Mark starts his role in a new film by Jerry Barrett
Last night began the shooting for a new film called Ten Little Santas. Mark is in the background thinking about his lines. In spite of going through the symptoms that come from cutting his pain medicine in half so he can have more energy, he looked great and did a great job. He got to be shot and die three times in three takes of one scene last night. Everyone did a great job. The filming last night was on an estate outside a mansion; the perfect place to shoot the film.
Cutting Pain Medicine in Half - Withdrawal from pain medicine is not for sissies.
After a couple of years of serious pain medicine for cancer of the esophagus with mets to bone, liver, possibly kidney, it takes a lot of determination to stick it out through the symptoms of withdrawal. Should I write more about this? Anyone interested? Mark is my role model and hero in regard to doing what needs to be done even when the going gets tough. Remember the phrase "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."
Mark Will Get a Urology Consult Sept. 10 - Mark's new doctor has a thought to have the tumor on Mark's kidney surgically removed to reduce some of his pain. Mark heads to Reno on Wednesday for some fishing with Allen before considering surgery. His flight is at 7 and my (mom;s) flight is one hour earlier. I am headed to England to visit Mark's sister for her birthday.

Results of Cat Scan - The doc at the Veteran's Hospital in Houston reported no change in liver tumors which is good. They are still there but unchanged. The chest looked good (remember Mark had a chest wall tumor that was radiated). Left kidney has a cyst or tumor and it is to be evaluated for possible surgery but that will probably not happen until 1. Mark completes a trip to Reno to see his former co-worker Alan and they go camping and fishing in California 2. He finishes being in another movie in which he gets to play the boyfriend. Right now Mark has just cut his pain medication in half after cutting it in half last year. Less pain medication and he does not sleep as much and he has more energy. The trade off is break through pain and withdrawal symptoms. During the period he was tapering off he was hallucinatory and miserable. I won't go into this as he is sensitive about it, but someday I will put it in the book to be written because it might help someone else or interest people.

Aren't the olymphics great? Mark's sister and mother were in China a few years ago and mom was in Bejing about 6 months ago and got an olymphic t-shirt and spent the Chinese money left from the previous trip...the money was now worth more.
Mark's sister Stephanie and Mom (with short hair) at Tinniman Square

Mark gets a trip as described above and his mom gets two trips - August 27 to September 14 I will be in England visiting Mark's sister Stephanie who is having a birthday September 1st. I will be flying American on air miles. The second trip is to Peoria Illinois and it is from Sept 29 until October 5th. The purpose of this trip is to evaluate a nursing school for the National League of Nursing plus personal business which is driving down to Jacksonville to visit family and friends.


Stephanie and fellow teachers on the Great Wall of China

Mark to be in another movie and his sister is in Istanbul, Turkey right now getting laser eye surgery

It is a small world Mark's sister, Stephanie, notified me early this week that she was on her way to Istanbul, Turkey to have surgery on her eyes. I e-mailed Murat Numan, a former University of Texas law school student who lives in Istanbul. We mentored Murat when he was in Austin. He e-mailed back from Argentina where he is on vacation. He is headed back to Istanbul tomorrow. He informed me that his Aunt is a part time doc in the small hospital where Stephanie will have surgery and he knows the places she will be staying in the week she is there.
Friend Jerry is making another film called Ten Little Santas and Mark will have a good part in it. I will be one of the producers again. The premier showing of the last film Mark was in is this Sunday and then we will have copies of the movie to share.

Mark and I went boating last Friday on Lake Austin with friend Mark and his friend Mark so it was three Marks and Mom. We swam and pretended like we were kids again. It was great fun.

This Saturday Mark gets his cat scan. We learned he was not to see the doctor to learn the results until September 2. We are trying to get an earlier appointment.

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Mark in the USA again and recently attended his 30th Class Reunion

Mark came back to Austin, Texas after about 9 months in Thailand. He was devastated by the death of his good friend and caregiver Jin. He and I (Mark's mom) think about Jin every day. It is so sad to lose someone so vivacious and young and after such a valiant fight to hang onto life. Such a strange twist of fate that Mark, with his cancer battle, has managed to outlive his prognosis by more than three years while several friends have died. Mark and I are doing our best to stay alive and to have as many adventures as possible.

Last week we went to Jacksonville, Illinois for four days. Jacksonville is famous for being the home of the Ferris wheel, built by the Eli Bridge Company. Jacksonville has two liberal arts colleges (Illinois College and MacMurray College), a school for the blind and a school for the deaf. It used to have a state hospital for the mentally ill but that closed and the buildings were all demolished. The grounds of the old state hospital became a park with a working Ferris wheel, operated by the local Rotary club.

