Blog 101 - To those of you who are new to blogs and blogging, I wanted to give a brief overview of how to use this site. There are authors and followers. Authors are Val and Connie. Followers are all of our wonderful support system that continue to follow Bru's journey through this battle. Authors create posts, followers can read posts and comment on posts that have been created. As a follower you don't have to log in in with an account or sign in to comment. If there is a post that you are interested in commenting on, just click the comment icon below the post itself. Once you have typed your post, you must choose an account just below the text box, choose anonymous! If you are looking for all of the posts to the blog, scroll down the page and look to the right of the screen, every post is listed there by month and day. It's listed chronologically starting newest to oldest. If you want to add pictures, please email me at emtp1124@yahoo.com with a description of the picture and the caption you would like underneath it. Blogging is very similar to Facebook and other social sites, but it doesn't have the ability to post things to the blog like you do people's walls in facebook. If you are having problems viewing the blog, it may be because of settings that you have on your internet browser . You can type the URL into your smart phone browser as well and see the blog pretty well. If you want updates sent to you anytime things are updated, subscribe to the blog by email. This option is at the top of the page on the right hand side of your screen just above the picture of Bruce. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at emtp1124@yahoo.com.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Leaving a Legacy

As we mourn the loss of someone so profound to many, we look to find ways to leave a meaningful legacy that honors Bruce's life. We have had several discussions over the last months trying to identify meaningful ways to leave a legacy that honors such a wonderful person.

We have established the Rissi Glioblastoma Fund through the Community Foundation of Muskegon County. This fund is intended to help families of patients who suffer from Glioblastoma.  Throughout Bruce's treatment, we have been working with Dr. Mikkelsen and Henry Ford Hospital on providing tissue samples to help with research associated with Glioblastoma, an effort that hopefully will lead to discovering the genetic marker associated with such a debilitating terminal disease.

Unfortunately, there are costs associated with donating tissue for research, specifically transportation and autopsy fees.  We were very fortunate to have such wonderful people to help coordinate this effort on Bruce's behalf; other families may not have the means to provide such precious tissue for research.  The Rissi Glioblastoma Fund will be intended to assist families in executing tissue extractions by helping reimburse costs for transportation and autopsy services. It is a small mission but one that will provide valuable information to researchers attempting to find hope for families coping with such a tragic diagnosis.

We also have decided to donate all of the medical equipment that we have acquired over the past months to the Center for Simulation Excellence through Muskegon County Medical Control Authority. The Center was a project that Bruce assisted our daughter Connie in establishing in her time with Region 6 Healthcare Coalition. It was a very significant professional accomplishment for her, Bruce was proud to be a part of the Center's development. It was a special project that they shared professionally that strengthened their relationship. The equipment will be used to help train medical professionals across the healthcare spectrum in the greater west Michigan area. Dr.Jerry Evans, the Medical Director, shared his deep appreciation for the donation. It seemed very fitting.

We can't thank everyone enough for the outpouring of support throughout these last 8 months. We are very blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful family and friends. Each day is a bit easier than the day before. We look forward to seeing all of you on Monday for the memorial.  


The End - The Beatles - A song we sang to each other


Oh yeah, all right
Are you gonna be in my 
dreams tonight?


Love you, love you
Love you, love you
Love you, love you


And in the end, the love
you take
is equal to the love you make


Love Always,

Val


Posted by at

2 comments:

  1. Diane MoonJuly 19, 2012 at 9:21 PM

    What a fitting way for his leagacy to be carried on! I hope all of you know you are in my thoughts continuously even if I'm not right there by your sides and wish I could take some of the hurt & pain away from all of you. Just remember I am always here no matter what time of day or night you may need to just talk or cry. I love all of you more than words can express and may you have peace knowing that Bruce is not suffering any longer. Much love, Your Sis & Aunt Di

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 19, 2012 at 11:47 PM

    We would have been lost without you Aunt Di. I appreciate all of your love and support over the years! Thank you!

    Love,

    Connie

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)