the sad part. I (we) have lost 2 friends recently to cancer. Rest in peace Doreen and Tom. Doreen, who lived in London, England fought a valiant battle but eventually succumbed to this awful disease. She was also involved with Dr. Sidransky and the mice research but unfortunately, was too weak to be able to benefit from the research findings. Tom, who lived in Louisville, Kentucky had a relatively brief battle with lung cancer. He was a fellow co-worker at UPS.

I am also in touch with many other individuals who are dealing with different cancers. I wish them all strength and good health. Keep up the good fight and remember we are all "living" with cancer and not "dying" from it.

I thought that my recent trip to Zim and seeing the goings on with ZimKids would be hard to top. Well, I was wrong. Sort of. As special as the ZimKids encounter was, the World Cup trip was equally as special but for very different reasons.

It was like an objective for me to be fine and well and to go to the World Cup 2010. The objective was realized and we (Robyn and I) had the most incredible time. There are so many people to thank starting with my family, friends and medical professionals. You know who you are! My South African friends were unbelievable going above and beyond to make us feel at home and to help make this event truly magical. The pictures speak volumes. All that is left to say is:

Thank you and see you all in Brazil in 2014.

Carpe Diem.

Hwange, Zimbabwe

Carpe Diem.

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Carpe Diem.

The Final

Carpe Diem.