The end of suffering....

It has now been one year since my brother Roberto received his double-lung transplant, a miracle unto itself. He has been in the hospital now nearly 7 months beyond initial rehab due to complications too numerous to name, yet he lives. My mother and sister are his most constant companions as the rest of us live states away. The pain, the anxiety of any new development, coupled with the daily living issues associated with work, family, time....I am so grateful to my wife Debbie and my children for providing solace in the storm. My own self-doubt, my own "little faith" with God's will, my fear - these have been my companions this past year. It is very difficult to compartmentalize your life, for me anyway. So the entire experience of Roberto's suffering, my own struggles, and the realization that life is short and unhappiness can not be long-term; they all congregate (to quote Harry Truman)to "fall on you like the earth, the sun and all the stars". All of this will pass and where tomorrrow leads.....BUT, we will push and drive and persevere, because that is what got us here! Gracias Papi, we remember you on your 14th anniversary this Monday - Costa Rica's Independence Day, he showed us how!