Doug

My brother Doug passed away on Sunday morning.  Doug was born with Cystic Fibrosis and when he was an infant, we were told that he probably wouldn't live past 7.  Well, he did. At 38, he was really sick and his lungs were failing and miraculously, a set of lungs became available and he got another chance with his lung transplant.  He had about 6 and a half good years with those wonderful lungs and then he was diagnosed in November with colon cancer that had already spread to his liver.  His body finally gave out on Sunday morning about 6:30 with the sun shining through the windows of his hospital room. Dana and I were with him.

Doug was an amazing boy, then man.  I'm so glad I was his older sister because I remember every stage of his life and had the fortune of both being a part of, and being an observer of, his childhood, teen years and adulthood.

He really was made whole when he married Dana, his wife of the last 15 years.  They were soul mates who loved each other deeply and nurtured and took care of each other. 

Doug was an avid reader (he was abd in Philosophy) and spent his life  searching for answers. He had just found Seneca, the Stoic philosopher, whose letters he enjoyed reading and whose writings he pondered. 

In the last week of his life, and I'm convinced he knew it was his last week, he sent me James Joyce's Dubliner's.  In it he wrote, "Lisa, books are life long friends.  I hope this book becomes one of your friends as it reminds you of your trip to Ireland."

Peace be with you, dear brother.