Saying goodbye - final blogpost

We've been getting lovely notes from all over with stories of how Lynn touched lives. Special thanks to all of you who communicated with the family during these last few weeks.

Things are settling down....Thanksgiving holiday was different.  I think I've only been away from Lynn on Thanksgiving twice since we started dating many years ago. Jono and I made the best of the day, driving down to Silverton in the morning to see the Oregon Gardens, and joining friends Beth and Greg for a great potluck dinner. The foodie ethic of Portland means that all dishes are guaranteed to be super tasty, and artfully labelled for  every possible dietary restriction. Special kudos to Olive who can make anything out of balloons.

Deborah, Jess & Nicole, Jono, and Dana & Meghan, along with Deborah's mom and brother Dave and Lynn's siblings Jay, Fred and Marta will all be in Austin for a memorial celebration of Lynn's life next Saturday December 6 at 10 am at the Whisenhunt Stage at Zach Theatre. If you are planning to attend, note that this is the small theatre in the round at the Zach complex.... Park on Toomey Road or in the lot on Toomey Road just west of Lamar and come in through the door facing Toomey Road.

Lynn tried very hard to retell a few riffs from a comedy monologue the last week of his life when friends would visit. Impossible to understand the routine since Lynn was laughing so much. Here's the script for Bob Newhart's "Driving Instructor"  for those who were curious, particularly if you laughed along with Lynn despite having no idea what the jokes really were.

This photo that we used in the Austin obituary is from when Lynn visited me in Prague a few summers back. It is one of my favorite images of Lynn - relaxed, surrounded by beauty and history, slightly skeptical gaze, with a lot of love and wisdom behind those eyes. And a blue sky and long view.

He lived a full life and we are all enriched from his connections to each of us.

So long

Our last post was so upbeat...this one has sad news. Lynn passed away Thursday morning. Deborah was there with our hospice nurse and our Visiting Angel care giver, who made sure Lynn was comfortable in his final moments. Jono arrived at the apartment an hour or so later, after picking up Nicole from San Diego. The three of us began to call friends and family. Dana, Meghan and Jess arrived later Thursday night. Lynn was diagnosed with lung cancer in July, 2013 - and managed through the disease with grace, wit, and an ongoing concern for those around him. He had a few things he wanted to complete before his death - attending the two weddings, seeing Glacier National Park, and, if things went his way, to outlive his father, which he did.

Today, Friday, we have been completing calls, settling affairs, sending back medical equipment, returning the apartment to a more normal layout, and exploring next steps. Been grateful to friends and colleagues who have called and sent notes of love and care.

Lynn told his friend Becky Beaver on Monday how grateful he was for the past three years of being retired - enjoying bicycling, family, and the Pacific Northwest. His friends have sent thoughtful words of care and memories of Lynn's large impact on the lives of so many.

Jono will host an open house for Portland area friends and family on Monday Nov 3 4-6 pm at his home at 1204 SE 30th, Portland. Deborah will fly down to Austin on Wednesday Nov 5th. We're organizing a small informal gathering for close friends at Christy Moore's home on Sunday Nov 9th 3-5 pm at 1605 Woodlawn Blvd, Austin.

A memorial celebration will be held at 10 am Saturday December 6th 2014 at the Whisenhunt Stage art Zach Theatre in Austin.  As per our family tradition, Lynn's ashes will be scattered near Lake Ninevah in southern Vermont.

In lieu of flowers, you may send a donation in Lynn's name to one of his favorite causes - Doctors without Borders or Amnesty International.

Thanks to all of you for helping our whole family through this journey.

New routines

We're settling into new routines, as Lynn shows his characteristic force of will and continues to be aware, awake and alive. Son Jono spends a few nights here each week and has been indispensible bringing good cheer, helping hand and energy every day; daughter Dana joins us with Meghan on the weekends, and Jess and his bride Nicole will come up from San Diego in the next few days.....they are in and out every few weeks now. The Hospice team sends a nurse 2-3/times a week to evaluate Lynn's health, and provides lots of attention, supplies, advice and help. Other Hospice visitors are also terrific - providing bathing, social work, and respite times so family can take a break (last week we were able to leave Lynn on a friday night while we went to Jono's band concert - and brought back a video to play for Lynn).

