Bummer.

Bring the dog

I will call them in the morning and ask.

Thank you all for the suggestions, all excellent.

Sorry to hear this, visiting, as long as he wants people around is one of the best things that you can take him. Time is our most valuable and precious commodity, if he likes a sip of whiskey every now and then, take him some.
When my friend Phil was basically bedridden from his cancer, I was there every day, he and I and a few other Porsche guys would meet every Friday at a local Hooters, for lunch. I was able to get the manager to send he girls who generally served us, with Phil’s favorite lunch to his house and serve him in his hospital bed, which was in his living room.
One more, very important, but also can be very difficult, is be cheerful and maintain a smile on your face at all times (I used up my ability to smile because I used them up).
Paul, you have my number and email, as many know, I have way too much to experience in these situations.
Prayers for you and the family

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1734556247.jpg

Man, I have been dreading the day that you posted something like this about Mr C.

Was Mr. C leaning on that old Farmall because he is interested in old farm tractors? If he is, I can fix him up with some reading material. Maybe he would enjoy some of my old stories. Please PM me with his address if you think he would enjoy some copies of Antique Power magazine.

In the hospital or in a nursing home you are surrounded by nothing but time. Anything you can think of that will break up that time will be a treasure to him.

Awesome, Patrick.

Mr. Joseph Curtis
Complete Care
1 Magnolia Drive, Room 112
La Plata, Md 20646

Thank you!

He will be delighted. I am headed up in a few minutes.

Best.

Edit: Magnolia DRIVE. My bad!

Looks like a good address for all kinds of cards and letters. :cool:

Copy that......I'm in! Thanks, Paul! SmileWavy

I sent one this afternoon.
Thanks
Les

I just put mine in the mail.

Thanks for the address...

Mr. Curtis' Christmas Card will go out tomorrow. I told him I would write again - and hope that is OK. :)

Tin of Altoids, peppermint can help with nausea

Perfect. Thanks.

That would be great.

Yesterday was hard on him...he was a great fixture at the senior living complex (my MIL still lives there) he was in before the cancer diagnosis. The complex is really well run, light and airy very close to downtown and his family.

The new place is a bit rough and I could tell it was weighing on him.

I am having lunch tomorrow with one of his daughter's so she can tell me what the family needs. She has been great but we have not met in person. They are and excellent support system and I want to make sure I fit in with their expectations and limits as well as respect Mr. Curtis' privacy and dignity.

La Plata is about 50 minutes from here so I will get in the rotation and do whatever they need.

Thanks to all.

Best.

Seahawk, thank you for letting us be a small part of this.
These days finding older guys to look up to is getting harder.

Best
Les

Very sorry to hear about your friend's health issues. It sounds like you have been rock solid for him, which is all that anyone can do for anyone else. Wish him a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from everyone on the internet, that will be an odd concept for someone of his generation.

And the same for you and your family.

Denis, perhaps you're underestimating seniors a bit? At '81, I'm quite familiar with the internet. I don't think Mr. Curtiss and I are that far apart in trips around the sun.

Paul, thanks for letting us know this man. You're both better off from this friendship having been formed.

In the case of Mr. Curtis, Denis is on the money: Flip phone for the win. :cool:

When his daughter, Wendy, and I met for lunch we talked about trying to introduce him to some older iPads, etc. we both have available. She just smiled.

When I was there yesterday there was a young lady that has just started his welcome interview, she was very good and I sat out in the hall listening.

I found out a lot of things about him just listening: He likes western movies for one. Wendy and I are looking into how to make that work.

This is not my first cancer rodeo, both my parents succumbed to cancer, the Emperor of All Malady's.

He is a man of stalwart Catholic faith, like my Mother, which guides me a little bit; Wendy is as well, which also helps. I am not so my wife and Wendy bonded like a nuclear weld.

Mr. Curtis is a man I admire. My goal is to simply help as he and his family would like me too, as unobtrusively as possible.

He gave me a look yesterday that was very reminiscent of the look my Father gave me when he was fighting cancer: Two proud, smart, kind men that know exactly where they are and despise the circumstance and their lack of control over it.

So, thank you all for a card or letter to him...he is funny so use me as a foil:D

Just to be clear, I wasn't suggesting that the man doesn't know about the worldwide web, just that he might find it odd that he has a bunch of fans that he's never met due to this forum. :)

Don't know if I've ever posted on the Mr. Curtis thread ... but he is a man to admire and respect ... and I do.