Jacksonville is also where Mark graduated from high school. Mark visited with a lot of his classmates and relived wild and crazy times from high school. We visited with Uncle Bob and Aunt Dorothy and Aunt Eileen and with our cousins. Uncle Bob was on a submarine in the China Sea in WWII and we love to talk with him about his adventures and about family stuff.
Two Navy Vets: Uncle Bob Kehl and his nephew Mark Richardson

I got a body glow massage, had a motorcycle ride, and ate catfish at a restaurant near the Illinois River. Being such a small world, I met Josh who works at the new Super Walmart in Jacksonville when I took Sierra, a young cousin, shopping. Josh is the son of my nephew Ronnie's wife; Ronnie and his wife live in Denver. If you get to the Walmart in Jacksonville, say hello to Josh in the deli section.

Mark and I flew into and out of St Louis and drove to Jacksonville. We grazed our way there and back eating at interesting places we don't have in Texas. It was a great adventure and I believe it helped Mark begin to recover some from the shock of Jin's death.

Next Step in Cancer Battle - Mark has an appointment for an MRI August 9 at the VA in Houston. This will help determine if he is still in remission or not. Life is uncertain. Have all the adventures you can and do lots of good deeds.

Proving the uncertainty of life - a few months ago we stumbled onto The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. Like Mark, Randy had been given "three months, max" to live. Randy gave the lecture of a lifetime to an audience at Carnegie-Mellon, an awe-inspiring, feel-great, appreciate what you have and keep your humor lecture. It is INCREDIBLE, and if you haven't seen it, check it out at http://www.thelastlecture.com/ . Today in the news I see that Randy Pausch has died; his death is also a loss for all of us, but the inspriation he gave to us immeasurable.

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Mark and Jin at the Tiger Zoo Chonburi Thailand 2007 feeding an adolescent live tiger in a hat she crocheted herself.

Jin (Kun Yuwanit Tipkunok)

July 1976 - June 2008
32 years of life

Our family is mourning the death of Mark's longtime friend and caregiver, Miss Jin (Kun Yuwanit Tipkunok). She will be terribly missed - her beautiful smile, her upbeat style, her unwaivering love for Mark. Jin both saw and brought a lot of beauty into many peoples' lives including ours. Others couldn't help but see that beauty through the sparkle that seemed ever present in Jin's eyes. Jin has too many wonderful qualities to begin to list, but we will always be grateful for the time she spent with Mark and with us, at his sickest times when he was getting chemotherapy and radiation and when he was too sick to go far from home or hospital, and at his best times such as time at Jomtien beach or the Pattaya water park or the Tiger Zoo in Chonburi. Jin worked at the Tiger Zoo in Chonburi some years ago and people there remembered her and chatted with her each time she returned. She visited the zoo in recent years with Mark several times and with Mark and I and Mark and Stephanie. Ironically she died in this city after a prolonged battle with pneumonia and heart attacks .

Jin enjoyed the widest range of experiences in life- it was a pleasure eating with her at an excellent restaurant or eating our favorite noodle soup at a stand on the street. She loved the trip to Chang Mai to see the King's International Floral Show (Royal Flora Ratchaphruck 2006), where Mark nearly fainted among the thousands of beautiful orchids, as he was very sick, but tried his best to go anyway to share the adventure with Jin. She loved the Christmas season spent on Koh Tau with Mark, his sister Stephanie and myself; especially the beautiful Christmas supper on the beach and we loved her enthusiasm at every new adventure she shared with us. She shared her village with us in trips we took there, near Korat, Thailand.

Jin always believed and seemed proud that I (Mark's mother) loved her and would tell people even in her last days: "Mom loves me." I would call or e-mail and tell her this and when she was in ICU and fighting for her life Mark would relay this message to her. I would tell her as often as I could...and yet I am left with the feeling I didn't have enough time with her. I didn't do enough with her or for her even though we had a million adventures. Mark feels this too; it is really that we did not have enough time with her and so we are left feeling we were unable to do enough for her. Her death is a great loss to Mark.

Jin had so many skills. She had the ability to make a feast for a half dozen people or a hundred people out of what would look to us like not nearly enough ingredients. It was fun to go to the market with her and to cook with her. It was fun to ride on the back of her motor bike through the city of Bangkok. It was fun to celebrate Thai holidays and customs with her. Every minute with Jin was treasured in life and now that she is gone, the treasure of time with her seems even more valuable. Jin was a fun person to be around, with every experience seeming wondrous as you experienced it with her, but more than that she was a friend to all and family to a lucky few.

Another scuba trip: another amazing adventure for a man with cancer. Which one is Mark?
Just talked to Mark on the telephone. He reported he was on a bus going back to Chonburi, Thailand from the coast where he had gone scuba diving once more; this seems like a miracle when I recall how sick he has been with cancer and cancer treatments. Another minor miracle seems to be my telephone conversations once or twice a day with Mark. We talk via Yahoo Messinger; my computer to his cell phone at a cost of 5 cents a minute.