We have great support from Visiting Angels so that Deborah can manage the day to day of keeping Lynn comfortable and also get time for her to be out and about.  We have fewer visitors as Lynn seeks more quiet - but he continues to enjoy having us read emails and share internet photos and jokes. We're in search of a few magic remedies so Lynn can get his voice back, otherwise just settling in to this journey which seems to have its own timeline and pathways.

Halloween is around the corner -  here's Lynn's trick from last year. He'll likely be Spiderman this year!

Transition times

Quoting from a note Lynn sent last night to a group of friends and family:

"I am transitioning to a new phase in my illness. I'm very tired and it's hard to get around. I've moved my base of operations to the living room where we have set up an electric bed to replace the electric chair. We also replaced the rickety wheelchair after a fall and now have a larger reclining wheelchair to test out. Paul, Cicily, Meghan, Dana and Jono will be here this weekend. It means a lot to know that you've called, but sometimes it gets overwhelming. Right now it may be more helpful to send an email. Deborah will read them out to me and I'll respond when I can. Much love, Lynn"

 Despite this very serious change in circumstances, Lynn continues to excercise his impish self. Last week he was totally into spiderman. He and Corey, the Visiting Angel ( a group that's been incredibly helpful providing staff at home to help me) took the light rail to get a spiderman outfit. Here's a photo of him with his mask and with Meghan and Dana.

  And he still is insistent that we water the roses on our apartment balcony every day.

Wedding Belles

We had a grand time celebrating Dana's wedding to Meghan LeFrancois Hanson last weekend. Three days of partying - and Lynn was in great form! The wedding itself was at a community center overlooking the Puget Sound and Whidbey Island's ferry - perfect weather and a cast of 150 - friends, family, and many kids who had grown up with Dana and/or Meghan as nannies or teachers. The festivities included beach balls, twirling, a Charlie Brown flash mob dance, home brewed beer,  lovely music,  cupcakes of all kinds, and some very special glass plates - gifts from Meghan's parents to all the wedding guests.Official photographs come later but here are a few uploads.

Lynn came home and slept for 4 days! Definitely happy to have been part of this special occasion, and especially pleased that so many family members from all sides were in attendance.

So what's next for us? Upcoming visits from Lynn's Austin friends - Craig Davis, Cicily Sims, Paul Balmouth, and Becky Beaver....into November. We've been sent lots of movies to tickle the funny bone  - some more my style and some more Lynn's. We're reading The Moth podcasts outloud. And we're figuring out how to manage as Lynn becomes weaker and has increasing difficulty getting up and down.

We've signed on to Legacy Hospice - will meet with their team October 1st. Hospice provides home-based care for people with terminal medical conditions. They also have a facility that can be used if necessary. Their work is about controlling symptoms and providing comfort, not about curing.

So, we enter a new phase in this journey. 

Monty Python keeps us laughing

Yesterday was the follow up with my oncology doctor after a CT scan earlier in the week. The scan shows new growths, but we are waiting to hear back from the doctor on whether this means the chemotherapy is still working and how to proceed. The doctor and staff all expressed admiration that I have made it this far - the official diagnosis is to have fun at the wedding this weekend and take lots of pictures. In my opinion, what has helped me get to this day has been humor in how I approach the day, what I listen to, and how often I laugh. My son, Jess, who came to visit three times in August, got me listening to comedy radio programming and we started watching comedies, including the Marx Brothers films.
After my son, Jono, returned from his climbing trip in the Northwest Territories of Canada, he washed his clothes and put on a collared shirt for our trip to Ashland with my brother Fred. Ashland sits at the bottom of I-5, almost on the California border, 4-hrs from here, which has one of the only 9-months long artistic residencies in the US. We rented an oversized Model Ford while Deborah's car was being fixed, which was a boon to our trip, allowing us to carry the wheelchair, baggage and a few grown men without any problems.

