Alex Trebek has pancreatic cancer

We are having a tough time in our family lately. We lost one of our 2 nieces last month from pancreatic cancer. She was 61 and very active in her business and personal life. At present, our wonderful DIL is suffering from the same illness and she is only 55, is an RN and aware of the expected result of this illness. She and our son have 6 children, the youngest suffering from Downs Syndrome. he is 14 now but not high functioning which is an added burden for them. Fortunately, 2 of their kids are married, have children of their own and have settled in the same community as their parents so there is family help available.

I thought that by our age (mid 80's) the kids would be caring for us but we find ourselves making the 100 mile drive to their home and staying for a few days to provide some help and comfort. Our DIL is especially close with my wife and has usually called 2 or 3 times a week to chat, even before her illness. All three of our girls have been down to visit and stay over to help out. They always have called her their 4th sister and include her in their annual "sister's week-end".

Sad times here but others (some in this group) have gone through similar situations. Just a part of life.
 
Not at all what most of us envision for our 80's. Your family does seem to have a lot of love and emotional support, which at least has to be a help.
 
win231 said:
I hope he recovers, too. But for reasons unknown to me, with celebrities, they always report favorable improvements regardless of how bad things are. They did that with Patrick Swayze & Michael Landon & several other celebrities.
You may recall Christopher Reeve being paraded around, talking about some miracle protein they've identified that regenerates damaged nerves. Yeah....every other person in his condition has never walked, but HE is "special" & he will walk again.
My take on it: Celebrities are used to encourage funding/donations.
Click to expand...

Or maybe they don't feel obligated to provide detailed press releases of their declines to the general public, so they try to put as positive a spin on their battle as possible. They may even be doing so to encourage along others who may have some success on the same journey.
 
DaveA said:
We are having a tough time in our family lately. We lost one of our 2 nieces last month from pancreatic cancer. She was 61 and very active in her business and personal life. At present, our wonderful DIL is suffering from the same illness and she is only 55, is an RN and aware of the expected result of this illness. She and our son have 6 children, the youngest suffering from Downs Syndrome. he is 14 now but not high functioning which is an added burden for them. Fortunately, 2 of their kids are married, have children of their own and have settled in the same community as their parents so there is family help available.

I thought that by our age (mid 80's) the kids would be caring for us but we find ourselves making the 100 mile drive to their home and staying for a few days to provide some help and comfort. Our DIL is especially close with my wife and has usually called 2 or 3 times a week to chat, even before her illness. All three of our girls have been down to visit and stay over to help out. They always have called her their 4th sister and include her in their annual "sister's week-end".

Sad times here but others (some in this group) have gone through similar situations. Just a part of life.
Click to expand...
Oh Dave, I don't normally like to look at illness posts but I just saw yours. I'm so very sorry for all these illnesses. Thank God your family is tight. Blessing to you all!

Olha-Darchuk-Bouquet-of-roses.jpg
 
Dave, I somehow missed your post when I looked at this thread a few days. Please accept my sympathies for the extraordinary pain your family has been dealing with. I hope you find some small measure comfort in knowing how blessed your family is to be so beloved and supported by one another.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top