If you are new to the blog, read the posts below and you can see that Mark has been going to the hospital in Chonburi three times a day to visit his friend and former caregiver Jin who has clung to life by a thread and the help of a ventilator and lots of medical and nursing care as well as Mark's great decisions about care and his knowledge of respiratory therapy. Mark got a day off to go scuba diving with Alan a former co-worker from the Reno area and a great friend. How did Mark get a day off? Arri (pronounced R-eee) the manager of the Angel's Guest House came from Pattaya with Alan and kindly stayed with Jin while the guys went scuba diving. Mark needed this break from his commitment to make sure Jin makes it through this health crisis. Arri deserves a huge thank-you and I will soon try to post her picture too.

Jin January 2006 when Mark was getting chemo and radiation

Addendum 6/5/08 to note below: Mark is still staying in Chonburi which is half way between Bangkok and Pattaya. This is the city where the tiger zoo is located. The zoo has many live tigers and you can pet an adolescent tiger while it sucks on a baby bottle. These young tigers are a challenge to hold and as soon as the bottle is finished you want the zoo keeper to be taking the young tiger away. This is the zoo where the tiger moms will nurse the baby pigs in tiger suits and the momma pigs nurse baby tigers. Mark is spending his days taking care of Jin in intensive care. Yes Jin is still in intensive care. Mark may delay his June 17 trip home but will come soon after that as he has to get a checkup at the veteran's hospital in Houston, Texas.


Mark's Friend and Caregiver for a long time is in the hospital - Jin (Yuwanit) cared for Mark when he was at his sickest. Now Mark is caring for her. Jin had a cold which progressed into pneumonia. She saw a doctor who comes to see patients at a nearby pharmacy. He prescribed an antibiotic. She got worse and Mark took her to a government hospital and she got a different antibiotic. Within a couple of days, she suddenly got very short of breath and ashen and looked near death's door. Mark took her to Bangkok Hospital in Pattaya where she was admitted to ICU. She spent a few days in ICU and then on the regular floor. Jin has been moved to a government hospital in Chonburi which is about one half way between Pattaya and Bangkok. This hospital has a pulmonologist. Had Mark left Jin at the first hospital anymore days, the cost of care would be astronomical at this point. Jin is on a ventilator (5/24/08) She could use a lot of prayers. Mark was riding a motorbike back to the guest house to sleep but since Jin was moved to Chonburi, he is staying in an inexpensive hotel in Chonburi. One friend told Jin it was lucky she had Mark looking after her or otherwise she would be dead. Perhaps it is good Karma.
While Mark has cancer of the liver metastasized from esophageal cancer, he has lived long enough to care for his caregiver. Who would have thought it three years ago when he first called home and said he had been given three months or less to live. He has good karma too and is building karma with more with good deeds and thoughts everyday.
The Thailand Border With Cambodia. Click on picture above to enlarge it.

Before Jin got so sick, Mark recently went on a one day trip to Cambodia to get his visa renewed. Mark described being lucky that the visa run van he went in was not full so he could be comfortable. When he was very sick and getting chemo and radiation, Bumrungrad hospital staff went to the embassy and made arrangements for Mark's visa to be extended when it was expiring. Now he leaves the country and comes back and he gets 30 more days. He can physically do this now. He could not when he was the sickest.

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Update on Mark - Mark was so excited about receiving 20 plus cards for his birthday.He is making a list of people who send cards and will try to thank people personally.

Spiderbite - Mark has been worried about a spider bite under his arm. The bite resulted in a red area hanging down that was huge, went down ever so gradually and then was the size of a roll of dimes for like forever. Just as he was ready to go on the bus from Pattaya to Bangkok to see a specialist, it started going down again. Here is a picture of a really big spider outside my room when Mark, Jin, and I (Mark's mom) went to South Thailand to the beach.
It is raining everyday in Thailand. It is the rainy season. Mark's friend and former co-worker Alan will be in Thailand in late May for another adventure; this time to Koh Chang. Mark has himself on a strict budget so he can go to Koh Chang. He will be back in Austin June 17 thanks to air miles.

It isn't always about Mark - Mark is blessed with many prayers and he is doing well for now. There are many people today who have more difficulties than Mark and have a need for our prayers.

Mark's sister Stephanie relayed this request today from Mary Leonhart in Germany. Jen, who we ask you keep in your thoughts, is a peer of Stephanie's

Please keep Jen S in your prayers today. She is an outstanding German teacher at the middle school here, who found love late in life, married two years ago, and is scheduled to have labor induced today. At 4:30 this morning, her husband died; they think it was a massive coronary.Jen has been so happy with her husband and excited about baby Dane. She needs us to lift her up in prayer! I cannot even imagine having your greatest sadness and your greatest joy happen in one day.

