Sometimes the news you get really stinks!!!

[ss7mm]

Just found out a few days back that my best friend and hunting partner of 40 years has lung cancer and it's in both lungs. He's had it rough the last 3 or 4 years and finally got a pacemaker that got everything under control even though he hasn't been able to hike for 3 or 4 years.

He had said he wanted to make another hunting trip to Idaho and we'd talked about it a lot but now he says he doesn't know if he'll make that last trip or not. Life's not always fair but some things you just can't do anything about and yes, he was a smoker, although he had stopped evidently he didn't stop soon enough.

Don't know if Idaho is in our future but I sure hope at least some local trips are.......bummer. If you smoke you really should think seriously about quitting.

 

[Broz]

Sorry to hear this Dick. Prayers go out for your friend and his family for some healing.

You are a good friend, keep him in the field!

Jeff

 

[Speedo]

In '08 my wife and I went out with our long time hunting partner, just like every other year. Turned out to be his last hunting trip. He had a lingering cough that he just couldn't get rid of and later that year he got the news that he had cancer. He was undergoing chemo and couldn't make it out in '09. In 2010 we brought his ashes out and scattered them at a place that he had chosen long before he knew he had cancer. He was only 63, much too early to go.

The harsh reality of this life is that none of us make it out alive and we should treat those around us as if it is our last trip every time we go out. Hope your friend can make that last trip to Idaho.

Gus

 

[ss7mm]

Sorry to hear this Dick. Prayers go out for your friend and his family for some healing.

You are a good friend, keep him in the field!

Jeff

There were all of those years when we packed elk out of the deep canyons, deer out of the sage as well as the high country but now they are just memories tied to the pictures we took. The last few years we have adjusted our hunting strategies and tried to get him on good ridgetops where he could watch the movement of the animals. Sometimes I'd hike the brush or the canyons to try and get animals to move through where he was watching. We got him on a couple of deer so it was some great times. Even though he couldn't hike we took Elk in the snow and deer in the sagebrush.

I got to be by his grandson's side in Idaho when he took his first deer. Talked him through it and he made the shot just like he'd done it a hundred times. My buddy couldn't hike off the ridge to where the deer were but he sure was all smiles when we drug his grandson's first deer out to the road. Sure was a trip to remember.

Don't know how many trips are gonna happen in the future but I know they will all be the best ever.

 

[ss7mm]

In '08 my wife and I went out with our long time hunting partner, just like every other year. Turned out to be his last hunting trip. He had a lingering cough that he just couldn't get rid of and later that year he got the news that he had cancer. He was undergoing chemo and couldn't make it out in '09. In 2010 we brought his ashes out and scattered them at a place that he had chosen long before he knew he had cancer. He was only 63, much too early to go.

The harsh reality of this life is that none of us make it out alive and we should treat those around us as if it is our last trip every time we go out. Hope your friend can make that last trip to Idaho.

Gus

My buddy has been recently plagued by a bad, lingering cough and went back to the doctor. He'd had chest x-rays a year ago but this time the MRI scan showed cancer in both lungs. Not sure yet what plan of attack the docs are going to use. Hopefully will know today. However it turns out we'll make the most of it and if we get to hunt some more then that's great.

 

[MT4XFore]

Dick,

Your friend and his family are in our prayers as well. It's hard to accept the fragility of life at times. But in a sense, you are lucky to have had the times and memories that you do.

God Bless,

Jim

 

[ss7mm]

Dick,

Your friend and his family are in our prayers as well. It's hard to accept the fragility of life at times. But in a sense, you are lucky to have had the times and memories that you do.

God Bless,

Jim

Thanks Jim. There have been a million good times, it's just inevitable that a couple of bad times have to come along. Nothing last forever and you're right, the memories will always be there.

 

[fj40mojo]

Sorry to hear this. Lung CA is one of the most insidious. Some, like my uncle who passed away 1 year ago last Dec, never have that persistent dry cough. They never know until they've wasted away to nothing. Make sure your friend explores his options and cherish the time you've had and the time you have left with him. Prayers sent.