Blogging is a constant unspooling of ideas and thoughts
leading a reader to other writers with similar thoughts or maybe totally new
ideas that challenge. The day I was lead to the blog of Heather Von St. James
was both uplifting and heartbreaking. Her own battle with mesothelioma slam
banged me right back to fifteen years ago when my dad died of the same disease.
In the fall of 1999 my dad’s recent health problems
ratcheted up with first a trip to ER with strange heart attack-like symptoms
and then a series of surgeries trying to find his real problem. One doctor
thought he knew what his problem could be, but he was willing to let other
surgeons search out other possibilities instead of facing the ugly truth. The result was my dad was carved up like a
Christmas turkey with no improvement. I will not rewrite the story here but you
can read of my dad on Deidre VanGerven’s web page if you desire: http://www.fibreaware.org.nz/claudiasstory.htm
Mesothelioma is asbestos cancer. It was fairly new fifteen years
ago. We could get little info. I learned a single strand of asbestos was
smaller than a human hair, and yet it could stay in the body for twenty years
before blowing into high and wide cancer eating away a human’s lungs or
intestines. While searching for info I ran into Deidre VanGerven, a woman who
lost her husband to this disease. She talked me through the next few months on
email. She lived in New Zealand and many a night I was up sobbing to her about
the pain of my dad’s situation. She understood. She is still online and if
interested, you can learn more about her here: http://www.fibreaware.org.nz/aboutme.htm
Other things I learned at the time were that asbestos manufacturers
sold asbestos even after they knew the damage it did. When the lawsuits
started, they just disbanded the original companies and reformed new ones. It
was business as usual. Asbestos was still being sold to Third World
Countries. I had to (and still have to)
deal with a lot of anger that men in suits let their greed for money kill
people.
A few weeks ago, I visited Heather’s blog and found a good
ending to a mesothelioma story. She was 36 and with a new baby when she learned
she had mesothelioma. She had fifteen months and that was eight years ago. Her
blog is informative and hopeful; it is positive and faith-affirming. You can
visit here: http://www.mesothelioma.com/heather/#.VNk3bfnF9VI
Please acquaint yourself with this killer. Early detection
now offers more hope than it once did.
For more info on asbestos: http://www.mesothelioma.com/asbestos-cancer/
For more info on asbestos: http://www.mesothelioma.com/asbestos-cancer/
7 comments:
Oh good. I am really, really happy that you visited Heather's blog.
And share your anger (ballistic rage) at those who ignore safety for money's sake. Just so long as they hare safe...
Sorry for your loss, glad her blog was able to help you. I love that writers are able to connect and share their stories so we don't feel so alone.
I can feel the emotion in this post. I am so glad you had somebody to help you through. Yes, it is horrific, the suffering and the contaminators!
Your anger and frustration vibrates here Claudia, as well it should. Thanks for the info and links, and I'm so sorry for your loss that didn't have to be.
Hi Claudia,
I've heard the TV commercials about asbestos and wondered about it. I'm sorry that's what took your dad's life, but pleased you found Heather's blog and that she is thriving.
Claudia--I'm sorry your dad died such an unnecessary death. I imagine there are lots of instances like that--big corporations that continue unsafe practices or continue to produce unsafe products while they also continue to know the heartbreak they're creating.
Words are powerful. Words can heal. Words can be instruments of change...
Important information, Claudia.
I taught in a high school where the heavy stage drapes were lined in asbestos, and on the day one tore open during play rehearsal, the entire school was closed down for three days until a haz-mat team cleaned everything out. It was very frightening as the dangers of mesothelioma were just being shared.
My brother's good friend from the h.s. track team is dying of mesothelioma. He's shrunken down and in horrible breathing struggles and pain, but he's reached a peaceful and spiritual point in this part of us journey that is helping others. He'll be painfully missed.
I'm so sorry about your father, Claudia, and your friend, too. Thank you for posting this.
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