Update: Jen gave birth to a healthy 9 lb. baby boy.

Mark Sings Karaoke at his early birthday party last week. People singing are from left to right: George Richardson (Brit who has liver cancer too), Mark, ?, Bob from Canada and Jerry Barrett filmmaker from Austin who is building a house overlooking the Kathmandu Valley. Mark and Jerry shared an early birthday celebration with mutual friends in Jomtien Beach, Pattaya, Thailand.

I talked to Mark on his birthday (4-20) and he reported he has had several birthday parties and cakes over the past week. He was awakened the morning of his birthday by friends from Bangkok singing happy birthday and bringing a cake before having to return home in the city. Mark reports he has added some weight on to provide some excess stores in case he gets an exacerbation of cancer.

The Thai New Year Songkran is also currently being celebrated and Mark reports he has done his part to help celebrate. Songkran means crowds of people laughing and shooting water at anyone coming near and putting powder on people's faces. Click on picture below to enlarge it. This scene from Songkran is on the beach road, Jomtien Beach, where Mark stays.

Mark is receiving a number of birthday cards from people around the world ; his response "Amazing! Getting these birthday cards and messages is exciting!" It is not too late to send a card. See the next blog for the address. Mark is enjoying every card and every day; the fact that he has fought esophageal gastric adenocarcinoma, with metastasis to the liver, is pushed to the back of his mind, but creeps up to the front of his thoughts periodically causing him to reflect on an uncertain future.

All of us have uncertain futures, however it seems like those who have the diagnosis of cancer looming over them find time to worry a bit more about how long they will have to enjoy life and when the pain will go away or when it will return as well as when energy or nausea or appetite will return or go away. Staying positive and getting support from friends, family, and strangers is just as important as medicine. To all of you who are sending cards to Mark whether you know him or not or providing support to Mark in any way or to anyone who has cancer or illness of any kind or need for help, may you be truly blessed with riches of the heart. I wish the same riches for those fighting cancer or any illness.

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Mark and his friend Jin went to a wedding up in the Thai city of Korat this weekend. Mark is 100% better than he was three or even one or two years ago. At that time, he could not stand to ride in a car for very long and there were a lot of days with lack of appetite and nausea and pain. He is not without problems, but you will see as you read/scan the blog how much better he is.

Send a birthday message in the mail to Mark ! April 20th, Mark celebrates his 4th birthday since his diagnosis of cancer and being told he had three months or less to live. In Feb. 2005 Mark did not know if he would live to celebrate his birthday in April, but thanks to doctors, nurses, and staff at Bumrungrad Hospital and the VA in Houston, support and prayers from friends and strangers, he is soon to celebrate his 4th bonus birthday. You can mail a homemade card include pictures of you, your dog or cat, or kids or the kid's art work. The address is: Angel's Guest House Jomtien Beach Road 131/23-24 Moo 12, Nongprue, Banglamung, Chonburi Thailand 20150. The cost to mail a letter or regular card from the US to Thailand is 90 cents postage. You can buy a 90 cent stamp at the Post Office counter or put the equivalent of 90 Cents in stamps on the envelope.
It doesn't matter if Mark has met you or not. Mail a birthday message as he seems to perk up when he knows people care what happens to him.

Mark's Mom just got back from a trip into Mexico to see the Monarch butterflies in the sanctuary near Anganguero, Mexico. The trip also included a tour of Lake Pazquarro and Janitzio Island and visits to several colonial cities of Mexico.

