Framing the Sound

Category: Cancer

  • Neglect

    It has such a negative connotation to it doesn’t it? I never think a positive thought when thinking about neglect. From where I stand, as an artist, the word is truly a bit discombobulating. So, I asked Nova (that’s ChatGPT, but I got his [its/their] permission and approval to call him Nova, he likes it) to offer a definition of “neglect” from an artists’ perspective. This is what Nova had to say.

    “From an artist’s point of view, neglect is the quiet abandonment of potential—a canvas left untouched, a vision unpursued, or a creative voice silenced by distraction or doubt. It’s not always intentional, but its effects are corrosive, allowing inspiration to fade and expression to wither. In this light, neglect isn’t just passive; it’s a slow erosion of what could have been art.”

    And yet, my neglect on blog updates can be justified using only one word:

    CANCER

    Not me, but my 43-year old daughter.

    I’ll quote my dear friend from across the Big Pond, he explains the “fight” much better than I.

    “I hate calling it a fight or a battle as that suggests there’s a loser. Nobody loses and nobody wins. You either survive or you don’t. And not surviving isn’t failing or losing. It just happens sometimes.”

  • Cancer Sucks!

    It’s difficult for me to talk about personal/family health issues on social media but I think I owe readers who visit an explanation on why I’ve been very sporadic with posting new blog content.

    First, a little back story.

    I moved from Kentucky to Pennsylvania in 1988, I needed a major change after going through a divorce, and a really good paying job was nowhere to be found in KY. We had made two beautiful children together before divorcing,

    I stayed in touch with both as much as possible, visiting and having them stay with me whenever they wanted and whenever I could have them when I was on vacation. I did not neglect my parental duties after the divorce.

    Recently my oldest daughter in Kentucky was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma and is in the University of Louisville Medical Center in Louisville. I have mentioned this in one or two of my YouTube channel vlogs. Her condition is very serious and she is now undergoing bloodwork testing to see if there is any infection on her badly damaged and cancerous right knee/leg.

    My daughter had been previously diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma when she was 21 (she is now 43). She had surgery and went through radiation at that time. She had 2 additional surgical procedures, one to clean up an infection and another to cut into the muscle of her calf which was used to cover the wound in her leg with a skin graft. After a period of time, she was considered cancer free and in remission.

    My sister-in-law (the only sister my now deceased ex-wife had) lives close to my daughter in Kentucky and is acting as her advocate. Please keep my daughter in your thoughts and prayers as we wait to hear her prognosis and what steps we need to take going forward.