Sadly, I have to report, that Frank died during the last week. Death is a sad time, but in this instance I really do feel that despite the tremendous loss felt by his family, it eventually came as a blessing. No one should have to suffer the ways he and his family have done over the past months.
Monday 25 June 2007
Wednesday 20 June 2007
13 T F Cunningham
I thought by this day I would be writing to tell you that Frank has died. Unbelievably, seven days later, he is still hanging on. I find it hard to believe the spirit of a human being who can hold onto life when so much is wrong.
My latest information is that he is deteriorating, and that today could be his last.
I will update you from time to time.
My latest information is that he is deteriorating, and that today could be his last.
I will update you from time to time.
Wednesday 13 June 2007
12 A man to remember - T F Cunningham
Today I had an experience which I have never had before in my life. I said goodbye to a friend who I know will never see again. He is dying, and he knows it. His time left is short, perhaps only a few days.
He is the Godfather of my landlady and I met him and his wife just over two years ago. They are both now in their mid 70's, and when I first met them he had been suffering for some years with Diabetes and had recently started to receive Dialysis treatment for other complications. He also suffered from time to time - since his early forties - from a serious heart condition.
Three weeks ago his family informed my landlady that he was to go into hospital for treatment for his heart condition. During his time there he had further heart attacks and a bypass operation was carried out, but was unsuccessful. The operation was carried out under local anaesthetic as his kidney problem would not allow a full general anaesthetic.
A couple of days later he had one of his legs amputated above the knee. This devastated him, but within a couple of days was making light of it and had set himself a goal of seeing Rome. He was indefatigable, in public anyway, but like all of us had a private side which was sometimes depressed. And who could fault him for this?
On Monday of this week I went to see him with my landlady, he looked ill and was a little quieter than normal. On the way home his wife expressed her concerns about his worsening condition. What can one say in the circumstances? It appeared obvious that he would have to have his other leg removed.
On Tuesday he had another heart attack, and very quickly the surgeon and his team came to see him. After a long consultation the surgeon told him that he had decided that there was nothing more to be done for him and that it was his decision to withdraw medical treatment.
Today he should have gone for dialysis but in view of his blood sugar levels and blood pressure this could not happen.
We received a phone call about mid morning to tell us the news. By midday we were at his bedside. He looked very well, talkative and in full command of all his faculties.
In a very businesslike and yet rueful way he told us all that had happened and that he was only going to fool The Grim Reaper by not going through the door which had been indicated. He knew that he was dying, and that he had only a short time to live. Yet his attitude was fairly matter of fact, and yet underneath he was also sad.
After some time sat with him and his wife, who had been at the hospital overnight, he suddenly looked tired and lost a little of the colour from his cheeks. I suggested that it was time we left him. "Yes," he said, looking up at me, "I do feel a little tired."
Then came the hardest part, saying our final farewells. My landlady was in tears as she hugged him despite trying to keep her eyes clear. I held his hand and tried to say something, but he beat me to it. "It's been a pleasure to know you David", he said. I felt the tears coming to my eyes. I don't remember what I said.
We left the hospital and sat in the car for a time.
How can anyone be so considerate for the feelings of others in such a situation? He did though. He might last a few days from this posting, or a few hours.
I have known him only a couple of years, but know why his family hold him in such affection. He is a man of incredible intellect and humour, of consideration and tact, yet never afraid to say the right words where they were needed.
He will be missed by not only his family but a very wide circle of friends from the earlies part of his life to the very end of it.
Good night dear friend.
He is the Godfather of my landlady and I met him and his wife just over two years ago. They are both now in their mid 70's, and when I first met them he had been suffering for some years with Diabetes and had recently started to receive Dialysis treatment for other complications. He also suffered from time to time - since his early forties - from a serious heart condition.
Three weeks ago his family informed my landlady that he was to go into hospital for treatment for his heart condition. During his time there he had further heart attacks and a bypass operation was carried out, but was unsuccessful. The operation was carried out under local anaesthetic as his kidney problem would not allow a full general anaesthetic.
A couple of days later he had one of his legs amputated above the knee. This devastated him, but within a couple of days was making light of it and had set himself a goal of seeing Rome. He was indefatigable, in public anyway, but like all of us had a private side which was sometimes depressed. And who could fault him for this?
On Monday of this week I went to see him with my landlady, he looked ill and was a little quieter than normal. On the way home his wife expressed her concerns about his worsening condition. What can one say in the circumstances? It appeared obvious that he would have to have his other leg removed.