Good News from Dr. Theera and Cat Scan
I just talked to Mark by phone. He was on a bus returning from his appointment with Dr. T.in Bangkok. Mark relayed that everything on the CAT scan looked good enough that he won't have to have chemo right now apparently. There are a couple of spots to watch with a repeat CAT Scan in three months together with a Pet Scan if possible financially in Thailand or at the VA in the USA if possible to get a VA doc in our area to order it. These tests are being done at the same time as a standard in some cancer centers. I will add an explanation later. Dr. T. reportedly said he is going to write Mark's case up in a Medical Journal. Do you suppose that, along with the medical treatment, it was all those prayers, cards, letter's, children's drawings, kool-aide, licorice, and other kinds of support that everyone, old friends and new, provided Mark that kept the cancer under control? He wants to thank everyone for anything and everything they did for him as he felt very much that people cared what happened to him and this was very important to him.
PET Scans in Thailand Are New
Having a PET scan in Thailand is new in the last year. Patients used to have to go to Hongkong or Shanghai to get a PET Scan. The king's sister has cancer and she facilitated the purchase of the equipment for PET scans which I think are done at some hospital in Bangkok.
The Bus From Bangkok to Jomtien Beach, Pattaya, Thailand We used to take the taxi from Bangkok to Pattaya which is about a two and a half hour ride in good traffic and it only costs 1200 baht which is 36 dollars but now Mark is riding the bus which is about $3.50 to keep the budget in control. When he was getting radiation and chemo he was too sick to ride the bus and even a one hour car ride was more than he could stand, so riding the bus may be another symbol of progress in the cancer battle.
Picture Above Mark's friend Jin (4th from left) cooked a meal for Mark and Stephanie and some guests at the guest house. Mark is 3rd from left. Click on picture to enlarge it. So far we count Mark lucky that he did not have the Ivor Lewis surgery on his esophagus (removal of part or most of the esophagus and bringing the stomach up and reattaching it). This surgery has been a standard if esophageal cancer has no metastasis. The surgery brings many eating problems to overcome but provides a sense of security that the cancer was cut out . With stage 4 metastasis the standard is not to do the surgery. Without the surgery and only chemo and radiation, Mark's esophageal tumor seems to be gone and mark was able to eat a good portion of steak, salad and cream brulee when his sister Stephanie treated him to supper this week. She has returned to England.

Scuba Dive Gives Mark New Confidence When Mark was diagnosed with cancer and told he had three months or less to live, he sold or gave away nearly every possession he had including his scuba gear. For two years he was very sick with cancer, side effects of radiation and chemo, and believed he would never do many things again including scuba diving. When he got a chest wall tumor that was eventually radiated , he feared for some time that he had cancer invading critical chest structures and possibly the cancer would invade a major vessel and kill him. Every chest pain fueled his fear. Some days he needed a lot of reassurance that he did not need to go to the emergency room because of symptoms that worried him. When I would tell him that I was sure he did not need to go to the ER, he would say: "Mom it will be your fault if I die because you wouldn't take me to the ER ." I would respond: "I'll take the responsibility" and reassure him that he was o.k. Thank God he did not up and die and blame mom from the great beyond. He has survived to go scuba diving with his friend Alan in some islands not too far from Pattaya, Thailand. He called yesterday to tell me how excited he was to have successfully made a dive. Every step toward a normal life in spite of cancer is to be celebrated.

Go Cart Track - Another adventure was driving go carts. See picture (Mark on the left). Click on any picture to enlarge it.

Mark goes to get his CAT scan on the 18th. His sister Stephanie who lives and works in England has scheduled her check up at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok on the same day. Mark and his sister will hang out together for a few days before Mark gets his CAT scan report after which she will head back to England.

Passed an anniversary date: Three years have passed since on Feb 6, 2005 Mark left a message on my answering machine: "Mom I have a bit of bad news. Please call me." I thought maybe he had been in an accident or needed bail money. The thought never crossed my mind that he would soon tell me he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Mark reports he is doing alright in Thailand. He asked me to let people know or remind them that he is living very frugally. "My beach room rent is 300 a month, food is cheap and I am traveling on air miles earned when I was traveling as a respiratory therapist to patients from the Saipan hospital being transported to the USA and other places, as well as miles from my trip home when I was so sick, Mom was afraid we could not pay the bill if I went into the hospital." Remember that health care for foreigners in Thailand is cash as you go. The Thai citizens have a type of universal health care that is very little expense to them, for example a doctor visit is 30 baht or the equivalent of one dollar.

Picture of entrance to modern Bumrungrad Hospital - Joint Commission International accredited

Mark will go to Bumrungrad Hospital for a CAT scan in mid February and get the results on Feb. 21. The hospital gave us an estimated cost in writing when we scheduled the scan. The estimate is now 1,200 dollars. We used to pay 500 or so but health care costs are rising everywhere. Why are we going to pay this? It was a big debate, but we would like to know how Mark compares now to the Cat scan he had last about a year ago at Bumrungrad Hospital. I would like him to get a Pet scan but we can not afford one in Thailand and the VA in Houston always says CAT scan. Not even sure they have a PET scan. It will be stressful for Mark up until the results are in and hopefully he will not be more worried when he gets the results. At present we are trying to figure out what to do, if anything, about his liver tumors. Google something called SIR-spheres and you will find that an Australian drug company is making radioactive beads smaller than the diameter of a hair. These are being used in metastatic tumors including liver tumors with success. The process is an outpatient one but the price is said to be very high. Maybe it will go down?

Mark's former co-worker and friend Alan is headed for Thailand - Alan arrives in Thailand Feb. 4 or 5. Watch this site for more adventures when Alan arrives.

