Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
Sunday, February 5th, 2012
This is Part II of two parts of a poem called “That You Remember Me.” This was written in reference to Alzheimer’s Disease, which afflicts so many people and their families. I wondered what it must be like to realize that one’s mind is becoming forgetful. The victim must fear being forgotten, just as they are forgetting. How frightening that must be. Please give generously to the Alzheimer’s Foundation.
That You Remember Me
I love to watch a baseball game,
or listen to the birds.
I love to tell you secrets.
I love to hear your words.
*
I love for you to sit with me;
perhaps you’ll hold my hand
and tell me that you love me–
that I’ll understand.
*
My mind has ways of taking me
where I don’t want to go.
I know I know your name, you see;
just right now it’s hard for me
to think of things I really know,
and to know what really is
and what may not be so.
*
Though I might forget you,
it’s important that you see
just how much it means to me
that you remember me.
* * *
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2009-2012. All rights reserved.
Posted in Family-Children, Health, Love and Family | No Comments »
Sunday, January 22nd, 2012
That You Remember Me
Part one of two parts
I’ve learned so much throughout my life
I know it’s in there somewhere
but it’s hard to find it all.
It’s not that I’ve forgotten you,
or the things I said I’d do;
I remember everything
but it’s hidden somewhere I can’t see
just beyond my view.
You see, there is a shadow where
there didn’t used to be,
and sometimes when I look right there
it just confuses me.
I remember lovely flowers,
and songs I used to sing.
I remember springtime showers,
and rainbows they would bring.
I remember movies
and who would be the star,
but sometimes it’s so hard for me
to know just who you are.
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom. All rights reserved.
Donate to Alzhiemer’s research.
Tags: "daniel mark picture poems", "poems of inspiration", Alzheimer's poem, Alzheimers disease, family, gifts, heirlooms, memorial poem for family member, poems, poetry, That You Remember Me
Posted in Health, Love and Family, Memorial Picture Poem | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
After too many years, and one year too late, Ron Santo is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He died just over one year ago, and so he did not know during his lifetime that he had finally received major league baseball’s highest honor: to be elected and enshrined in the Hall of Fame. I hope he knows now! But more than baseball, he was an advocate for the children who suffer from the disease that he suffered from most of his life. He had Juvenile Diabetes, and during his career, few knew that he had to test his blood and give himself insulin multiple times a day in order to save his life and health. He committed his life to helping children who suffered from this disease, helping the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to raise over $ 60 million to support research to find a cure for it, and to help the children, all while undergoing two leg amputations and multiple other health issues. I am re-running this poem in honor of his Hall of Fame election. It is called “For Every Kid.” And thank you, Ron Santo, a true Hall of Famer!
For Every Kid
You played the nation’s greatest game
with talent and with fire,
reaching deep within yourself
yet always reaching so much higher.
It is a game learned by boys,
yet also played by men.
You played the game so you’d inspire
everyone to have some fun–
so men would play like boys again.
There was a joy to making catch
that others might not make,
or to drive the runner home
when victory was at stake.
Every game was a test
of stamina and will.
You always gave your very best:
you played with passion;
you played with skill;
stars may dim but never rest.
And when the games were over
and the crowds were getting thin,
you gave yourself to different cause,
more determined now than ever
to fight the fight and to win.
You saw the children suffer
from the burdens that you knew.
You gave your all the only way
that you knew how to do:
have a passion; set a goal;
make a plan; then pursue.
You knew their hurt; you knew their pain;
you knew the fear in each one’s brain.
You showed them courage;
you gave them hope.
You taught them how to live and cope;
you showed them that there was no shame.
You gave yourself; you gave your name:
you kept the kids in the game.
So thank you, Mr. Santo,
for everything you did:
for the game; for the Cubs;
and most of all–above it all–
for the love you showed for every kid.
You fought the fight every day
and still you played the game.
the Biggest Leagues have called you up:
You’re a star in every sense–
you’re in Heaven’s Hall of Fame.
Congratulations to Ron Santo! All good things to his family!
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2009-20012. All Rights Reserved.
Tags: "Hall of Fame", "poems of inspiration", "Ron Santo", "the power of words", baseball, chicago cubs, child, heirlooms, Juvenile Diabetes, love, memorial poetry, passion, picture poems, poetry
Posted in Family-Children, Health, Love and Family, Memorial Picture Poem, Sports | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011
So Hope Will Live (Part IV of IV)
Today we conclude So Hope Will Live. This is Part IV.
