Sunday, February 8, 2009

My brother Jim





My oldest brother Jim had another brain surgery in mid January (first was in August when it was found) and he’ll turn 49 this week. The surgery was to remove as much of an aggressive cancer as possible. Living 1,000 miles from him has been hard at this time and I especially felt the distance this past week.

Thursday, the town he lives in did a wonderful thing – the city donated ice time and refs, people made& donated food, hockey players got sponsors to shave their heads and the entrance fee was free will donation for Manitoba Cancer Care. The raised just under $25,000 in one evening. Jim got to drop the puck for the game beginning – they wheeled him out there in his wheel chair. The crowd roared and brought my sis-in-law to tears. Was very moving……..I missed it all but have lived vicariously through family phone calls and emails and pictures. They gave him a jersey with a number "1" on it and his last name on the back as well as took a team picture with him. Last year before the cancer, Jim would play hockey like three nights a week at least! I’ll share some pictures with you. You can read Jim’s story and journey of faith at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jimschapansky and even though you don’t know him – if you have kind words of encouragement – he is uplifted by them and the many people everywhere are praying for him and his family during this hard battle in the world of cancer so I invite you to pray for a miracle as well.

6 comments:

Gramma 2 Many said...

What a wonderful thing to do. I pray for a complete healing for him.

Becky said...

It is hard to have family far away espicially when they are sick. All my love and prayers to you and your brother my friend.

Becky said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dee said...

Val,What a heart touching moment for your brother and his family. I will keep him in my prayers and stop by to give him an encouraging word. Dee

Linda said...

You know that 6 degrees thing, that we're all connected somehow. I would be honored to pray for your brother and stop by and leave him some encouraging comments. Thank you for sharing.

And I have to tell you ... I thought of you yesterday, as I remembered the title of your blog, when I heard this rattling in my washing machine. It wasn't rocks, but a screwdriver from my son's pocket. Gave me a little giggle.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing the love of you town family....we always hear the negative on the news etc, its very refreshing to hear the positive things we as people will do for each other. Holding your brother, your family & the medical staff in Prayer. I think its easy to forget how blessed we are in our everyday lives

Popular Posts