Me And My Family
Me And My Family
By the time that they get to be teenagers, many kids begin to get fed up with their families. They say that
their parents are too restrictive or over-protective, or that they are completely out of touch with how the real world
works. But, in most cases, our parents have "been there and done that", and all they are really trying to do is to help us avoid some of the mistakes and pain that they went through when they were growing up themselves (things don't
change as much as you think, you know!).
My own family has been really great throughout my illness. They have stayed right by my side day and night,
even when I was feeling so bad that I yelled at almost everybody. They have driven back and forth to the hospital hundreds
of times, gone out in the middle of the night to satisfy my strange food urges, and even learned how to give me needles
(even though just the thought of needles used to give my Mom the willies!). But most of all they have encouraged me to
continue day by day, and they have loved me unconditionally ... even on those days when I looked like a melon with a bit
of fuzz on top!
I have come to realize that a family is something you can count on to be there, long after many of your friends have
gone their own ways.
Introducing My Mom She's my
very best friend.
Meet My Dad He makes me laugh
with his silly jokes.
Here Is My Brother Michael
He drove a race car, but now he drives a 4x4.
And Here Is My Brother Greg
He plays in a rock band and has a son named Elliot.
My Oldest Brother Is David He
works on computers, and gets on TV!
My Dog Named Lucky He is a
miniature Lhasa Apso and only weighs 7 lbs.
My brothers and I
Return To "My Family Page"
Find out some more things about my family.
Return To The "Me" page
Find out some more things about me.
Return To
My Home Page Thanks for visiting with my family.
My Mom
My Mom, Joanne, is not only a really great Mother, she's also my very best friend, an excellent "self taught" nurse, and
much, much more.
When I was first diagnosed, she gave up everything that she did, and stayed with me in the hospital, day and
night, for over 5 months. Now that I am under palliative home care, she still spends nearly all of her time with me,
keeping me comfortable and helping me do some of the things that I can no longer do by myself.
She is a very determined and loving Mom when it comes to protecting my health and my dignity. She keeps a
detailed daily log and then makes sure that she understands all of the drugs and medical procedures before they are used
on me. She has helped me to survive longer by avoiding side-effects and by spotting changes in my condition before they
become more serious. She knows so much about the hospital that even the nurses sometimes ask her where to find things,
and the mothers of other Cancer Kids call her often if they want to check up on something.
Most nights she stays right beside me just in case I have one of the bad dreams that come so often, and we sometimes
talk about "girl things" and stuff almost all night.
I really love my Mom a lot.
Return To "My Family" Page
Find out some more things about my family.
Return To The "Me" Page
Find out some more things about me.
Return To
My Home Page I hope you enjoyed visiting with my Mom.
My Dad
My Dad, David, is the one who helps me to smile when I feel sad.
Sometimes he makes up totally crazy stories on-the-spot, and other people actually believe him! Like once he said that
Michael and Latoya Jackson were the same person. Then he picked up one of those silly newspapers that tell you all sorts
of trash stuff and showed some pictures that he said proved it. Even I believed him for a minute or two until I read the
story (which had nothing about them being the same person at all). He had half the nurses on the ward laughing, but the
other half thought he was totally nuts.
He is even more of a computer "geek" than my oldest brother because he has been doing it for over 30 years. But when I
got sick, the illness that he has had for several years got much worse and he had to stop working. Luckily the place where
he worked gave him a disability pension so that we didn't have to go on welfare! He did almost all of the hard work in
translating my dream into this Web page.
He loves cars and drives a bright red Fiero sports car which has license plates that read GM 4R E (which translates into
GM Ferrari in case you didn't get it). Sometimes he makes me crazy by watching NASCAR
and Outlaw car racing on TV almost all day and night on
Sundays. In the summer months he helps my younger brother to race his quarter midget race car (read more about quarter
midgets on "Me/My Hobbies" page).
My dad is always there to comfort me and to give me a foot rub when I need it. He was the first one to hold me when I
was born, and ever since then we have had a very special bond.
Return To My Family Page
Find out some more about my family.
Return To The "Me" Page
Find out some more things about me.
Return To
My home page I hope you liked meeting my Dad.
My Brother Michael
Michael is my younger brother. He is now almost six feet, six inches tall!
