By Jacqueline Linford
Our first date was a 5-hour hike in Fall Creek State Park. We instantly liked each other and began going out for dinner, movies and sporting events around Santa Cruz and Palo Alto. Mark is an accomplished sailor so we frequently rented a sailboat in Santa Cruz Harbor and took friends out whale watching and to observe the otters and dolphins.
However, just a few weeks into our relationship, Mark was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer that had spread to his liver and lymph system. Statistically this means six to 12 months of remaining life punctuated by chemotherapy, medical tests, frequent doctor visits and radiation, all compromising quality of life.
We are well past the 12-month prognosis, but at this point conventional cancer treatment is no longer effective. Yet, Mark remains active and vital, playing “at” tennis a couple times a month and hitting a basket of golf balls every now and then. We even bought a sailboat last summer so we could spend plenty of time on the water. We keep the boat in Alameda because there is a seven to 10 year wait for a boat slip in the outer harbor in Santa Cruz. But we manage to get to the boat a couple of times every month.
We focus on a healthy lifestyle now, only eating certified organic food whenever possible, avoiding gluten, and seeking out grass-fed beef and eggs from cage-free hens. Patricia Adams, of Healthy Lifestyle in Scotts Valley, who specializes in naturopathy and holistic healing, supports us with supplement information and diet suggestions. Mark continues to feel better everyday since we began this holistic approach four months ago.
We play bridge — Mark plays at the Santa Cruz Bridge Club, and I doodle around taking classes and playing Party Bridge so we can play with his sister and brother-in-law when we head to Massachusetts for a great-nephew’s Bar Mitzvah this September. Yes, we make future plans.
As a part of winning the Scotts Valley Times poetry contest, Rich Higdon, General Manager of Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley Hilton Hotel, treated us to dinner at the hotel’s Stonehouse Bar & Grill. We felt like Royalty when Eva McClure, Food and Beverage Director, personally greeted us, sat us next to the cozy stone fireplace, and brought us champagne. She then turned us over to the capable hands of Letta Harrison, our server.
We enjoyed Jambalaya and a Caesar Salad topped with grilled Salmon, all delicious and well seasoned. We are indebted to Letta who coaxed us to try the house specialty dessert, a Warm Cookie Sundae served fresh out of the oven topped with melting French Vanilla ice cream. Yum!
It was a sweet ending to a sweet evening and one more sweet memory for us to treasure.