Hi, Bob!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

BA>  Having spent a couple of 3 day stays in a hospital bed,
BA>  wired to the wall, I don't recommend it for extended periods.
BA>  There's a difference between living and existing.


          Uh-huh.  Just after Nora's stroke we heard news reports about a
plane catching fire east of Newfoundland... and one woman (who was not
involved) said she'd been praying that there would be survivors.  I guess
she didn't know what condition a person might be in after being seriously
burned and/or being dumped into the North Atlantic!  I felt relieved that
there *weren't* any survivors.

          Dr. Siegel is an oncologist, and his remarks are made from a
somewhat different perspective.  I can relate to what he's saying as well. 
A person who feels s/he still has something to live for is more likely to
survive cancer, or any other potentially fatal condition, than average. 
It's not just a matter of taking pride in having beaten the odds and/or
outlived one's contemporaries.  I feel sad for those who say they've
nothing to look forward to once they retire, for example... not so much
because they enjoy their work but because they don't know how else to fill
their days... and die shortly afterwards.  I feel sad for those who die
sooner than they wanted to because others give up on them.  OTOH, there are
also people who hang onto life because they're fearful of death.  One of
our previous correspondents here had met people like that.  When Nora was
in treatment for leukemia Dallas & I often reminded her of the big
wonderful world outside the hospital.  We'd stop at a nearby park to feed
the ducks after every appointment because so many other things were off
limits to her then.  And now, umpteen years later, she is alive &
kicking whereas many others aren't....  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+