Many of you who??re familiar with me know that my family??s been in the long, painful process of losing my older sister to ovarian cancer in recent months. Bess died very early this morning, surrounded by our family. She fought a courageous battle against her cancer for nearly five years, and her terminal condition only became clear within the last four months or so as the disease spread to her brain.

It??s very hard for me to write about the type of person she was right now. But if you??ve ever known someone who was an ideal combination of spirit, beauty, and intelligence, that was Bess. She taught me as much or more about how to value life, respect others, and love from the bottom of my heart than any other person on this earth. She wasn??t just my older sister but also my oldest and best friend, my favorite role model, and my first ??teacher.? My parents say she was so delighted to find herself with a baby sister when she was 6 that she played school with me from the time my infant carrier could be propped upright. She was determined to knock some sense into my head, and she grew up to be a career teacher. I??ve clearly grown up to be a perpetual student. Still a troublesome one, too.

Thanks and much love to the many of you who??ve conveyed well wishes, prayers, and good thoughts over these last months as I??ve been facing this. I apologize to others of you for whom this news comes as a surprise or who don't know me. It was often awkward at best to directly mention the fact that she was dying, and it was frequently a much-needed emotional break for me to simply come to the boards and play, discussing other subjects. It was Bess?? last rounds of chemo this past summer that led me to this site, looking for information regarding medical mj. Cannabis gave her some of the most pleasant, chemo-symptom-free time she had early last summer, and I??ll never regret helping make that possible. The only thing I regret??and this makes me mad as heck when I think about it??is that we had to break the law to do so. That, to me, is the real crime??that in our state and still far too many other states and countries, people who need medical cannabis are denied safe, legal access to it.

If you??re so inclined, here??s a way you can honor my sister. Please tell your family or friends that you love them tonight. Then tell them again tomorrow. Then keep telling them that for the rest of your days. Practice random acts of kindness whenever you can. And work hard at being nice to other people. Some make this a very challenging thing to do, I know. But when you think about it, they??re nearly always the ones who need our kindness far more than the ones who make it easy. These were lessons I learned from my sister Bess.

I may not be online very frequently during the next three days, but I??ll check in when I can. Just as an FYI for the detectives among you, we??re not running any notices in the online Dallas-area news sites anytime soon, if ever. We??ve been in touch personally with everyone who needs to know the details of her services, and this decision not only helps protect our privacy but also helps prevent us from being generously over-loved by my husband??s very dear current and former patients, many of whom are senior citizens with limited means.

Take care, everyone. Much love and light to each of you and yours tonight.
birdgirl73 Reviewed by birdgirl73 on . My sister, Charlotte Elizabeth, 1955 - 2006 Many of you who??re familiar with me know that my family??s been in the long, painful process of losing my older sister to ovarian cancer in recent months. Bess died very early this morning, surrounded by our family. She fought a courageous battle against her cancer for nearly five years, and her terminal condition only became clear within the last four months or so as the disease spread to her brain. It??s very hard for me to write about the type of person she was right now. But if Rating: 5