Mother's day

[P-Dub]

I would like to thank Richiebee and TrackJohn for setting the guy straight who made the flippant comments about Breast Cancer.  I read them earlier, chose to ignore them, and just made a general comment about jockeys. If you all don\'t mind, in the spirit of Mother\'s Day, I would like to talk about a woman who has gone through more things than you can imagine.

She is a 2 time Breast Cancer survivor, having had to deal with a mastectomy each time. The first time was 25 years ago, the second time 10 years after that. These were 2 of the 27 surgeries that she has endured during her lifetime.

She was told many years ago that she couldn\'t have children, so she and her husband adopted 2 infant boys. 3 years later, she became pregnant. She was advised that it wouldn\'t be safe for her or her baby to go through with the pregnancy. She ignored that advice and after 9 months of what I\'m told was the absolute worst pregnancy ever, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy on Nov 27, 1963.  5 days after our president was assassinated, she was the happiest person on earth.  She called him her \"miracle\" baby. She went on to have 2 more children for a total of 5.

She divorced her husband, and was left with the responsibility of raising 5 children. She ironed clothes, was a babysitter, she did whatever was necessary to provide for her children.  They always had clothes, school supplies, and food on the table.

She has had 1 kidney for most of her adult life, 3 cancer surgeries (also had thyroid cancer many years ago), back surgery (she has a rod in her back), rotator cuff surgery, foot surgery (wears special lifts in her shoes), surgery on her thumb, shoulder replacement surgery, bowel disease, and other surgeries that I can\'t even remember.

She has a leaky heart valve, and suffers seizures from a tumor in her head.  She takes anti-seizure medication for that.

Despite all of these maladies, and the enormous pain and discomfort she has endured for years, she is the most positive person you could ever hope to meet. She hosted Thanksgiving for years, making every pie imaginable. She makes thousands of the best cookies you could sink your teeth into every Christmas. Once a year on Easter she makes Ravioli that she learned how to make as a young child.

Yes, my mom is something else.

She just went through shoulder replacement surgery 2 months ago, and simultaneously is dealing with bowel disease and a collapsed bowel. She can hardly eat anything, and is just miserable. So, a few months ago I stopped by for a visit (she lives close by and I visit often). She sat me down, and told me the tumor had gotten large enough that the doctors wanted to remove it. She said don\'t worry, I\'ll make your wedding.

She had it removed on April 10, and 2 days later she was released from the hospital. April 12, on her 76th birthday. I visited her, she told me she loved me and was so proud of me, and that she was going to make my wedding.  I told her that I loved her.

It would be the last time we would speak to each other.

3 days later, she had more seizures and was rushed to the hospital. For the next 3 weeks the doctors tried everything, every medication to subdue the seizures. They would put her into a deep sedation, and when they would attempt to bring her back the seizures would start again.

She was transferred to SF, a hospital specializing in seizures. After administering new meds, they attempted to bring her out of sedation. She wasn\'t able to come out of the sedation.  Last Friday, doctors advised us that there were no more options. We adhered to my mother\'s wishes, and on Sunday - Mother\'s Day - , she took her last breath.

After all she had been through, after all of the excruciating pain and discomfort she had endured, she passed on peacefully and mercifully, surrounded by her family. I am thankful for that.

This Friday I will be getting married for the first time in my life.  My mother was so excited, looking forward to this day more than anybody. Its all she talked about for months.

I will miss her a great deal, and am wondering how I will keep my composure during my wedding. I will miss the constant e-mails that she would send me 4 times a week. She would always address them to her \"special son\", and would sign them...Love your mom forever. I know that she will be with me this Friday, and that the happiest person in heaven will be my mother. I am so blessed to have her.

Thank you for allowing me to talk about my mother. I hope everyone took the opportunity to honor them on their special day.

[Rick B.]

One of the finest and most touching tributes I\'ve ever read. May God bless your mom and readily accept her into His kingdom.

Even though Mother\'s Day has passed, might I suggest that you submit your tribute to your area newspapers? Your mom is a hero, Paul -- a real hero that the world should know.

