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5 years with advanced disease

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Posted 1/6/2016 2:17 PM (GMT 0)
My Dad deserves a tribute for several reasons. First, it is his 73rd birthday today.

It has been 5 years since he was diagnosed with advanced disease.

He got back his PSA result yesterday 0.479 (in his second "off" phase, but still hormone responsive). For that, Thank You, God.

On top of his advanced disease he has had other extreme issues to work with, in his words "more difficult than his PC" and with our help, he is slowly coming out of the dark and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. And no, it is not depression, because he is the most positive person I know, and so easy to make happy.

Half the time I think he is not aware of the weight he carries. Life is not supposed to be that hard. But resiliency and happiness shines in his eyes. Often I am ashamed of my own little worries.

He is working on his second book.

Happy Birthday, Dad. You are the best Dad and an amazing Grandpa. We will be here for you every step on your path.

The strength of your spirit has taught us patience, compassion, life, endurance, hope. See you soon.
Posted 1/6/2016 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
Happy Birthday and congratulations!!!

You're father is doing very well.

Here's to many more years and lots of time for him to finish his book...

Andrew
Posted 1/6/2016 2:43 PM (GMT 0)
Happy birthday to your father...and here is to many many more... with wonderful support like you, I'm sure he will continue to thrive!
Posted 1/6/2016 3:03 PM (GMT 0)
Sounds like a cool dude.

Birthday wishes sent
Posted 1/6/2016 3:06 PM (GMT 0)
Your dad certainly does sound like a very strong and resilient man. Yes, a very happy birthday to him, and many more!

Your own devotion to him comes through mightily in your post, and is a tribute to your character.

The help our children give us in this battle is SUCH a wonderful thing! My own two sons have been an ENORMOUS blessing to me in all this, for all they have done for me, usually unasked, and I'll be forever grateful to them for that.
Posted 1/6/2016 3:08 PM (GMT 0)
Special Lady,

Congratulations to your dad on both of these wonderful milestones. He is a warrior and lover of life to be sure. My paths have paralleled his on many fronts and I join you in celebrating his well earned triumphs.
Congratulations to you also for your unwavering dedication to family and for your countless contributions both spiritual and educational to this board. A joyous new year.

Jim
Posted 1/6/2016 4:38 PM (GMT 0)
Congratulations to you and your Dad. So wonderful to hear about his positive attitude. With a daughter like you, he really can't lose! Happy 2016!
Posted 1/6/2016 5:07 PM (GMT 0)
Congratulations!
We could a learn a lot from him ... and you!
Best wishes!
Posted 1/6/2016 5:17 PM (GMT 0)
Wonderful report and Happy Birthday to your Father.
Michael
Posted 1/6/2016 5:42 PM (GMT 0)
Congrats to your Dad and glad he has you to advocate for him!
Posted 1/6/2016 6:04 PM (GMT 0)
SpecialLady - congrats on your dad's birthday. That is an age I hope to achieve being that all the males in my line died at 68 or earlier. He is lucky to have you. Take care. -JR
Posted 1/6/2016 6:58 PM (GMT 0)
Special Lady
That is a great report on your dad. Very inspirational. Tell him that from all of us. I can tell there is much love there. Hold him close to you. What is the name of his book? After two years HT vacation, is he just back on only Trelstar and Casodex only now? Looks like good results there, just amazing to me, You are truly blessed,as always, keep he faith! and keep us posted.
Dan in rainy So Calif, 4.8 earthquake today near home.
Posted 1/6/2016 7:56 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, a cool dude he is! :)

Thank each and every one of you so much. You are true warriors. I am on this board for him, but I have come to admire and learn from so many of you, and truly enjoy the company. I will print this out and show him.

Dan, I didn´t update the signature, but he stopped his second HT cycle in May 2015, so he is half-year into his second off-phase. We were pleased he reacted well to his second cycle of HT. His T though seems low and slow to recover last time, and this time around. Stay safe there in So. Cal.

Thank you!

Post Edited (SpecialLady) : 1/6/2016 4:04:18 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/6/2016 8:06 PM (GMT 0)
CaliJR, you will. My dad says modestly "I am not worried, I have outlived many" but we all know that even at that age, if one is fit, one doesn´t volunteer to leave this world. My dad has outlived his mother in age already, and this is the future trend, thanks to modern medicine.
Posted 1/6/2016 8:41 PM (GMT 0)
What a lovely tribute - he is so lucky to have you for a daughter.

I'm a writer too, so I'm curious about his books. Is this in Croatian? Memoirs?

- Allen
Posted 1/6/2016 10:43 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Allen, yes it is. Dad has nearly perfect memory, and has remembered in much detail many elders´stories from his village, some about the two world wars, some about life in general. The cool thing is that no one has ever written about the village or its inhabitants before. If they only had known their names and stories would have seen the light of day 50 yrs later....Hope November (was it?) was a productive month for you!
Posted 1/6/2016 11:56 PM (GMT 0)
Has he checked to see if there was a Yizkor Buch written about the village? After the Holocaust, the Jewish survivors got together to write down what they could recall of the villages, mostly Jews but also gentiles. They usually included the village's founding and history, often with names and details going back to the 19th century. If his village had a sizeable Jewish presence, there might be a book written about it.

You can check this list of Jewish communities in the former Yugoslavia to see if his village is there:
www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/pinkas_yugoslavia/pinkas_yugoslavia.html

If it's listed there, there might be a translation of the book into English available through the NY Public Library. At first glance, I only see one community with a book in Croatia - Čakovec.

- Allen
Posted 1/7/2016 12:14 AM (GMT 0)
A very happy birthday to a man who has been blessed with an amazing daughter! We wish him many, many more!!!

Suz & Steve
Posted 1/7/2016 2:07 AM (GMT 0)
What a great post. Happy Birthday Dad!!🎂

He's a lucky man to have a daughter speak of him that way. He sure did do something right!
Posted 1/7/2016 2:36 AM (GMT 0)
Tell him Happy Birthday for me...congrats on both accounts. He is a special dad and you are a special lady.

Thanks for everything over the years.
Posted 1/7/2016 6:46 AM (GMT 0)
Happy Birthday to your wonderful father and Happy New year to both of you as well. Wishing you and him many more! Your Dad sounds a a lot like my DH. We may hate this disease, but garner a true gratitude for life and those we love. Please let us know when book is published. I would love to read it. What is the title of it??
Beth n Gary :-)
Posted 1/7/2016 10:48 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you all so much, Jim, Jerry, Beth, Andrew, JPenn, Suz, your words are much appreciated!

Allen, his village is not on there, and it didn´t have a Jewish population, it was mostly Serbian. But my hometown is on. And I do remember some years ago looking for my granduncle (mother´s side) name, who died in WW2. I remember picking up this booklet and searching the names and being absolutely astonished to see how many Jewish names were on there. Had no idea my otherwise ethnically-mixed, medium-size hometown had so many Jews before WW2. There were victims of all ethnicities, my granduncle as well, but the ratio of Jewish names to others was overwhelming. Thank you for the interesting link.
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