On Tuesday he had another heart attack, and very quickly the surgeon and his team came to see him. After a long consultation the surgeon told him that he had decided that there was nothing more to be done for him and that it was his decision to withdraw medical treatment.
Today he should have gone for dialysis but in view of his blood sugar levels and blood pressure this could not happen.
We received a phone call about mid morning to tell us the news. By midday we were at his bedside. He looked very well, talkative and in full command of all his faculties.
In a very businesslike and yet rueful way he told us all that had happened and that he was only going to fool The Grim Reaper by not going through the door which had been indicated. He knew that he was dying, and that he had only a short time to live. Yet his attitude was fairly matter of fact, and yet underneath he was also sad.
After some time sat with him and his wife, who had been at the hospital overnight, he suddenly looked tired and lost a little of the colour from his cheeks. I suggested that it was time we left him. "Yes," he said, looking up at me, "I do feel a little tired."
Then came the hardest part, saying our final farewells. My landlady was in tears as she hugged him despite trying to keep her eyes clear. I held his hand and tried to say something, but he beat me to it. "It's been a pleasure to know you David", he said. I felt the tears coming to my eyes. I don't remember what I said.
We left the hospital and sat in the car for a time.
How can anyone be so considerate for the feelings of others in such a situation? He did though. He might last a few days from this posting, or a few hours.
I have known him only a couple of years, but know why his family hold him in such affection. He is a man of incredible intellect and humour, of consideration and tact, yet never afraid to say the right words where they were needed.
He will be missed by not only his family but a very wide circle of friends from the earlies part of his life to the very end of it.
Good night dear friend.
Saturday 9 June 2007
11 Me and Bailley
I have been asked to put a photograph of myself on the blog, so that the people coming to visit from Belarus will have some idea of what I look like.
So as not to frighten people too much I decided to include the youngest member of the household in the photo as a well. This is Bailley who is about six months old. Sometimes he is a kitten, and sometimes thinks he is Tiger. As this was being taken he decided that he would be a kitten. Thank goodness! His claws are very sharp when he goes into Tiger mode.
So as not to frighten people too much I decided to include the youngest member of the household in the photo as a well. This is Bailley who is about six months old. Sometimes he is a kitten, and sometimes thinks he is Tiger. As this was being taken he decided that he would be a kitten. Thank goodness! His claws are very sharp when he goes into Tiger mode.
Friday 8 June 2007
10 Welcome to friends from Minsk!
This entry is a bit special. My good friend Valentina from Minsk in Belarus has asked recently started a club for people who want to learn to speak and write English, and is situated in the IBA Training Centre - one of the largest IT companies in Belarus. Valentina works as a lecturer in English as a Foreign Language at the University of Minsk. The members of the club are advanced students of English but wish to improve their use and knowledge of the language.
For some obscure reason Valentina thinks I can help!!
Valentina and I met some years ago through a charity called the Friends of Chernobyls Children based in Blackburn where I used to live. She came over to the UK as an interpreter for a short time, and we have corresponded since then.
She started the English club some weeks ago and has asked me to write a few words of welcome and explanation to the members of her club to try to introduce them to a real live Englishman. Well, I am he!
If you are from that club, I wish to welcome you to my blog, and hope that you will feel happy to correspond with me through these pages. You will find that I have a sense of humour which is a bit strange, but is very English. We are known throughout the world (well, the English speaking world) as people with a 'peculiar' sense of humour. I hope you will be able to follow it through these pages and that you will appreciate it.
So, first let me introduce some of my animal friends. As you will know, the English are great lovers of animals. Sometimes we like animals more than our children, and if you have ever met any English children or teenagers, then you will understand whey we like animals so much!!
This first animal who I share my home with is Katbit. She is a Rabbit, but when you push your finger into her stomach she makes a sound like a cat. So, my landlady, who was given Katbit as a birthday present, decided that as she was neither fully cat or rabbit, that she would be called Katbit.
She is sometimes very noisy, but more often than not, she keeps quiet. The only real problem I have with Katbit is that she steals my chocolate - often!
Maybe I should explain the dress and Tee shirt she is wearing.
Shortly after my landlady, Yvonne, was given Katbit she decided that a naked Rabbit/Cat was not going to be very happy without clothes, so we went to one of the local supermarkets, Asda, to find her some clothes.
Please believe me, I am not telling you a joke now, what I am going to tell you really did happen.
