Yesterday I drove into Sacramento to have lunch with my younger brother, Alex. He’s ten years younger than me and plagued with bad health. I don’t know how much longer he’ll be around, and I love him. In a way, we are ‘soul mates,’ if one could say that about one’s sibling. (Photo: Alex on the left and his father on the right).
He had cancer in his mouth about five years ago, on his tongue. The surgeon removed it and advised chemotherapy. Alex opted for the laetrile treatments in Mexico. And natural foods. Our mother bought him one of those mega-fantastic sooper-dooper juicing machines, and he basically juiced himself back to health. He’s been cancer free ever since.
You see, Alex is a majorly self-educated person. He reads constantly. He is also somewhat of a layperson when it comes to cancer. Just ask him a question—any question—and he can answer it.
Then, about three years ago, he had a stroke. According to his doctor, it should have been fatal. He spent several days in the hospital. His speech was slurred and stumbling. His hands were shaky. He tired easily. We all wondered what would become of him, but several months later he was his old self again.
He’d dodged another bullet.
Throughout this whole ordeal, however, Alex was also dealing with another major health issue, heart disease. He’d been cursed with bad genes—we all knew that. Almost every one of the men in his father’s family died of heart attacks at early ages. His dad (my step-dad) had triple bypass surgery back in the mid ‘80s and died 14 years later of a massive coronary. He was 72, the longest living man in his family, thanks to modern medicine.
I didn’t count (and only my brother knows for sure) how many heart attacks he’s had. He has been in and out of hospitals for the last 10 years. One time, he was driving home from his job and felt pain in his chest—instead of turning left to go home, he detoured to the right and drove himself directly to the hospital.
A couple of years ago, he had another major incident. His cardiologist conferred with other doctors on the feasibility of performing bypass surgery on one so young. The doctor had once told Alex that he needed one, but warned that the procedure was best put off until the last possible moment. At that time, the plan was to wait a few years. Nevertheless, my brother's condition was so grave that they decided to go ahead, even at the tender age of 49. To date, he is the youngest person ever to have bypass surgery—and a quintuple bypass surgery, to boot.
My younger brother and I share a lot of the same interests. We love theater and often went to the Curran Theater in San Francisco to see broadway shows. Although we don't do that now, instead we talk about books, ideas, ideologies, psychology, history, religion, God, and more. He’s very esoteric, but also very well read and can talk on just about any subject. For instance, he read two books recently on the Ba’hai faith, maybe because my best friend and ‘li’l sister’ Raymona is Ba’hai. I don’t know.
Alex also plays the piano. He’s very good, but for some reason gave it up a few years ago. My granddaughter, Samantha, plays too. Maybe she’ll take it beyond high school. I hope so.
But for now, I am happy to have shared some time with my little brother. We went to the Cheesecake Factory. He had spaghetti and meatballs and I had a salad (I’m watching my cholesterol). Then afterwards, we blew all our good intentions on an old fashioned piece of cheesecake which we split between us. Fabulosity!
I hope he’s around for a good long time…although he said to me he didn’t want to grow old and feeble like some senior ladies he’d seen on the bus. He talked about 55 being a good age to ‘go.’ I hope he’s around for a lot longer than that. He’s only 51. I’m selfish. I want him to be around for a long, long time. I would miss my little brother, my ‘soul mate.’
He had cancer in his mouth about five years ago, on his tongue. The surgeon removed it and advised chemotherapy. Alex opted for the laetrile treatments in Mexico. And natural foods. Our mother bought him one of those mega-fantastic sooper-dooper juicing machines, and he basically juiced himself back to health. He’s been cancer free ever since.
You see, Alex is a majorly self-educated person. He reads constantly. He is also somewhat of a layperson when it comes to cancer. Just ask him a question—any question—and he can answer it.
Then, about three years ago, he had a stroke. According to his doctor, it should have been fatal. He spent several days in the hospital. His speech was slurred and stumbling. His hands were shaky. He tired easily. We all wondered what would become of him, but several months later he was his old self again.
He’d dodged another bullet.
Throughout this whole ordeal, however, Alex was also dealing with another major health issue, heart disease. He’d been cursed with bad genes—we all knew that. Almost every one of the men in his father’s family died of heart attacks at early ages. His dad (my step-dad) had triple bypass surgery back in the mid ‘80s and died 14 years later of a massive coronary. He was 72, the longest living man in his family, thanks to modern medicine.
I didn’t count (and only my brother knows for sure) how many heart attacks he’s had. He has been in and out of hospitals for the last 10 years. One time, he was driving home from his job and felt pain in his chest—instead of turning left to go home, he detoured to the right and drove himself directly to the hospital.
A couple of years ago, he had another major incident. His cardiologist conferred with other doctors on the feasibility of performing bypass surgery on one so young. The doctor had once told Alex that he needed one, but warned that the procedure was best put off until the last possible moment. At that time, the plan was to wait a few years. Nevertheless, my brother's condition was so grave that they decided to go ahead, even at the tender age of 49. To date, he is the youngest person ever to have bypass surgery—and a quintuple bypass surgery, to boot.
My younger brother and I share a lot of the same interests. We love theater and often went to the Curran Theater in San Francisco to see broadway shows. Although we don't do that now, instead we talk about books, ideas, ideologies, psychology, history, religion, God, and more. He’s very esoteric, but also very well read and can talk on just about any subject. For instance, he read two books recently on the Ba’hai faith, maybe because my best friend and ‘li’l sister’ Raymona is Ba’hai. I don’t know.
Alex also plays the piano. He’s very good, but for some reason gave it up a few years ago. My granddaughter, Samantha, plays too. Maybe she’ll take it beyond high school. I hope so.
But for now, I am happy to have shared some time with my little brother. We went to the Cheesecake Factory. He had spaghetti and meatballs and I had a salad (I’m watching my cholesterol). Then afterwards, we blew all our good intentions on an old fashioned piece of cheesecake which we split between us. Fabulosity!
I hope he’s around for a good long time…although he said to me he didn’t want to grow old and feeble like some senior ladies he’d seen on the bus. He talked about 55 being a good age to ‘go.’ I hope he’s around for a lot longer than that. He’s only 51. I’m selfish. I want him to be around for a long, long time. I would miss my little brother, my ‘soul mate.’