[RICH]

extremely touching, hoping no one comes in my office at this moment.

[HP]

Amen.  

HP

[TGJB]

Pdub-- About as good as it gets.

[msola1]

Paul,

You have done great honor to your mother, and indeed to all mothers. Thank you.

Mike

[vired]

I couldn\'t agree more. Best of luckto all in the Preakness. Ed

[moosepalm]

P-Dub, I also got married relatively late in life, and my mother had me relatively late in hers, so by the time I tied the knot, she was 85, and had two heart attacks prior to age 65, particularly distressing when no blood relative of hers had lived past that age.  But, she hung on to my wedding, and died six months later.  I\'m pretty sure she would have made it to a hundred just to make sure there was someone else to take care of me, so I suspect, as much as your mother would have loved to see your wedding day, she probably started letting go once she knew you would be in good hands.  Lord knows, she had every reason to let go long before that, but some mothers won\'t hang it up until they\'re sure their job is done.  I have no scientific validation for any of this, but it\'s my story and I\'m sticking to it.  As for your mother\'s story, it was an amazing one.  May you and your wife add to the happy memories.

[sighthound]

What a touching, lovely tribute to your mother.  You\'ll carry that love in your heart forever.  Good luck with your marriage!  Congratulations!  So sorry your mother can\'t be here to share your happiness.

[drbillym]

Nice to see some compassion from Rick B. to P-Dub.  Now we need a hugfest between miff and JB!

[Footlick]

Sorry this comment is late.  This is a beautiful tribute to a brilliant and brave woman.  This is so full of love and compassion, you can\'t help but tear up.  She will always be with you in your heart and thoughts and in that way she will be there blessing your wedding. Celebrate her and keep her close, and I\'ll bet you will feel her presence whenever you need to.  Thanks for sharing this.  My Mom is 89 and I bless every day she is still here. Best wishes for your wedding and know she is with you on this day.

[TGJB]

I don\'t have any problem with Mike, even when he pisses me off (and you guys are just seing the public exchange). This is something NY Jews and Italians get that outsiders don\'t-- we don\'t have a problem with people getting in our faces, especially when it\'s clear they want the best for the game. The problem is with the passive-aggressive f--ks who play games-- or call you a liar while offering no evidence, and delete responses-- or run the game and make money off it without protecting the players.

[P-Dub]

TGJB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don\'t have any problem with Mike, even when he
> pisses me off (and you guys are just seing the
> public exchange). This is something NY Jews and
> Italians get that outsiders don\'t-- we don\'t have
> a problem with people getting in our faces,

Exactly JB.  I\'ve had heated exchanges with many people, and after the initial flame, I forget about it. It\'s done. Hey, I\'m Italian, its how we are.

Rick and I have had several exchanges that can be categorized as \"testy\".  But I\'ve never had a personal dislike for the man. I had a particularly nasty exchange with NC Tony, and shortly thereafter we exchanged PMs and got over it. I don\'t like to hold grudges, ita a waste of energy.

And the answer to the question........\'what the hell is P-Dub doing on this site on the day he\'s getting married???\"

I\'m trying to relax, and need to kill a little time. Its not until this evening. Its a beautiful sunny day, no clouds.

Last thing.........

......if I post sometime after 11PM tonight, please banish me from this site.

[P-Dub]

I know today is a big day of racing, so I\'ll keep this brief.

I just wanted to thank you all for the kind words and thoughtful messages that I have received since I wrote about my mother and my upcoming wedding.  You have no idea how much it has warmed my heart and helped me through a most difficult period in my life.

Our wedding went Flawlessly, and many told me it was the best wedding they have been to in a long time. It was a truly special day, shared by close family and friends. As many of you told me, my mother would be there with me and smiling down upon me.  Truer words have never been spoken.

Again, I am overwhelmed and deeply grateful for the support, condolences, and positive thoughts that you have given me. What a wonderful community we have on this forum.  God Bless, and good luck this weekend.

As for today, I\'ll Have Another will win again. Tiger, TOTD, Zett, WTDW underneath.