I ache for you, but admire your fighting spirit. May God bless you greatly.

BEAUTIFULL IMAGE..YOUR GIFTED IN YOUR ART SKILLS..KEEP HOLDING ON TO THE LIGHT..AS YOU CREAT MANY ARE MOVED BY THE GIFTS YOU SHARE..ALWAYS..K

Sarcasm, the age old wall of protection, wrapped like a cloak to keep our feelings from slipping out and showing and others from getting in and breaking down our barriers. You are a hero to speak out with your powerful words and story Dirk. Bunny

Real and powerful. I'm so sorry for your great suffering, Dirk. My thoughts only echo Marion's. I've run out of mere words, my {{{{friend}}}}.

No unwanted tears will kill these words either (though they're free-flowing, completely unrestrained): Thank you, my cherished friend, for these words in sharing, for all of your words and images that have preceded them, and all those yet to come, for always sharing yourself in both the brightest, and yes, even in the very darkest moments, in a vein of stark, stripped truthfulness that the world needs infinitely more of (that I need infinitely more of)....but more than all else, and beyond what any words will ever, or could ever, adequately express (though we know, full well, their magnitude, and their power)...thank you...from the depths of this girl's being, heart, and soul...for the glorious, soul-filling blessing...of YOU. It is an honor, and a privilege, to be in this fight alongside you. And, I am. Yes, Cesar writes on..(((Dirk)))

As long as there is life, there is hope. I feel so helpless, sitting here and watching and reading and hoping for a miracle. Still you create in the face of destruction. Sarcastic? You're excused...and then some.

Your words and your attitude are an inspiration to so many, my friend. They, and you, certainly are to me.

I admire your strength. {{{hugs}}}

Invictus Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. William Ernest Henley

There just aren't the right words to tell you how I feel when I read this. All I can do is thank you for sharing your journey.

{{{{{{{D}}}}}}}

Your fortitude and courage shine through the despair, my friend. My thoughts are with you. Mike

I don't know what to say, just that you are in my thoughts and I admire you. Hugs, Elizabeth ;O)

............[[[[[LOVE]]]]]..............

Impressive words and fantastic illustration my friend....!!!!

Fear and angst are terrible. Take care on drugs, especially combinations. Also in my country many mistakes are made in the medical world, too much. Great that you're o.k. now again. Nice words Dirk!

Dirk I wish I can help you somehow and lower your pain; it is just not fair what happens with you. But I agree with avalonfaayre - as long as there is life, there is hope ...

My niece beat stage 4 bone cancer, you can beat this too.

Stunning! There is a warrior's spirit in this, which is far more admirable (and honest) than quite a lot of people are able to manage! There are no real words to describe the depths of honesty and spiritual nakedness in this, but it's a moving glimpse into a life and into a range of human emotions felt by an actual human being! It's profoundly moving, but ultimately, it's also affirmative of so many things in so many ways. You write, you feel, and even during the dark hours, you create. I once heard that heroes aren't those people who go and do the easy things, like save lives with convenient witnesses around to record the acts; heroes are, instead, people who fight unknown battles, in the dark, completely alone...and the thing about them is there are no convenient witnesses to put laurel leaves on their heads and whatnot...They simply do what they do, unrecognized, unseen...in the dark. The other thing about heroes is that they feel fear, they feel lost in situations that they're not sure they can win. They see their mortality and they face it; there's nothing more heroic than that, because in that, a human learns pain...but on the flipside of that, love, compassion, and friendship! Your words show that with stark and unavoidable clarity, and as a fellow human being, I cannot help but be moved by it.

"This may not be my finest hour These may not be my finest words But the fact that I’m writing at all Makes me feel like a victorious D. Cesar. Monteny" I wish you many more words, as many as you desire.

{{{{{D.C.Monteny}}}}} Words fail me.

My heart aches for you and I applaud the fact that you persevere and share your personal feelings in your worst hours. Thank you and blessings to you, Dirk.