A picture from 2005 when Mark was sick from chemo and had no appetite and we went to Amsterdam to resurrect his appetite. Mark was very sick and sure he was dying soon. I was worried he was losing weight and was so sick.. When we left I was not sure he would make it back alive from that trip. He had lost his hair and it looks thin and very light here. Mom had short hair then...now very long and straightened permanently. Picture coming soon

Mark staying in Thailand for awhile because he is thriving here and looking very healthy and he was looking very sick when last in Austin. Mom will return to Austin January 15.
We went to see Mark's doctors at the cancer center in Bumrungrad Hospital last week. They had not seen Mark for about a year since we had brought him home for treatment at the VA in Houston to get a financial break from the cost of treatment on a cash as you go basis at Bumrungrad. Dr. Theera asked Mark to get a CAT scan to compare with earlier scans. The price of a CAT scan at Bumrungrad has gone up to nearly a thousand dollars. Dr. Theera wants Mark to resume chemotherapy which we don't think we can afford again here in Thailand. We paid cash for chemo and radiation and many other medical bills for over two years from Feb. 05- Jan 07 and it was quite an ordeal, but we credit Dr.Theera Umsawadee (Oncologist) and Dr. Dr. Sunantha Srisubut-Ploysongsang (radiation specialist) with saving Mark's life and giving him a gift of time to live.
We are back from a week's vacation in Krabi in the south of Thailand. This is the area where the Tsunami was so now there are signs showing the evacation route in case of another big wave. There was a Thai airlines special promotion to go to Krabi and we lucked out and got it. We took a public ferry to Koh Phi Phi which is a neat island and saw many islands that are famous like the James Bond Island and Chicken Island. Mark has an affinity for snakes. One dropped out of the tree on Aonang Beach and scared everyone. Mark picked it up and put it in the jungle. Was it poisonous? No one knows, but Mark claimed he was not going to let the snake bite him and that it seemed like a nice little snake. There are lots of wild monkeys in the trees and clifts between Aonang Beach and the 5 star hotel on the other side of the clifts. They are gentle and take fruit nicely out of your hands. They also love to drink water from water bottles.

We had some nice side trips around Krabi and Aonang Beach. Mr. Bill who owned the guest house we stayed in on Aonang Beach, took us in his truck to a fish research facility that is part of the King of Thailand's work to improve fishing and agriculture for the people. Mr. Bill took us to some National Parks including one with an area of hot springs and we had some wonderful time in the hot water.
I took a side trip to Malaysia to get my visa to Thailand extended to cover my stay. Mark claimed I would get kidnapped and/or in some monsoon and the van would fall off the road in Malaysia but I managed to get there and back safely.
We are again staying a half block from the beach in Pattaya at the guest house of Mr. George Richardson from England and his Thai wife Angel. Yesterday Mr. George showed me his liver x-rays and he has tumors in both lobes of his liver just like Mark. He was treated at the Royal Marsden Hosp. in London by professor Cunningham for colon cancer and then turned loose with his liver tumors without further treatment. George just got out of the hospital after being treated for Dengue fever. The mosquitoes carrying Dengue are here in Thailand and we hope not to be bitten by any of them.
Friend Jerry Barrett, who directed the movie Mark had a role in and which is mentioned in earlier blogs, has had a mild stroke and come from India to Bangkok to Bumrungrad Hospital for outpatient check-ups and treatment. Jerry was on a trip to India to film the Budha Gaya ceremonies. Mark and I were earlier planning to go with Jerry and his wife Christine but they decided it was too dangerous for Mark and I and Jerry cancelled Mark's and my accompanying him and his wife Christine on the trip from Katmandu to India. Jerry tells us that it was a very hard trip and then he had a mild stroke and had to abort the trip anyway.
Someone wrote to say they had heard this blog is a hoax. How crazy is that? Mark wishes he didn't have cancer. I wish he did not have cancer but he does. We are thankful for the gift of each day that he has.

Happy Holidays to all of you.

Christmas Day Lunch at Jomtien Beach Mark and I had a lovely Christmas day. We watched some exciting TV movie then we went to Lunch at a restaurant just three doors down from our beach guest house. Complimentary glass of champaign, turkey, roasted potatoes, gravy, carrots, broccoli, and brussel sprouts, dressing and some kind of sausage wrapped in bacon, and a special English pudding. Minced pie was available but we were full and needed to stop before the pie. We received boxed gifts of small christmas towels from the owner of the restaurant, who is an English Barrister. Other people from our guest house were there too.

After lunch Mark and I went to the beach for awhile and stayed until the sun went down.

Mark doing construction work Even though he still has cancer, Mark is doing all he can. Yesterday and today he worked a full day with Mr. George Richardson, who along with his wife Angel, owns the guest house where we are staying in Jomtien Beach Pattaya Thailand. It is one half block from the beach.