Boston College has a motto: “Ever to Excel.” It is adopted from Homer’s Iliad.
It is a great motto for a great university and for all of us,
because it encapsulates a pursuit that all of us should undertake.
Steve Jobs pursued excellence and his legacy will long remain so long as others do the same. And he was allowed to continue his pursuit of excellence even after a devastating diagnosis because of the intelligence and talents of medical professionals, and because of the generous gift of life from an organ donor.
As I said earlier, this poem was not written with Steve Jobs in mind, but it might express his sense of gratitude to his donor. We do know that while he was alive, he did thank his donor. This poem is written from the perspective of a recipient to his or her donor and family. Two families are now bonded in a way like no other.
Strangers are indeed now a family.
Donate Life. Your Life Will Go on Living.
So Hope Will Live Part IV of IV
Know that I am grateful
for the life you gave to me.
May my life give you light
wherever you might be.
And may my life bring comfort
from the pain that hurts you so;
we are strangers now a family,
wherever we may go.
And may the life that lives in me
shine a light so all can see
that life goes on, ironically,
when we choose to donate life,
so hope will live, eternally.
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2010-2011. All rights reserved.
P.S. I have not yet read Walter Isaacson’s book entitled, simply, Steve Jobs, but I intend to.
Tags: "a gift of life", "daniel mark picture poems", "donate life", "organ transplant", "poems of inspiration", Donors of life, inspiration, legacies, love, organ donation, picture poems, poetry to honor deceased person, poetry to honor organ donor, So Hope Will Live, Thank you to organ donor and family
Posted in Health, Love and Family, Organ Donation | No Comments »
Friday, October 14th, 2011
The tributes to this remarkable man continue all over the internet. The following poem was not written with Steve Jobs in mind, but it might reflect the gratitude he felt for his donor.
Below you will see Part III of “So Hope Will Live.”
Donate Life! Be an organ donor.
So Hope Will Live (Part III of IV)
Your gift has given life to me –
a gift of love, born of pain –
joined by science, joined by fate -
a bond that bridges life and death –
a bond of love; a bond of pain -
a sad and strange irony –
a gift of life now given me,
and strangers now a family,
burdens borne with different names.
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2010-2011. All Rights Reserved.
Tags: "a gift of life", "daniel mark picture poems", "donate life", "organ transplant", "poems of inspiration", "the power of words", gift, gifts, Health, heirlooms, inspiration, organ donation, picture poems, poems, poetry, poetry to honor deceased person
Posted in Health, Love and Family, Organ Donation | No Comments »
Monday, October 10th, 2011
This is Part II of a poem called “So Hope Will Live,” which was written last year. It was not written with Steve Jobs in mind, but it is a poem written from the perspective of an organ recipient who is alive because of someone else’s gift. Donate Life: Your life will go on living. www.donatelife.org.
Part II of “So Hope Will Live:”
A part of you now lives in me
and we are joined like family –
not in blood and not in name,
different, yes, but yet the same –
joined in cause and common voice –
knowing that there is a choice
to donate life to someone else
so they may live their life again.
May each life be for all
a light ahead in driving rain.
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2010-2011. All rights reserved.
Also, give to JDRF. For the children.
Tags: "a gift of life", "daniel mark picture poems", "donate life", "organ transplant", "poems of inspiration", Commemoration, extraordinary, gift, gifts, Health, heirlooms, legacies, memorial poetry, picture poems, poems, poetry, Steve Jobs
Posted in Health, Love and Family, Organ Donation, Updates | No Comments »
Friday, October 7th, 2011
Far too young.
Steve Jobs lost his battle with pancreatic cancer this week.
But remember that without a donated liver, he would likely have lost his battle several years ago.
The world lost one of its best a couple of days ago. Lost in the outpouring of accolades for a genius committed to excellence is the fact that he outlived his life expectancy. He was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer years ago, but most who have heard that diagnosis have only months to live. How did Steve Jobs survive so long? In part because he received a liver from an organ donor a couple of years ago. He thanked his donor in one of his speeches, and acknowledged that he was alive because of that generous gift. I did a poem last year entitled “So Hope Will Live,” written from the perspective of a recipient and serving as a “thank you” to organ donors and their families. The poem was not written with Steve Jobs in mind, but it might express his sentiments. Here is Part I of that poem:
So Hope Will Live (Part I)
We are strangers now a family,
forever joined – not by choice –
but joined by need and joined by pain:
different lives, but common voice –
a cry for love, a cry for life,
so hope will live, eternally,
born of saddest irony.