The Tempest was great, as was the wonderful sequel to Robert Schenkkan play, "The Great Society" (Robert's nephew, Ben McKenzie is starring in a new show "Gotham" starting on Fox this weekend). I was in stitches during the performance of Cocoanuts, enacted by some great Marx brothers imitators, including some great slapstick and improvised comedy.

Picture from the performance of Cocoanuts

I've had a good number of visitors since our trip to Ashland, including my brother, Jay, my cousin, Brad, and my brother-in-law, Gordon. My friend Garth Corbett is coming at the end of the month and Craig Davis, from Austin, will be here the first few days of October - people continue to visit and I welcome them.
I continue to find humor to be a good addition to my days. We found the Monty Python films another excuse to laugh, and I watched three of them with Jay.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Jono made me suffer through "Point Break," his favorite film of the summer and I don't want to insult Keanu Reeves because he is a federal agent, but the guy cannot act his way out of a paper bag.
The focus now is on the wedding this weekend where our daughter, Dana, is marrying her great partner Meghan.

Jono, Jess and Dana at Jess' wedding in May

I'm looking forward to the wedding and seeing all of my siblings and in-laws. It's pretty amazing how many people are coming together for this event.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Yesterday I went  with Deborah and Austin friend Christy Moore to see "Guardians of the Galaxy" to enjoy a distraction from the mountains, waterfalls, cancer care,  and Pearl District lifestyle.  Very odd set of heroes have  come together to save the galaxy - each has its unique look and manner. Lots of great special effects and odd machines!

Guardians of the Galaxy movie heroes

Using more and more technology in my life to get around reminds me of what a sacrifice it would be to give up a prosthetic limb, especially for the amusement of a raccoon genius (if you haven't seen Guardians of the Galaxy, you won't understand this reference. However if you do go to see this movie, go late because the number of previews overwhelms what is pretty much a very silly movie). One of the recurring gags is about not understanding metaphors ("Nothing goes over my head because my reflexes are too fast")...making for a running theme the rest of the evening. The music was inspirational - note Christy and Lynn dancing to Michael Jackson inspired by the "mix tape" featured in the movie.

Lynn and Christy Moore dancing to Michael Jackson

I continue to be blessed by visitors from all parts of the galaxy, especially Austin. People from all over, including friends from my local bike club, are taking me out and visiting. I enjoyed the bike club picnic recently, where Deborah's brother David and I won raffle prizes.  Friends are giving me strength,  humor and optimism, and provide respite for Deborah who can go off to work, to run, to shop, and to take off for events out of town. Was able to get friends wet on a boat ride on the Willamette River.

Portland summer weather is perfect, albeit a bit dry - firefighters are fanning out around the state.
Second round of chemo last week -so fatigue has set in for a while. But with the walker, the wheelchair, a prosthetic to help me hold things and good friends and family, I am managing to do most everything I need to (except handwriting!).

Scene from OSF The Tempest

Next chemo is Aug 28th. We are off to see Shakespeare and Schenkkan before that - attending 3 plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with Deborah, Jono and brother Fred.

One play will be "The Tempest" - what can it tell us about life?

Next stop, daughter Dana's wedding north of Seattle Sept 21st with all her aunts and uncles (plus Grandma Joyce) scheduled to appear !

How platelets are formed

Back from a terrific vacation at Glacier National Park. We stayed in a handicapped accessible cabin in the woods just outside of Whitefish Montana, with Lynn's Aden cousins (Tom and Donna, Mel and Betsy, Marilyn). This hardy group of adventurers had been with us in Alaska for the occasion of Deborah and Lynn's 35th anniversary and they were on hand to celebrate our 40th with the Glacier Park tour.

We drove into the park three days running, took a tour with the Red Buses (got a van with a lift instead of the classic Ford busses), and enjoyed seeing a bear and a few goats.

The last night, when the Adens had gone back to CA and Chicago, Lynn and Deborah spent the night in the very Tyrolean Many Glaciers Lodge in the national park - enjoying stars from our balcony and a great sense of being part of history in this 100-year old lodge.

