Life and death

Synchronicity is a strange concept. Similar things that happen at the same time that make you sit up and take notice. My Dad was diagnosed with prostrate cancer which was a huge shock. My Dad is kinda like a superman he drinks but never gets drunk, gets angry but seldom looses his temper, can see through things that others can't, and well is pretty indestructible in my books. So yes the concept of cancer was not easy to grasp, and one of the greatest people I know, Dave Jeffrey lost his life to cancer. Fortunately my Dads seems to be slow growing so all is good for now. Within the same two weeks a good friend told me that she believes she may not have long to go.... Then today a patient asked me if she was dying. I have been asked this before... And I can't help but wonder, at what point do we start dying and stop living?

Wow such deep questions! But I guess what it comes down to is for every day we are alive, we are getting closer to our demise. I did my first half marathon last Sunday, and from about the 3km mark people were clapping and saying "nearly there"! I laughingly pointed this out to a fellow runner, and she responded by saying "well we are closer to the finish than when we started ". So the point I suppose is just to keep trying everyday to do what we can to live well and die content. For me that means not having regrets, for others it may mean something different.

Climbing Kilimanjaro to raise awareness about tuberculosis and to raise funds for the patients at Brooklyn Chest Hospital is something important to me. I have a wonderful and supportive family. In spite of what my Mom is going through, she is still trying to help me raise money and her latest mission is to get onto the local radio station (ECR). I know how important the support of my family and friends is to me, which is why I want to enable patients and their families to be together whether they are living or dying. Please help me achieve this by making a donation through www.tbhivcare.org. And like my Facebook page kileighmanjaro.vs.tb.

I sign off with the advise my Dad gave us every morning "work hard and play hard. Think before you do" Words to live by