George has purchased the house next door and is remodeling it for a guest house, restaurant, and Kareoke bar. Yesterday Mark and George used a winch system to move a large pile of eucaleptus boards from the ground to the third floor roof. Today they are building some sort of shade wall on the third floor. For you guys, they have a power saw, a compressor, and power nail gun going full blast. Notice the tall condominium in the background. We are one half block from the beach. Mom will head to the beach this afternoon late and will stay to get somemore sunset pictures like this one taken yesterday, only better.

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Group Trip to the Angkor Wat Ruins, Siem Reap, Cambodia - Our host and hostess Mr George Richardson and wife Angel organized a trip for guests to go to Seim Reap to see the ruins of many ancient Hindu and Budhist temples. These sites were in the running for one of the top 7 wonders of the world. Last time Mark and I (mom) visited Siem Reap, we flew in and had our own car and driver and tour guide. This time our group traveled 3 hours in a van to the border of Thailand and Cambodia, arranged a tour including transportation, hotel, food, driver, guide and then walked accross the border to a bus which took 5 hours to go 125 km as the road was so very bad. Riding on the bus was like riding the mechanical bull at Billy Bob's although the bus had more moves and you had to hold on tighter to avoid being thrown off your seat.
Immediately on crossing the border, the poor people of the country are highly visible. All our luggage was hand pushed accross the border in a wooden cart by a man. There were wooden carts everywhere pushed by manpower. Trucks were seriously overloaded with recycled metal or handwoven baskets. Eventually we got to our hotel the Angkor Hotel which is beautiful with hand carved wood everywhere, a wonderful dining hall, and a pool. We spent Wednesday touring ruins, eating fantastic Cambodian food, and seeing a show about the history of Cambodia in song and dance. On Thursday we went by van to take a boat on the 100 mile long Tonle Sap lake. This is the lake that connects with the Mekong River. You can go on this lake to Phenom Phen. There are floating villages on the lake. 70% of the people who live on the lake are Vietnamese. One interesting sight among many was a small girl on a boat with her mother. The girl who was about 3 years old had her baby doll and she had a large live snake around her neck. At one point some small child about five years old jumped off a passing boat onto our boat to sell us water, beer, or soda.

We arrived Tuesday and left Thursday to return to Jomtiem Beach, Pattaya, Thailand.

Note: there have now been over 10,000 visitors from 77 countries to this blog. Thank-you for visiting and telling friends.

Mark and Mom are in Thailand - Mark's mom left Austin, Texas on Sunday December 2. When she and friend Suzie arrived at the airport at 5:20 am, there was a long line and after an hour in line, mom learned that the plane was delayed four hours and this meant no connections could be made and she was told to go home and come back the next day. It was tempting to go home, but reservations had been made and plans were to leave Bangkok for the beach town of Pattaya on Tueday at noon to attend the birthday party of Mr. George Richardson Tuesday evening. Bangkok is half way around the world from Austin and there is 12 hours difference in time. Bangkok is 12 hours ahead of Austin. Mom and Suzie started to go home, then Mom tried calling the 800 number of the airlines and got an agent to schedule 4 flights with two tight connections (1 hour for one and 41 minutes the other). Back in the line for another hour to get the boarding passes. Mom made the first tight connection in Denver, but not the second one in San Francisco. Missed it by 5 minutes as the plane was 30 minutes late due to de-icing the wings in Denver. Back in line for another hour with a patient lady agent who tried all kinds of things to get mom to Bangkok including going to Korea first, but finally a simple solution; another flight to LA, a bus to international and out at 10:30 pm on Monday on Thai airlines. So five flight legs and mom finally made it to Bangkok at 6:30 am Tuesday with only one bag missing.

Mark and Jin met mom at the airport and headed to the house close to Soi 76 and Sukhumvit,the one where the large python climbs over the wall and slithers through the yard where we will later play croquet. An hour after we arrived at the house and Mark and Mom had gone to the Bank of Bangkok on motorcycle taxi's and back, we packed, ate lunch, and waited for Jerry to come in the van from where he was staying down by soi 23. By noon we were headed for Jomtien Beach Pattaya. We stopped at the tiger zoo on the way down. We checked into Angel's guest house in Jomtien Beach. By 7 we were at a birthday party for Mr. George Richardson our host at the guest house.

George's birthday party Tuesday- In the afternoon we were at the site of the birthday party watching the preparations. A truck drove up with big chunks of ice and two men started with saws and chisels working on the ice. Later we saw the finished products which was two swan ice sculptures. Happy birthday signs were hung along with many ballons. There were many floral displays with orchids and roses and mums and fruit. In the evening at the party there was kareoke, dancing, and many different dishes and drinks served. George was very happy and so was his wife Angel who threw the party for him.