Plans were to return to Portland with a day of rest and then resume chemo treatments. But once again, the lab work said Lynn didn't have the right platelet counts to be confident that the chemo treatment would be successful. We were psyched for this round of chemo - timing all this treatment to maximize strength and endurance for some fun family occasions. Instead, we're doing what we can to increase platelet counts and enjoying company of friends and family. Lynn's ability to laugh has been enhanced by all this it seems. He and niece Alexay are watching Airplane, and from what I can tell there's something funny every 15 seconds!

click here for a 8 minute Silly Platelet Video (1 of 3)

Getting ready for Glacier National Park

Been a busy time between getting out of the hospital and getting ready for our trip to Glacier National Park. Lots of home health care activity - new transport wheelchair, fancy new lift chair, o.t. and p.t. and some other "t"'s we actually haven't yet deciphered. In between all these medical experiences we've had lots of terrific visits with friends and family.

Lynn's NYC sister Marta Cooper and her husband Gordon came in this week, occasioning visits from other family including Seattle sister Elizabeth (with Melinda and Aden), and Sausalito cousin Tom Aden (with Donna). Good meals on our deck, walks around our neighborhood, and talks about everything family. The family visit overlapped with a visit from Lynn's great friends Dave and Diana Phillips  who whisked us off to a loop tour of the Columbia River - spending time at   Mt. Hood's Timberline Lodge  (still skiing and snowboarding, despite warm weather) and watching the kite surfing in the Gorge.

We're organizing our anniversary trip to Glacier National Park that begins this Friday. Tom and Donna will meet us up there-  as will cousin Mel and his wife Betsy, and oldest Aden sister Marilyn.
Tom and Donna are staying in a tipi (not their usual kind of travel), and the rest of us are in a cabin.

We're all at a resort just outside the park, with plans to drive beautiful roads and see as much as we can of the park. Lynn's doctor encouraged the trip - but we changed from train to plane (because of the announced  average 4-6 hour train delays).

What have we learned recently that's worth sharing with readers? Lots about adaptive technology - there seems to be something mechanical to address many of the inconveniences of disease. Here's a photo of Lynn's adaptive hand gadget - makes it possible to stay right handed for eating and other activities.

And lots about family and friends - they are great comfort, distraction, compassion, and help!

Vampire Weekend

The first week of July is typically quiet and predictable. Fourth of July festivities, Deborah's birthday, nice weather, a few turns cooking outdoors.

This year there were a few extra fireworks..

Lynn's been taking some medication to keep blood clots at bay that was making it hard to stop bleeding in general. He spent two nights in the Emergency Room under observation, getting blood transfusions that seemed to just vanish from his lab results. No vampires in sight, but do you ever really know?


During a fun weekend with Lynn back at home with Jono, Dana and Meghan tested out the rooftop grill in our apartment.

Deborah's mother Joyce joined the West Coast crew, and took Deborah on an overnight birthday adventure to Skamania Lodge, a spa/golf resort in the Columbia Gorge just over the Washington State border past Bridge of the Gods..




Lynn's blood count continued to drop, so he was admitted to the OHSU hospital to figure out what was going on. The team determined that it was best to replace the blood clot medication with a mechanical device to keep blood clots from traveling and installed a small filter in a vein to do the trick. Lynn got terrific care at the OHSU Kohler Pavilion - especially enjoying the fancy hoist that keep moving him around. To the delight/embarassment of his nursing staff, he would sing a few refrains from Peter's Pan's "I'm Flying".

In case you forgot this memorable baby boomer musical, here's a link to Mary Martin's performance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EecrNTxaUy0

(think Lynn actually prefers the Cathy Rigby version)




Giving Joyce a tour of OHSU helps us appreciate the care and surroundings there. Things that stood out: --the view of Mount Hood from the hospital room

-- mouth watering descriptions of meals on the daily menus
-- inspiring artwork everywhere
-- an air bed...with extensions (extremely nice for a 6'1" patient!)
-- direct access to real time test results so we could stay on top of information
-- free coffee for visitors over age 60 at all the hospital cafes

Taking care of Lynn was not quite as colorful as the photo below, but I liked the imagery!

Settling in

Thanks to friends and family our apartment is beginning to look like us. We've figured out where to put most of the things that are important to us - including an array of photos of family and travels - and we're almost at the point where we can find things within one or two tries.

