FlyerTalk Forums - Condolences to SkiAdcock

Thank you all so much. Your support and caring means so much to me. missydarlin is visiting me & brought the spa certificate & $$ for expenses. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Yesterday we sorted out one of the rooms in my sister's home, and in a box was all the postcards Cheryl received from FT "Operation Postcard". She kept them all. Then missy & I took the golden retrievers on a drive up to Diablo Lake, stopping along the way for multiple photo ops. We also walked the goldens & threw the ball a gazillion times. Last night we were going to watch a dvd, but it turns out when the living room furniture was returned (after they took the hospital bed out etc), they forgot the cable hooking tv to dvd player & I won't be able to get it until tomorrow. So we huddled close around the laptop to watch one instead. Probably appropriate given I'm also on 14K dial-up at my sister's place, so not on email much or FT at all.

But I did want to come on & say thank you & also share with you what I sent to family & friends.

"After a courageous, year-long battle with breast cancer, my wonderful sister Cheryl passed away at 10:20pm on Monday, April 6th, at her home in the middle of a beautiful national park surrounded by myself, a few close family members, a few very close friends, and her beloved golden retrievers, Katie & Clancy.

We truly thought she could beat this disease and even when we learned recently that it had spread to her liver, her thought was 'bring it on'. She was determined to beat it. To help her in her efforts, as some of you know, I was going to give up my apt, put my stuff into storage, and relocate temporarily to Washington State for the next several months to help her in her efforts and just work out of her place.

Alas, the day I gave notice I received a call saying to come to Washington immediately, as her liver was failing rapidly. I arrived on Wed, and on Thursday we took her home via ambulance to her home in the park, as she wanted to be at home surrounded by the beautiful mountains and have her dogs by her side. A few close family members and friends were able to make it, and we were with her throughout. A number of friends and fellow park rangers also visited over the weekend to see her. When she passed it was upsetting (understatement of the century), but she looked at peace & we were glad she was out of pain. I was with her in the living room for a while with Cheryl, but the others went into the kitchen, opened up a bottle of wine, & each told their 'favorite' Cheryl story. Based on the raucous laughter coming from the kitchen, I knew that she & they had so much fun while they were together. It was a nice farewell toast to a wonderful person.

As many of you know, our parents passed away several years ago & it was just my sister and I. She was the absolute light of my life, and a wonderful, warm, funny, generous human being. I am in awe and proud of how she handled this disease - the determination to beat it, the research into understanding it all (even on 14K dial-up!), the strength and stamina it took to drive 6hours in a day & do it weekly for almost a year for the treatments in Seattle, the handling of the side effects, the positive approach. I can only hope that I would show the same strength and capability that she did. As her big sister, I wish she had asked for more help as it was very difficult to do all that on her own, but she was very independent and very private. She did it her own way.

For those who have asked re: flowers, etc. If you so wish, please donate to your local breast cancer organization or your local golden retriever rescue organization. I know Cheryl would prefer that rather than flowers."

Again, thank you all so much for your support.