Holocaust Victim Still Playing Piano

[Guest guest]

Dear Leah,

Thank you so much for the website. It is one everyone should see and hear.

Music is like medicine to me. Thankfully my husband and I are both music

lovers. He played trumpet and was very good. He was accepted to play in the US

Air Force band, but turned it down because he thought he would not have enough

time off to play around with his buddies. No one can unring the bell, but he

was only 17 when he entered the service and though his father had died, the Air

Force finished raising him. I think they did a good job, we have been together

for 55 years. Of course he has regrets, as it was one of the cushiest jobs in

the service. LOL

I, on the other hand played the organ and I was not good, but when I played, he

would always say it was nice. There is something about music that transports

you to another dimension and for me it is an elixir or balm.

Remembering the Holocaust is sad, but it is something we have to remember to

keep it from happening again. There is a website dedicated to Nizkor, which is

a Hebrew word which means " We will remember. " There are many places to visit on

the internet if there are any who still doubt that it exhisted. I think the

point I am trying to make is that no matter how bad the circumstances, there is

always hope. The remarkable thing about this woman is that she did not have the

capacity to hate anyone, not even her captors. She is one of God's trophies

that he kept around for everyone to learn something from her sheer will to

survive. Thank you again for bringing this to our attention.

I have to say as a postscript to repeat that we are not professionals, so I hope

no one thinks that what we say is gospel, unless we have scientific evidence as

in information from medical journals or webcams from the mouths of doctors who

are the real experts. We can only relate to our own experiences, but that is

enough for some who have little knowledge about CML. I took many baby steps in

learning about CML and it came from all the members who shared what they knew

with me. I felt their gentle hand guiding me through the dark periods.

I don't think it at all inappropriate for us to vent from time to time, because

there will always be someone who will respond in a positive manner - more baby

steps in our understanding of this disease. Who else is there that we can vent

to, but our brothers in CML? I don't know anyone who understands as much as we

who have walked in these shoes year after year. When I see a doctor who is not

an oncologist and they ask about my CML, they tell me they don't know what I am

talking about, so there is no point in going further, but that's o.k. I want

them to know more about their own field or discipline. I really don't mind it

when someone has a complaint, and more times than not, it is a valid one. I

think the title of the group says what we do " Support Group " and I think we are

organized to exchange ideas and feelings, too. I have had my bad days and I

have whined like a dog whose tail got caught in a screen door, and if anyone

disapproves, maybe they will have their say with me, but I hope no one was

offended by it. There are people who from time to time abuse the word

" support " , but they soon drop off by the wayside, as we are not on the same

playing field. We do hurt and cry, but eventually we have to move on. Life is

sweet and let's all keep music in our hearts.

Carpe Diem,

Lottie Duthu