Feels like an Agatha Christie mystery...

Not exactly the "statues" I had in mind, but in a way
they stand in for that element.

If you ever read "Ten Little Indians" or seen the Agatha Christie Mystery "And Then There Were None..." you may have some idea of how I am feeling today hearing that yet another long-term Multiple Myeloma (MM) has announced his acceptance that no more treatments will be done.

Since I started this blog in 2009 to rant, rave and rail against a disease I knew nothing about at that time, I have watched all those wonderful folks fall like the statues in the mystery. Fortunately the person who inspired my blog writing is still with us and he is managing the consequences of the disease pretty well as we mark the tenth year since his diagnosis.

But Mike Gormley and his wife, Lorna, are the latest victims of MM, a far more murderous element than anything Christie could create. Reading that news late last night, I guess I should not have been surprised to have had dreams about most of the others who have already departed. It was a strange party to attend, not unlike the one on Shelter Island where everyone (unknowingly) has a death sentence awaiting them. We gathered around the table and I had a chance to speak to each one, asking how they were doing, commenting on how long the silence has been, etc.

My favorite was Lonnie Nesseler, a motorcycle rider, pianist, scientist and creative personality, who stepped up and said, "It's a new adventure. You can't really describe it to those who haven't arrived yet." Lonnie had been adventuresome in his treatments, and willing to educate readers as well as his medical team along the journey. But I had a toast with Bob Kirkpatrick, who pointed out that I was now a lot closer to where he used to live, which would suggest that we are not really so distant from the Other Side as we tend to believe.

So let us raise our glasses to them all, let them hear their names called out once more in appreciation for what and who they were to each of us, gone but not forgotten.

Peter Boyle (actor), Sam Walton (WalMart founder), John Ricco (author), Andre (photographer) 2009, Hamada (statesman) 2010, Paula (Multiple Myloma Buddy maker) and Sean Tiernan (photographer) 2012, Lonnie Nesseler (educator) 2010, Robert "Bob" Kirkpatrick (inventor) 2015, and others known to me but not listed here for privacy reasons.

Each one was special to someone, each one served a purpose. I guess the reason for posting this is to honor Mike as he prepares to conclude his business here and to support Lorna as she has little choice as a primary caregiver to go along for the ride.

My dearest wish is that we are able to solve this mystery of MM; to find out what causes the bone marrow cells to start running haywire, to be able to give those with this diagnosis something to hope for, if not a cure at least some way to live with it after treatment.

The setting sun shadows Mt. Rainier in Washington State.

And I end by quoting Ken Kesey, "Loved. You can't use it in the past tense. Death does not stop that love at all."

Grateful for the gift

This flower was chosen for it's color;
the deep maroon is the color that MM
supporters use for fund-raising.

When Multiple Myeloma appeared on the horizon of my life with a relative's announcement about this time in 2009, I could not see farther down the road than the next treatment and certainly with all the news about the current situation at that time it did not seem hopeful.

Now, seven years later, the relative is off all medications and is moving, literally, into a new life.

For the individual, it was the autologous stem cell transplant from a close relation that turned things around. But it was at least two years after the transplant before we were seeing green lights.

All of this is still important because a friend has discovered some seriously flawed information that is making its way into the MM threads.

Please read her post at: http://www.loripuente.com/icer-epic-fail/ and draw your own conclusions.

What is really important is that false information is not allowed to proliferate in a field where hope is so fragile and where successes hold so much promise. Let's make sure this does not become cemented anywhere and used for future data or research.

And meanwhile, I am grateful for the gift of life for my relative, appreciative of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Fred Hutch and UW for all they did and are doing to solve the mystery of MM.