He used to drive a beautiful red quarter midget race car in the very fast "B" Modified class,
but now he drives a huge 4x4 truck through whatever mud and other gunk that he can find.
He is very good at taking pictures, and is in his fourth and final year at Emily Carr School of Fine Arts. When he
graduates he will probably become a professional photographer and make lots of money.
Dad's Note: Mike's information has been updated at Mike's request.
Return To My Family Page
Find out some more about my family.
Return To The "Me" Page
Find out some more things about me.
Return
To My Home Page I hope you liked meeting Michael.
My Brother Greg
Greg has been involved in rock music for most of his life. Most recently he played in the very popular band
called "Roots Roundup", travelling all over Canada, and even appearing on You Tube (please be careful, it's quite loud!). He also did a lot of
promotions for local bands and designed and wrote album covers. He now dedicates most of his time to his job, his music
and his son Elliot (Melinda's very first nephew). Greg is a VERY laid back dude.
Dad's Note: Greg's picture and information has been updated.
If you want to listen to
Greg playing beautiful songs written by him and his partner, Laurie, why not visit
Gregs Homepage.
Return To My Family Page
Find out some more about my family.
Return To The "Me" Page
Find out some more things about me.
Return To My home page
I hope you liked meeting Greg.
My Brother David
David is my oldest brother, and he is a computer geek (just like my dad!). He played lead guitar for the band
Roots Roundup for about two years, but then decided that he wanted to make more
money and travel less, so he went into the computer business. He now works for The
Electric Mail Company. He looks OK, knows a little bit about the Internet, and can speak without mumbling (most of the time). Because of
these talents, and the fact that he is currently the North American Champion in precision kite flying,
he is often seen on TV or in special kite demonstrations across Canada, the USA and in Europe. You can view his
somewhat dark and brooding website at Monkey-Boy or watch him fly his
kites at IQuad.
Ever since I became ill, being with Lucky has been one of the things that I most look forward to. When my
Mom and I were in the hospital for all those months, my Dad and my brother sometimes smuggled him in to see us, and the
nurses didn't even know!
We got him when he was only a few weeks old, and he bonded with us so well that he now thinks he's a human member of
the family and not a dog at all. He sits right up beside us at the dinner table, and he sleeps with me every night (unless
I thrash around too much, then he sleeps on guard at the side of my bed). If any people that he doesn't know come to visit,
he won't even let them past the front door until he has satisfied himself that they are OK, and then they have to pass the
test all over again if they want to come into my room.
He has traveled all over Western Canada and the USA with us when Michael is racing, and he even got to ride in Michael's
race car one day when nobody was looking.
Lucky may be little, but he's a great companion for me.
Lucky is a miniature Lhasa Apso, he is three
years old, and he weighs almost exactly seven lbs. He has black fluffy hair which is very soft, but it gets matted easily
and he has to go to the doggy beauty parlor at least once a month.
Did you know that Lhasa Apsos were originally bred as guard dogs by the Tibetan Monks? That was because they were very
good at knowing when a stranger was approaching, and they bark much louder than you would think for their size. They also
don't need much food, and they don't need a lot of exercise.
The Monks called them "The Barking Lion Dogs" because they looked just like miniature lions when they laid down alert
with their front paws crossed (something that Lucky does all the time).
I also have two other pets. One is a Gerbil called Fuzzy Gnome that I take out for walks in his plastic ball, much to
the amusement of the neighbours. The other is a Siamese Fighting Fish named Chemo that fights with himself if you place a
mirror beside his bowl. I love them all!
Dad's Note: David's information has been slightly updated.
Like my other grown-up brother, David is also a very cool dude. (He made me say that!)
David, flying his kite in Oregon (I think!)
Return To My Family Page
Find out some more about my family.
Return To The "Me" Page
Find out some more things about me.
Return To My home page
I hope you liked meeting David.
Lucky And My
Other Pets.
Lucky On Guard.
Lucky and me when he had more hair than I did!
Lucky and his girl friend, Midget (5lbs).
Return To My Family Page
Find out some more about my family.
Return To The "Me" Page
Find out some more things about me.
Return To My home page
I hope you liked meeting Lucky (Did he bark at you?).