The Pearl is a great place to explore -each day we find a new store or restaurant that delights. And many of the restaurants/bars are opening at 9 am to show World Cup soccer, giving us a different view of neighbors.

Lynn continues to have adventures related to his health and treatment - we had to put off the second round of chemo because of blood levels but hope to get that in this Thursday. The radiation seemed to have helped alot with pain, providing a nice respite from round the clock drugs and winces. Moving into palliative care from aggressive cancer fighting is a bit strange. We're still battling this cancer-and hope that the radiation and chemo shrink the tumors to extend Lynn's life and make the quality of life better.  But it's an odd feeling, to know that there's a limit to what can be done.

Lynn's calendar has filled with visits from friends and family.  His friend Bob Luther came by last week and helped him get a new hat. My friend Katherine Klein did some redecorating/rearranging of our new apartment when she came in for an overnight trip.

And Jess and Nicole spent a week testing out the guest room, and getting in the midst of managing some of the treatment stuff.  They were instrumental in Lynn's successful quest to start a rose garden on our balcony.

That excursion had some fun ripple effects. In order to get shards for the bottom of the rose planters, they wrote the word "Cancer" on an old clay pot, and took turns with a hammer to "smash cancer". Very rewarding!

Grandma Joyce comes in next week for Deborah's birthday, straight from her cross-Canada train tour. She and Deborah will take off for an overnight to a spa/hotel in the mountains while Dana and Meghan hang with Lynn.

Keep those good thoughts and cards coming!

We've moved...

(written by Lynn and his sister Elizabeth who was in town and acting as secretary)...

Lynn and Deborah are waking up downtown in their new apartment, with views of the Pearl District and Mount Hood from their balcony. No more steps for Lynn, just an elevator that leads to a rooftop outdoor lounge with a fireplace and hot tub.

NYC brother Jay spent a week packing, moving and hanging pictures. Sister Elizabeth from Seattle came through to help with unpacking. Lynn invited both to experience laughter yoga - good time had by all!

Lots of folks are coming to visit. Lynn's next trip out of town is to Glacier National Park, which he and Deborah will reach by 14-hour train ride at the end of July. Berkeley cousins Mel and Betsy  and Manhattan sister Marta and brother-in-law Gordon will join them at the park. They will fly home with Marta and Gordon stopping over in Portland.

Chemo will continue to be part of the regime every three weeks. In between there's time to explore the new neighborhood- The Pearl District. Teenage Seattle nephew Aden is happy to find the new apartment is walking distance from Little Big Burger and Ben & Jerry's. We are near restaurants, galleries, and Powell's Bookstore, recently endorsed Stephen-Colbert as an alternative to Amazon.

Lynn is optimistic about his doctors and he wakes up happy every day. Keep sending good thoughts his way.

New address:
925 NW Hoyt St Apt 532
Portland, OR 92709
Home Phone: (503) 265-8099

Laughing yoga

Lynn just finished a round of radiation and will have chemo tomorrow...The radiation is meant to shrink tumors that are causing the pain in his leg and the weakness in his arm. The chemo is meant to battle those cancer cells so they start a retreat. This round of treatment is way more exhausting and we've been grateful for friends and family who have been coming by to help, to distract, to provide rides to doctors appointments, to share good meals. Lynn's arm is not regaining its strength very fast - he's now way more sympathetic with how son Jono fared during the time he was enduring recovery from a broken collarbone this winter. Hard to do the basic things like handwriting, polite dining etiquette, etc. But this doesn't stop Lynn from enjoying the world around him!

Lynn's friend Greg has taken him out on a pedicab ride around SE Portland.

Our neighbors got us to finally attend the Laughter Yoga class we've been hearing every Sunday since we lived in SE Portland. Turns out Laughter Yoga is a big deal and there are many places here in good old PDX where you can spend an hour laughing. Doing it spitting distance from our house - in a beautiful garden  with about 17 people is not a bad way to spend an hour Sunday afternoon.


Our class lived up to the hype - great fun, lots of giggles, silly excercises and good energy.

