“I’m an old girl who was born and raised in England but has lived in the USA for about 300 years.”
And with that in her ‘about me’ I was hooked on reading Indi’s blog:
Is That All There Is? All of it! I must’ve spent a couple of hours reading from start to April 2009 – over 300 posts.
I don’t remember how I came across her writing but I was soon thinking of Dan Fogelberg’s passing a few years ago from prostate cancer at age 56.
Indi’s husband has been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and her blog is his story. (Well, actually she’s telling two stories since their lives are bound together as flower is to stem – seems Indi loves taking photos of flowers and she’s also had a few health issues of her own to deal with.)
I’ve a soft spot for Brummies (folks from Birmingham, England) because of their tongue-in-cheek wit and humour. They could almost be Irish 
Oh, and a Brummie hired me back in Autumn 1999 when I was thinking of hoofing it back to the UK after being rightsized and benched for a few months.
Dip into her blog and you’ll learn more about life, love, catheters and pathos than you ever thought possible. You may even sense from the ebb and flow of her daily struggles and small pleasures how heartbreaking it must be to watch such a big mountain of a man go through this physical decline. He’s as sharp as a tac though and an engineering ace – I love the model Sopwith Camel biplane photos and the fact that he finally finished it sans decapitation lol!
For some reason the “Long Ago” home page photo of Indi with His Lordship (her words!) reminds me of Grizzly Adams – a wonderful TV series I grew up with a child and still have much affection for.
I’d like to leave you with two shooting stars of appreciation I have for Indi’s blog writing – and a quote of my own inspired from her story so far.
- The I Love Poe post.
“What is sleep but little slices of death.”
- Indi’s favourite quotation (see her home page).
“Time is nature’s way of making sure that everything doesn’t happen at once.” Author – unknown
“There’s no shadow without light.” – Mark McClure
3 Comments
Thank you Mark for writing about my lovely sister and brother in law. They are great people and I love them to bits.
Visited them recently and am amazed how they are dealing with this lousy disease. Thanks again
[Angela,
Thanks for stopping by!
With the global reach of this Interwebbie thingiemajig there must be others like Indi who are able to draw strength from her writing.
Case in point is 5 May post about "I want to sit with him." http://indiasadventure.blogspot.com/2009/05/on-my-bike-and-off-it.html
Heck, even the care agencies and various medical support orgs who are involved can maybe improve what they do by seeing it up close and personal, so to speak.
Mark]
Thanks for pointing this out to me Mark. It is an inspiring story, and one which resonates with a cancer survivor such as me. I have forwarded to my wife too to see if it has the same impact on her.
I have known Indi, for a few years now we meet online through a genealogy site, she is truly a remarkable lady, I remember her saying when first the diapers appeared, that she could not do it, I told her she will and she has, Indi despite having His Lordship and her own health problems, always asked how my husband was and how i was coping, he passed away with bone cancer just over a year ago, Indi still asks how i am doing, I know what she is going through, and her remarkable strength will see he through, it is an honour to know her, and call her my friend.
[Sybil,
Thanks for stopping by. There's a compassionate rage in Indi's writing that comes roaring through, along with some wry observations on the wonderful yet temporary nature of life. HL is fortunate to have her.
Mark]
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