When I walked into the supermarket it was about five minutes after Yvonne had gone in there, so I walked around until I found her, in the children's clothing section.
She was looked at the little blue dress you see Katbit wearing in the photo above. Alongside her was one of the supermarket staff, a lady of about 55 years of age. They were both seriously discussing which size of dress Katbit should wear. The lady, not realising that Yvonne was talking about a Katbit said, "You would be surprised how quickly small children grow when they get their first clothes. I am sure that your daughter will soon grow into it. You will be surprised how quickly they grow"
Yvonne looked her in the eye and said, " I am sure you are right, but I think I will still take the smallest dress"
So. Katbit was bought the blue dress and tee shirt you see in the photograph, and I had to drag Yvonne out of the supermarket before the management through us out!
This animal on the other hand is Xiamen. (You pronounce it Shamen - it's the name of a very beautiful city on the coast of China).
She is real. She is a German Shepherd dog who is about six months old. A farmer was breeding her and other dogs for fighting. We got her from a charity who rescue cats and dogs who are being mistreated. Proof that the English do love animals I suppose.
We have had her for the past four months and she is growing into a very beautiful, intelligent and playful dog. I will tell you more about the other dogs, cats and rabbits I share my home with in the future.
In the meantime, I hope that for my visitors from Belarus that you will enjoy the silly things I write, that you will e mail me from time to time, and that you enjoy the tea I will send you from time to time.
Take care, work hard and be happy.
David
For some obscure reason Valentina thinks I can help!!
Valentina and I met some years ago through a charity called the Friends of Chernobyls Children based in Blackburn where I used to live. She came over to the UK as an interpreter for a short time, and we have corresponded since then.
She started the English club some weeks ago and has asked me to write a few words of welcome and explanation to the members of her club to try to introduce them to a real live Englishman. Well, I am he!
If you are from that club, I wish to welcome you to my blog, and hope that you will feel happy to correspond with me through these pages. You will find that I have a sense of humour which is a bit strange, but is very English. We are known throughout the world (well, the English speaking world) as people with a 'peculiar' sense of humour. I hope you will be able to follow it through these pages and that you will appreciate it.
So, first let me introduce some of my animal friends. As you will know, the English are great lovers of animals. Sometimes we like animals more than our children, and if you have ever met any English children or teenagers, then you will understand whey we like animals so much!!
This first animal who I share my home with is Katbit. She is a Rabbit, but when you push your finger into her stomach she makes a sound like a cat. So, my landlady, who was given Katbit as a birthday present, decided that as she was neither fully cat or rabbit, that she would be called Katbit.
She is sometimes very noisy, but more often than not, she keeps quiet. The only real problem I have with Katbit is that she steals my chocolate - often!
Maybe I should explain the dress and Tee shirt she is wearing.
Shortly after my landlady, Yvonne, was given Katbit she decided that a naked Rabbit/Cat was not going to be very happy without clothes, so we went to one of the local supermarkets, Asda, to find her some clothes.
Please believe me, I am not telling you a joke now, what I am going to tell you really did happen.
When I walked into the supermarket it was about five minutes after Yvonne had gone in there, so I walked around until I found her, in the children's clothing section.
She was looked at the little blue dress you see Katbit wearing in the photo above. Alongside her was one of the supermarket staff, a lady of about 55 years of age. They were both seriously discussing which size of dress Katbit should wear. The lady, not realising that Yvonne was talking about a Katbit said, "You would be surprised how quickly small children grow when they get their first clothes. I am sure that your daughter will soon grow into it. You will be surprised how quickly they grow"
Yvonne looked her in the eye and said, " I am sure you are right, but I think I will still take the smallest dress"
So. Katbit was bought the blue dress and tee shirt you see in the photograph, and I had to drag Yvonne out of the supermarket before the management through us out!
This animal on the other hand is Xiamen. (You pronounce it Shamen - it's the name of a very beautiful city on the coast of China).
She is real. She is a German Shepherd dog who is about six months old. A farmer was breeding her and other dogs for fighting. We got her from a charity who rescue cats and dogs who are being mistreated. Proof that the English do love animals I suppose.
We have had her for the past four months and she is growing into a very beautiful, intelligent and playful dog. I will tell you more about the other dogs, cats and rabbits I share my home with in the future.
In the meantime, I hope that for my visitors from Belarus that you will enjoy the silly things I write, that you will e mail me from time to time, and that you enjoy the tea I will send you from time to time.
Take care, work hard and be happy.
David
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