What Fresh Hell is This? (...D Parker)

Neal was my only sibling; he was two-plus years my senior. He left this world this week. It’s hard to know what to say about this, and there’s too much to say. I have, of course, been here in the hospital and was not able to visit with him before his final passing, the way many of his other loved ones did; it will probably be harder for me to understand that he’s gone.

Neal was an incredibly kind person who had real compassion for others. He also collected records and books on the subject of music (rock’n’roll in particular) and had more knowledge on the topic, by far, than anyone I’ve known in my life.

With my mother’s (and Martha’s) often innovative, always even-handed support, Neal was able to create a satisfying independent life for himself.

He was loved by many, including me, and will be sorely, sadly missed. He already is.

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A quick update on me and my medical condition: I was transplanted with donor bone marrow on January 4, after several rounds of chemo, one of which was apparently rather Byzantine (a kind of last resort to get my white count down) and which created some havoc. Between the chemo and the transplant itself, I am pretty under the weather. I am light years better than I was two weeks ago, though.

There is no guarantee that the transplant will “take”, so there is a bit of a waiting game involved. In the meantime, I have a variety of unpleasant conditions to contend with, but all of it could be worse.

Check back when you feel like it - I won’t be doing anything like daily updates but I will post when I can. Thanks, as always, for hanging in there with me.