Life will never be the same –
not for you and not for me:
One you love – who shares your name –
now is gone, but I remain:
a second chance, a new domain –
a gift of life, that lives in me;
we are strangers now a family.
Copyright 20010-2011 All rights reserved. Daniel Mark Extrom.
Be an organ donor: www.donatelife.org.
Tags: "a gift of life", "daniel mark picture poems", "donate life", "organ transplant", "poems of inspiration", gift, gifts, organ donation, organ recipient, picture poems, poem, poems, poetry, Steve Jobs
Posted in Health, News, Organ Donation | No Comments »
Sunday, October 2nd, 2011
Today is the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk to Cure Diabetes in Chicago. Donate to help a child. Donate to help rid our world of the scourge of this disease. And thank you to Ron Santo for his efforts on behalf of this organization and on behalf of these children. www.jdrf.org (You can see a poem about Ron Santo in our News and Discussions (Blog), entitled “For Every Kid”.)
Tags: "daniel mark picture poems", "Hall of Fame", "Ron Santo", children with juvenile diabetes, JDRF, Juvenile Diabetes, legacies, picture poems
Posted in Family-Children, Health, Love and Family, Updates | No Comments »
Thursday, August 11th, 2011
For Every Kid: Ron Santo has helped so many children who suffer from juvenile diabetes. The Chicago Cubs unveiled a beautiful statue of Mr. Santo last night.
Here is part II, and the conclusion, of this poem.
You saw the children suffer
from the burdens that you knew.
You gave your all the only way
that you knew how to do:
have a passion; set a goal;
make a plan; then pursue.
You knew their hurt; you knew their pain;
you knew the fear in each one’s brain.
You showed them courage;
you gave them hope.
You taught them how to live and cope;
you showed them that there was no shame.
You gave yourself; you gave your name:
you kept the kids in the game.
So thank you, Mr. Santo,
for everything you did:
for the game; for the Cubs;
and most of all – above it all –
for the love you showed for every kid.
You fought the fight every day
and still you played the game.
The Biggest Leagues have called you up:
you’re a star in every sense –
You’re in Heaven’s Hall of Fame.
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2010-2011. All rights reserved.
Tags: "daniel mark picture poems", "Hall of Fame", "Ron Santo", "the power of words", baseball, chicago cubs, gift, gifts, heirlooms, inspiration, JDRF, Juvenile Diabetes, legacies, memorial poem for family member, passion, picture poems, poem, poetry, poetry to honor deceased person
Posted in Health, Love and Family, Memorial Picture Poem, Sports | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
This poem was first printed last winter as a tribute to Ron Santo. Today, Wednesday, the Chicago Cubs will be unveiling a statue of Mr. Santo in Wrigley Field. Whether you agree or disagree that he belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame, he had extraordinary careers as a player and as a broadcaster and as a businessman. And he accomplished all of this while having to check his blood sugar multiple times every day and to take his medications. Ultimately, he lost both of his lower legs to diabetes, had countless surgeries, and yet still made it to the ballpark almost every game to announce the games on WGN radio. Most important, he gave countless hours to help children afflicted with juvenile diabetes, by working the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and especially by direct interaction with the children. He was a Hall of Famer for them! Part II will go up on Thursday.
For Every Kid Part I of II
You played the nation’s greatest game
with talent and with fire,
reaching deep within yourself
yet always reaching so much higher.
It is a game learned by boys
yet also played by men.
You played so hard so you’d inspire
everyone to have some fun –
so men would play like boys again.
There was a joy to making catch
that others might not make,
or to drive the runner home
when victory was at stake.
Every game was a test;
of stamina and will.
You always gave your very best:
you played with passion;
you played with skill;
stars may dim but never rest.
And when the games were over
and the crowds were getting thin,
you gave yourself to different cause,
more determined now than ever
to fight the fight and to win.
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2010-2011. All rights reserved.
Tags: "daniel mark picture poems", "Hall of Fame", "poems of inspiration", "Ron Santo", "the power of words", baseball, baseball player, courage, gift, gifts, heirlooms, inspiration, JDRF, Juvenile Diabetes, legacies, memorial poem for family member, memorial poetry, passion, picture poems, poem, poems, poetry, poetry for wake, poetry to honor deceased person, skill
Posted in Health, Love and Family, Memorial Picture Poem, Sports | No Comments »