The past few weeks have been a busy time preparing for my husband’s birthday party. From the initial idea of inviting a few neighbours until the 70 people showed up last Saturday we were grateful for the warm and committed responses.
And then there he was, using his speaker phone to give a little speech to thank everyone. At the end, he surprised people by announcing he would be participating in the Head and Neck Above Cancer Walk in London, Ontario on August 20th. It is a 5km walk to raise money for the clinic that has been treating him for the past six years. Did I mention that he turned 80 on his birthday (according to him it is the 41st anniversary of his 39th birthday)?
These are good facts on their own but there is more to the story. Since he has been on a feeding tube full-time for five years and still has effects from radiation, chemo and surgery, it is remarkable how his sense of humour, good nature, kindness to others and joy for life have not been compromised. So many people have said they would never function as well as he does given his circumstances. We have talked through the challenges over and over again using the TED* framework I teach. We don’t like this aspect of our current reality so we accept it and look for possibilities.
He does almost everything he wants to do except eat! And through it all his heart grows bigger every day. I am humbled to be his wife and to watch how he approaches and handles the rough patches. He is my inspiration.
So if you need a little reminder to live with joy and peace, take a look here are my Doug:
Daryl Wood's Blog 
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