I am one of the lucky few. I am afflicted with a terminal disease, but there hasn't been any pain or suffering. Unfortunately, many who are facing death have to endure agonizing torment as they deal with unmanageable pain. Sometimes, the meds only "take the edge off" or give little relief to the pain. It seems to be a horrendous way spend the last few days of one's life. We are kinder to murderers on death row than we are to our own loved ones. We show more compassion to cats, dogs and horses. This is madness. Our sense of morality is so off kilter. Mercy killing is not murder. Showing compassion is not criminal. Our laws which do not allow for death with mercy are immoral, unjust and incredibly unkind. Perhaps, most Americans can't relate to what I am saying, because they haven't experienced constant pain and agony. Perhaps only those who have watched a terminally ill suffer beyond reason will understand the need for more options for the terminally ill.

I am still alive and kicking one year after being diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a bone marrow disorder which, in my case, affects all three types of blood counts: white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. Due to the severity of my disease, I was given a median life expectancy of 3 to 5 months. Not quite sure why I am beating the odds. I don't have a positive attitude concerning the prognosis. There is not much room for optimism after much research and study regarding my type of disease. I am, however, accepting of it and have been rather serene from the day the doc broke the news to me. I do not fear death though I am not anxious to kick that proverbial bucket. I am neither depressed nor worried about my imminent demise. Instead, I strive to enjoy every single day I have left and to keep the beauty and the fun in living. My two oncologists are doing their best for me, but we're not at all certain if the chemotherapy and the experimental drug combination is working. Just can't figure out why I am still alive.
There is one thing that is very clear and without equivocation. I am the beneficiary of the kindness of an indeterminate number of total strangers during a total of 35 transfusions since July 30, 2008.
I wish I could thank all those kind souls who have kept me from death's door. They are my unseen angels of mercy and love.

I placed a bumper sticker on my van, right after 9/11/2001, which read "God Bless America." Surely, after this horrendous tragedy, Americans, more than ever, needed God's blessings. We needed God's guiding light. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the whole world seemed to be in darkness and in desperate need of God's light. But "God Bless the World" just didn't have the same ring to it. It seemed an awkward phrase. Yet the more I pondered it, the more I realized that there is not one patch of Earth - anywhere in the world - that is not in need of God's goodness and love. We all really need God's direction in our lives.

We have many religions, yet we all have the same Creator. Each of us is a child of the same Father in Heaven - even if we call Him by different names. It doesn't matter if we are Muslim, Christian or Jew, we are - like it or not - all brothers and sisters. If we can somehow open our hearts to the divine brotherhood of Man, we open up the possibility of a world where there will be more understanding and less prejudice, more justice and less intolerance, more peace and less war.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LiyE8-MokY