Posted April 23, 2008
Dear friends and family,
It's been a while since I wrote with news of Danny. It sometimes feels like we're all still recovering from the stomach cramps, sweats and seizures of January and February that left Danny with decreased weight, flexibility and motor skills, all of which he's slowly getting back.
Thankfully, it's clear he never lost his fortitude. (I just wondered what "fortitude" actually means- So I looked it up, and found the definition: "Strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage." The perfect adjective for Danny.)
In the last few months there've been days at a time when Danny was too tired to focus on tasks, or his limbs were so clenched it was hard to touch answers to our questions.
There were other days however when we'd see flashes of the nimble skills that were abundant back in December. Like when we got him to fill out an NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket. In two days we cajoled predictions for the winners of 63 games, writing down each pairing and having him touch his choice. He did pretty well, calling several upsets and correctly picking the final four teams, only to go down in flames when UCLA failed to win the championship. (Given our family loyalties, to root for any other result would have been traitorous.)
While I've been much relieved over Danny's improvement, Lynn, as usual, never got down when he was having his troubles. Her buoyant spirits are not dependent on results. Given our many lively and often comical debates on how best to care for Danny, I may regret this concession, but she's got me way beat in stamina, optimism and intuition.
I should also add patience to Lynn's list of superior attributes, as noted in a very sweet poem that Danny's friend Stacey Steinmeier wrote recently about his sessions on the therapy table. She writes of how we stretch his limbs and wait while he painstakingly spells out words on his alphabet board:
THERAPY
Shoulders turning sore and forward
Steady, steady gently downward
Ready, ready for the fall;
A backbone that can't take it all
Up and onward rose a finger
After miles it stops and lingers
On and on past dark and lurking
Muscle masses rough and hurting
Wide and open eyes move leftword
To a letter on the whiteboard
Mind says, "Mr., won't you let me?"
Body says, "You'll have to make me."
She says "hush" and he says, "hurry"
Neither one has time to worry
Over boundaries coos the dove
As Danny gently spells out
LOVE
Danny also inspired a song written by our friend and fellow Meher Baba lover Maraiya who visited last week from Florida and sang for
him in her strong French-Canadian alto. Her song assumes Danny's point of view and is called
YOU WOULD ONLY LOVE:
In my world
I can reach out forever
To the Light surrounding me
Where all shadows surrender
If you could only see, what I see...
In my dream
I am being awakened
My heart always aware
Of what remains unspoken
If you could only hear, what I hear...
In this life
I'm getting closer to the Treasure
It's a mystical dance, a silent romance
Between Beloved and lover
If you could only feel, what I feel
You would only love
"A silent romance" is a wonderful description- Throughout the difficult period of stomach cramps and the slow return of his motor skills, Danny has always managed to reply in the affirmative when asked if he's happy. And he has continued all along to indicate that he feels the constant presence of God's love.
I hope the same divine presence that keeps Danny company is being felt by our dear friend Debra Ashe who is having a rough time in her struggle with throat cancer. And also by Renata Gonzalez, a 27-year- old woman in San Francisco, who has been in a coma since March when she was struck by a hit-and-run driver. Her mother heard about Danny through a friend and wrote to tell me how her family had rallied at Renata's bedside. Please take a moment to send prayers or good thoughts to Debra, Renata and their families.
Meher Baba said "You and I are not we, but one." Danny's adventure has reinforced that notion time and again for us. Thanks, as always, for being one with us.
Love, Jeff
Attached are photos of
1) Danny and Maraiya; 2) Danny and Stacey; 3) Danny, Lynn and I
Dear friends and family,
It's been a while since I wrote with news of Danny. It sometimes feels like we're all still recovering from the stomach cramps, sweats and seizures of January and February that left Danny with decreased weight, flexibility and motor skills, all of which he's slowly getting back.
Thankfully, it's clear he never lost his fortitude. (I just wondered what "fortitude" actually means- So I looked it up, and found the definition: "Strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage." The perfect adjective for Danny.)
In the last few months there've been days at a time when Danny was too tired to focus on tasks, or his limbs were so clenched it was hard to touch answers to our questions.
There were other days however when we'd see flashes of the nimble skills that were abundant back in December. Like when we got him to fill out an NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket. In two days we cajoled predictions for the winners of 63 games, writing down each pairing and having him touch his choice. He did pretty well, calling several upsets and correctly picking the final four teams, only to go down in flames when UCLA failed to win the championship. (Given our family loyalties, to root for any other result would have been traitorous.)
While I've been much relieved over Danny's improvement, Lynn, as usual, never got down when he was having his troubles. Her buoyant spirits are not dependent on results. Given our many lively and often comical debates on how best to care for Danny, I may regret this concession, but she's got me way beat in stamina, optimism and intuition.
I should also add patience to Lynn's list of superior attributes, as noted in a very sweet poem that Danny's friend Stacey Steinmeier wrote recently about his sessions on the therapy table. She writes of how we stretch his limbs and wait while he painstakingly spells out words on his alphabet board:
THERAPY
Shoulders turning sore and forward
Steady, steady gently downward
Ready, ready for the fall;
A backbone that can't take it all
Up and onward rose a finger
After miles it stops and lingers
On and on past dark and lurking
Muscle masses rough and hurting
Wide and open eyes move leftword
To a letter on the whiteboard
Mind says, "Mr., won't you let me?"
Body says, "You'll have to make me."
She says "hush" and he says, "hurry"
Neither one has time to worry
Over boundaries coos the dove
As Danny gently spells out
LOVE
Danny also inspired a song written by our friend and fellow Meher Baba lover Maraiya who visited last week from Florida and sang for
him in her strong French-Canadian alto. Her song assumes Danny's point of view and is called
YOU WOULD ONLY LOVE:
In my world
I can reach out forever
To the Light surrounding me
Where all shadows surrender
If you could only see, what I see...
In my dream
I am being awakened
My heart always aware
Of what remains unspoken
If you could only hear, what I hear...
In this life
I'm getting closer to the Treasure
It's a mystical dance, a silent romance
Between Beloved and lover
If you could only feel, what I feel
You would only love
"A silent romance" is a wonderful description- Throughout the difficult period of stomach cramps and the slow return of his motor skills, Danny has always managed to reply in the affirmative when asked if he's happy. And he has continued all along to indicate that he feels the constant presence of God's love.
I hope the same divine presence that keeps Danny company is being felt by our dear friend Debra Ashe who is having a rough time in her struggle with throat cancer. And also by Renata Gonzalez, a 27-year- old woman in San Francisco, who has been in a coma since March when she was struck by a hit-and-run driver. Her mother heard about Danny through a friend and wrote to tell me how her family had rallied at Renata's bedside. Please take a moment to send prayers or good thoughts to Debra, Renata and their families.
Meher Baba said "You and I are not we, but one." Danny's adventure has reinforced that notion time and again for us. Thanks, as always, for being one with us.
Love, Jeff
Attached are photos of
1) Danny and Maraiya; 2) Danny and Stacey; 3) Danny, Lynn and I
