As I have written before, my Uncle Ned is battling brain cancer and my cousins Harris and Stuart are right by his side.
The last conversation I had with Ned he asked me to get Buddha on his side. I'm trying my best.
Wednesday before leaving for school I received bleak email from my cousin Harris explaining that Ned had been making slow progress, but over the weekend things began to slip downhill, and they rushed him to the hospital for an emergency cat-scan.
Doctors noticed a cyst forming in the area where they had removed a tumor two weeks ago. The cyst was causing fluid to build up in Ned's brain and it was hampering his ability to use the left side of his body. They were going to conduct another emergency operation to relieve this pressure.
I went to school Wednesday morning knowing that my Uncle was about to go under the knife again, so I did the only thing I could think of to help him. I talked to my students.
My students listened intently as I played the pop song "Do you Realize?" by the Flaming Lips which discusses the preciousness of life and encourages us to share it with others.
Next I used family photos taken last Christmas to introduce my family members, especially Ned. I told my students Ned was a Boy Scout troop leader, a soccer coach, a sports fan, and a father. I explained that he was currently battling brain cancer and needed all the help he could get.
The Gignilliat family
Ned with brother Charles, my father
The reaction of the students was overwhelming. They expressed sympathy, concern, respect, and most of all love.
Mrs. Keiko Goto, the students home room teacher, and I began passing out paper and the students each began writing 'Get well Soon' cards.
I intend to mail these in the next few days
All the students then went to the black board and wrote positive messages directed at my Uncle Ned.
Last but not least, I took photos with my students in front of the black board, so Ned and my cousins know that my students and I are with them in spirit as they fight this battle.
That evening I emailed a few of the photos along with a short note to Ned, Harris, and Stuart. The following morning when I checked my email Harris had sent a reply.
My prayers had been answered. The second operation was a miraculous success. Once the pressure had been relieved around Ned's brain, he'd regained control of his left side and could even answer analytical math questions, which I didn't even know he could do in the first place!
I'm beginning to think there just might be something to this Buddha stuff.
All of our love
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