We had some great company this week - Lynn's sister Elizabeth and her son Aden and wife Melinda took Lynn and his brother Fred to their house near the beach in Lincoln City for a weekend adventure.  Fred even got to the Laughing Yoga class!

We've got friends and family on the way to help us pack and move from our fun but now challenging 3-story townhouse in SE Portland to an equally Portlandia location - an apartment in the Pearl District downtown - known for more trendy,upscale stores, the Pacific Northwest College of Art, EcoTrust NW, some of our favorite restaurants, blocks from the shuttle bus to Mount Hood Meadows ski area, and a view of Mount Hood from our 5th floor balcony. (And luckily a Ben and Jerry's just a block away so our nephew Aden will be happy).  New address as of June 15th will be  925 NW Hoyt Street Apt 532  Portland 97209.

Unexpected bend in the road ahead

The past few months have been a time of dealing with the aftermath pains of all this treatment, and it's not been the easiest of times. We've been introduced to a whole new group of doctors eager to figure out what the causes are of Lynn's leg pain, back pain and arm/hand problems. We've gotten new fancy braces and tools to help with Lynn's hand. Pain slows everything down, and pain medications wreak a bit of havoc albeit bring the level of pain below intolerable. However Lynn has been powering through - went to a wedding in Austin and then was the father of the groom when Jess got married to Nicole in Palm Springs a few weekends ago.

This week was the 6-month check in with the cancer docs. Not good news. The cancer is back and is the reason for all this additional pain and fatigue. It's been traveling around and settling in all the wrong locations. The team has now moved into next stage treatment: likely radiology on a tumor in the leg and chemo every three weeks to keep the cancer at bay. Great doctors. Rough news. We're recalibrating our summer plans and adding lots more medical appointments onto the schedule. Lynn's brothers and sisters, many of whom were on hand for Jess' wedding, are coming in to hang out as we travel this next road.

We're moving to an apartment without stairs to climb, near the art museum downtown. The new goal is quality of life.  We have some good things to look forward to this summer and fall and hope to see some of you in the days and months ahead.

Aftermath - when all the treatment stuff settles

When all the chemo and radiation and surgery is behind us, what's left turns out to be a bit more complex than just having regular check ups. Incidentally, Lynn had his first 3-month check up last week and things look good in those lungs!

But in other parts of the system, Lynn's having to fire on all cylinders to get the body back in running order.
First - getting his breath back. The docs say that will take about 3-6 months. Walking helps, and Lynn's been terrific at getting a mile walk in regularly.



Second is getting his muscles back to strength. Going from months of inactivity and the assault (chemo and radiation) on body tissues does not make for a long distance bicyclist. Lynn's been left with alot of back pain, leg pain and weakness in his right arm and hand. And no one is quite sure yet why some of this pain has settled in....so they sent us off to the OHSU Pain Clinic last week to try to get some answers. Thorough doctors there! They had Lynn turn this way and that;  walk heel to toe, on his toes, on his heels, and then jabbed in odd places with safety pins and other handy implements. The  team determined that a next step would be some different pain medications and a procedure to disentangle a nerve and muscle from the pelvis that may be creating this leg pain - a kind of sciatica. And they ordered another few tests and a referral to another few specialists.

We're hopeful the new drugs and the procedure will alleviate the pain and allow for more recovery of muscle strength. Despite all these challenges, Lynn's still helping with the AARP tax preparation and squiring Deborah to arts events and work appointments. We're looking forward to a visit next week from Fabio Kuettel, the Swiss exchange student who lived with us for his senior year at Austin High. And we're excited about attending a wedding in Austin in early April. Emily Butler is marrying Griff Bell at the Zilker Clubhouse, providing us a great excuse to see old haunts and good friends.

Joyce Edward (Deborah's Mom), Lynn, and Swiss exchange student Fabio Kuettel at Lynn's 60th Birthday....That's Gordon Cooper, Marta's husband, in the background.

Jess and Nicole's wedding is also around the corner in April....a small event in Palm Springs, where Nicole's family lives. We'll travel there and stay an extra few days to explore Joshua Tree National Park.

Happy St. Paddy's Day, and top o' the morning to you!