Monday 9 November 2009

Sailing With Cancer







I don't remember much about the first time Monica came sailing with me. I do know it was about a decade ago aboard my old banged-up Bristol 24 I kept in City Island. She was no sailor or boater, but she carried a natural affinity for the water, and felt right at home. There were no mishaps or complaints that day from myself or her; perhaps that is why I do not recall much about it.


In 2006, Monica was diagnosed with bone cancer. It has been a roller coaster ride ever since: months of relatively normal life interrupted by periods where it did not seem she would survive another week or two. It is the latter that we are going through right now.
I do not want to turn this into a political post, but those of you who think you are insured, need to think again. Fighting with the insurance companies has been just as large a battle as the sickness itself. We may have the greatest medical treatment in the world in this country, but it is a private beach, reserved for club members and waterfront residents only.

Monica worked at a hospital in White Plains for twenty years; she thought she had great insurance. Most of the cable-TV jockeys seem to frame the argument around the insured versus the uninsured. There are large numbers of insured Americans who are not as insured as they think they are.
Long Island Sound has been a respite from all this morbidity and corporate nonsense, providing us with an outlet that is sometimes the greatest therapy.

 And most of all, she has been a good sport.

  " Hey Mon, instead of going to that swanky marina with the pool and tiki bar, would it be alright if we anchored near Bridgeport so I can photograph the oyster boats returning to port?"





photos: Shelter Island Ferry (top)
Stonington
Long Passage to Block Island (bottom)





BoatingLocal: CT Group Gets Cancer Patients Sailing

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