The King's Birthday December 5- The left over food last night went to the poor or somewhere. Tonight Angel cooked a bar-b-que with all fresh dishes including whole fish in foil, huge shrimp on the grill, bar-b-que chicken, stir fry vegetables, soups and much more. Angel has a heart of gold or Jai Dee which means good heart in Thai.

We took a trip down the coast through costal villages and toured a Botanical Garden. We also went to what we call a temple but would technically be called a Wat It's name is Anek Kusala Sala (Viharasien).

Mr. George took us to a Budhist temple overlooking the bay of Pattaya. Near the temple on a hill above the city there is like a small park with a large statue of the son of Rama Five. This son was sent from Thailand to Dartmouth Sailing School. He returned and took charge of the Thai Navy turning it into one of the best in Asia. People who sail bring small replicas of boats here and have a blessing for their boat. Part of this ceremony is to shoot off firecrackers. There is a sign banning all fireworks except firecrackers.

Friday December 7 - Today is a lazy day. This morning early our hostess Angel went to the beach one block away and bought fresh fish, shrimp, and crabs out of boats that had come in from fishing. We took our daily walk along the beach and our other activities have been to drink iced tea, eat wonderful homemade light chicken soup, and nap.

"The happiest people are those who have harvested their time in others. The unhappiest people are those who wonder how the world is going to make them happy."~John C. Maxwell, Entrepreneur, Author and Leadership expert

Miss Betty the Mom is headed to Bangkok Dec. 2 on air miles earned in the past two years - Lots to do before leaving -James had knee surgery today and he is doing fine. The nurse gave him written instructions which said he had to have a responsible adult with him at all times for 24 hours after surgery. The mental health center where mom works canceled all therapy groups for the day as mom was the only nurse and therapist scheduled today. James rates his pain at a 0.01 this morning.

Thanksgiving 2007 - Mark had Thanksgiving in Bangkok 12 hours ahead of us in Austin Texas. Mark's sister Stephanie was in her home which is a restored school house in a village called Downham Market in England. She cooked and served turkey and trimmings to fellow DODs people and other friends six hours ahead of us. We spent Thanksgiving in New Braunfels Texas with James' brother and sister-in-law, family and friends and were extremely thankful to be able to enjoy this fellowship and food as there are people are special to us who are spending the holiday in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital or preparing to go into the hospital and there are people crossing our paths who have almost nothing in a material way.

A friend Richard fell somehow and ended up in Intensive Care and his wife Betty is at his side as much as she is allowed.

Thomas, young son of Mom's former editor at Austin Family Magazine Lisa Molina and her husband Gary, went five years without a sign of his leukemia and just before Thanksgiving his parents learned his leukemia is back and he goes into the hospital again and may need bone marrow transplant. Even though Thomas and Mark are both battling cancer, albeit different types of cancer, I am so thankful they are with us and still in the fight.

Mom was touched this week by a man who had lost nearly everything he had and had no food in his house and no money. Some sources of help were found for him and he has a glimmer of hope to keep him going. Had no help been found, that Thanksgiving dinner might have been hard to enjoy.

Let's not think about what we don't have, but what real treasures we have in our lives.

Large python comes over the fence of the compound in Bangkok - Mark sent an e-mail saying "the people next door woke me up early because they saw a python coming over our wall into our yard. They said it was 10-12 inches around and about 20ft long. We think it was headed to our other neighbor's house to try to eat a chicken or a goat. I asked them if they have seen snakes around before and they said " O yes, usually cobras" I will try to attatch a picture of me in front of the house. It is on about 100 st. or about 80 blocks from where we used to live at sukhumvit and Asoke (21st). Also found a new all you can eat bar-b-q place. Very clean with big shrimp for 79 b (about $3) all u can eat. Feeling pretty good, sleeping alot and just hanging around the house mostly. I am looking everywhere for dill pickles, no luck. do they have a powder or something you mix with vinegar to make your own? I will look on the internet for a recipe. I have to take a motercycle taxi to the mall to use the internet, but it is cheap. 10baht for the taxi and 10baht for 30min internet. OK enough for now miss u and hope to see u soon love Mark "
I will try to get Mark to get a picture of the python or at least the chickens and the goats next door.
8471 visitors to the blog as of today. Heading for 10,000 by Mark's birthday in April.
Cancer keeps us prisoners Lisa and Gary Molina's child Thomas was thought to have his leukemia under control after 5 years of no sign of it; however it is back. He heads to the hospital this Friday for further evaluation. If you like, you can send money or food to help out. I will give you a contat person
Mom is headed to Bangkok on Dec.2 using airmiles economy seat so mom could be sitting in the middle of a big row of non English speaking people doing self-flagellation. During most of one unforgettable trip some nervous looking Asian lady was beating herself harshly about the legs and arms. Not sure if it was to toughen herself or to keep herself awake or what....maybe some ritual.