Thoughts on a friend...

As many of you know my friend Robert Feuille was diagnosed with testicular cancer a few months back and promptly rushed into surgery and then into treatment, narrowly escaping with his life. Unfortunately the treatment was not enough to kill the disease and he is currently undergoing hi-dose chemotherapy treatment in Indianapolis. The treatment has been paired with a stem cell transplant which is essentially a method of keeping him alive after the grueling chemo treatment. Complicating the situation, his wife Aimee has been pregnant through the entire process with their third child and first son, Egan Triumph. Because of possible radiation issues Aimee was unable to be with Robert through most of his initial treatment and more recently has not been able to travel to Indianapolis with him because she was too pregnant. Robert has also been unable to enjoy the company of his two little girls Ethne and Emeline, out of fear of exposing them to any radiation, so the girls were sent to live with their grandparents in El Paso as Robert battles the disease.

Robert has taken on the task of documenting his treatment and fight via a video blog, which he updates almost daily. Seeing Robert in front of the camera day in and day out is both inspiring and heartbreaking. The most recent video (day +! (and egan?)) is especially moving, even for somebody as generally emotionally unshakable as myself. I made the grave mistake of watching the video at work and in turn was forced to crowd myself into the corner and hide my tears from my fellow design nerds. If anybody asks about the incident I will probably just tell them I was listening to some Kenny G and got a little worked up.

That video was what lead me to writing this and sending it around. Upon listening to Robert’s words I realized that it would be selfish of me not to share his journey with my friends, family and anyone who would benefit from the astounding example that Robert is. As you watch the video I would encourage you to contemplate that before you is a man who has been given a 20% chance to live, he hasn’t seen his wife or children in weeks, he wasn’t able to be there for the birth of his son, he is quarantined to a hospital room in a strange city halfway across the country from his home and yet despite all of this, with his body broken by chemotherapy and nausea swirling in his stomach, he is full of nothing but admiration for his fellow man and gratitude to God for blessing him with a new son. It comes as a stark contrast to how most of us live our lives, seemingly jaded by the world and throwing a perpetual hissy fit about not being the center of the universe as we know it. While facing death Robert has trumped most of us in the art of living and I think its worth all of us taking note of.

With that I will end my session of thinking out loud (or as I’m typing anyway) and ask you to pray for Robert and his family, if your not the praying type please just send good vibes his way (not quite sure how that is done but I’m sure there is some sort of dance that can be done in order to do so).

http://robertfuel.com/fight/

Thanks,
Jon Ashcroft