A Road Well Traveled
I
By Tina Withrow
met Jimmy during his second cancer crisis. The first was
lymphoma, which he conquered in his early 30s. The
second was sarcoma of his hand in his 40s. Well meaning doctors had told him he would have to have his hand
amputated and he contacted me to discuss his options.
When I told him that there are
always options, he firmly told me
that he was a golfer and guitar
player and that amputating his
hand, just to get rid of his cancer,
was not ever going to happen.
I knew the moment I met him in
person that I liked him. He had
attitude and he cussed like a sailor––and didn’t apologize to anyone for it. I didn’t hold it against
him too much when I found out
he that he was not a Dallas Cowboy fan, but a certified, in your
face, glow in the dark, rabid
Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, and
Notre Dame football fan.
As we came to know and love each other, we also came
to fight like cats and dogs. Me, trying to tell him what to
do, what he needed to do, and him telling me to take a
hike. You see, Jimmy was like a lot of men. His definition
of a man was someone who loved his family, worked hard
to support them and if he couldn’t
do that, then never mind.
Triple bypass, three more cancer
diagnosis and the theme was always the same. No surrender,
no retreat. He became my poster
child for never giving up. I would
hav