There are others who's acts of friendship and compassion illicit the same response in me.

There are a lot of them here on PPOT...

Thank you for sharing Mr Curtis with us Paul.

Best to you all...

I think that describes a lot of us here. It’s probably why Mr. Curtis’s story resonates on this board.

Lap desk, neck pillow maybe

I really don't like tbinking about this sort of stuff.

My dog awaits

Paul, you are an amazing example for the rest of us. Learning about Mr. Curtis brightened my day! Give him a hug from me, David

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Mr. Curtis stories ! You have done an amazing thing with him by showcasing your friendship with him. You both wound up richer for the friendship. It has saddened me to hear of his present condition, like I am sure it has for so many Pelicans. I have found that the things that have made me the happiest and enriched my soul, was helping others ...and just being kind to people. Some of life's best lessons are learned from those folks that some people might ignore. My hat is off to you Paul. I think I need to send Mr. Curtis a card .

Gotcha! Thanks for explaining. Hope it makes him smile when the mail starts showing up.

Yes, thanks to Paul for our "introduction' to Mr. Curtiss...

This is profound. And I agree.

Quick update.

Jack and I went to see Mr Curtis earlier today and stopped to get him the Altoids, a neck pillow, gym shorts (his request) and some other comfort items.

He was in much better spirits and was delighted by the mail he has received. Thanks to you all...Patrick he was very impressed!.

Wendy was there and I'll meet her again on Friday with a few extra pillows and other minor stuff. Wendy is great and throught the neck pillow was genius...my idea, natch.

Jack and Mr. Curtis know each other very well and it was old home week: they have hunted together and shot together many times...I didn't need to be there:D

Thanks again and Merry Christmas to all.

Been an eventful 10 days since my last post.

After Jack and I went to see Mr. C, we both got CV. We are both fine.

Mr. C got CV as well. The place he was at was rough and it was no surprise.

His cancer, lung related, is also more advanced than the original diagnosis...combined with CV it caused him to flat line three nights ago. They revived him and he is now in the hospital, doing very poorly. That is all I am willing to share.

Wendy and I talk every day and I get a punch list of things to help. She is the best and, frankly, why he is still alive.

So, folks, thanks for all the cards, they meant a lot, more than most know...outlook and mood in the type of place he was in is a precarious mix and you folks helped. Wendy was very specific about that.

I don't know what is next but I have had some epiphanies about what I want to help with in my life from here on out, what will matter...we need a Habitat for Hospital Humanity and I am starting the journey to fully understand the problem.

To Mr C.

Hopefully, better news soon.

Thoughts and prayers for Mr C and Wendy and everyone else touched by this.

Hoping everything works out for Mr. Curtis. Anything else we can send him?

Thanks for the update, SH.

Sending positive waves (Kelly's Heroes reference :) ) to Mr Curtis and Wendy for good news in the new year.

It is still a "beaootiful bridge..."

Thank you.

Seahawk, it could be Mr Curtis is teaching you something that will live far beyond him.
Good folks rise to the challenges put before them.

Best
Les

I do not think so, at least for now.

Your magazines made the rounds, Patrick, after Mr. C. read them...they were big deal since a lot of the folks were farmer help and farmers.

One of the things that stuck me and should be fixed is the lack of reading material and puzzle type books to engage the minds of the folks who are not computer, Kindle, savvy.

Wendy asked me if she could leave the puzzle books (Find a Word, Easy Soduko, etc.) Jack and I got him at his request, when he went to the hospital with CV and lung issues because the other patients wanted them.

Of course, but the question is begged: How are the lack of these critical mind items scarce?

It is like the jitterbug...

Yes

It is amazing what can be accomplished when there is no alternative

Mr C has a box on the way too

Mr. Curtis passed away last night in the hospital, his daughter and wife were with him.

I am meeting with Wendy today to work through the details of his Catholic Mass...he was a devout Catholic and my wife is the musical directors at one of the local Parishes and Wendy wants her to play at his Mass.

Thank all of you who sent best wishes and other great stuff to him. It meant a lot.

If there is an obituary published, I will share.

Again, thanks.

RIP Mr. Curtis

Sorry to hear but it sounds like a peaceful ending and you were a friend to him when he needed it. Thanks for sharing with the rest of us.