Dr. Linger: I want to encourage you to keep going. I begin each workout with determination, but somewhere in the middle I begin to realize that I'm really tired and the end is still far off. I think about quitting or taking shortcuts or finishing another day. Then I often wonder if, on some level, you can relate to this as you endure your treatment. I remember the determination you had before you left, but I wonder what it must be like to be so weak that it's hard to lift your head or too ill to eat. I think about how hard it must be to return each day for treatment and tests knowing the pain that accompanies them. And then I wonder if you begin to feel as if it's too much, that the end is too far away, or that maybe stopping would be okay. I think about the courage, strength, and perserverance you have shown. And as I think about this I realize that I'm just that much closer to finishing, and I keep going. I often think about one of Brenda's favorite verses: Ecc 7:8 - "Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; and the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit." I'm learning to pray cautiously when asking for wisdom. I'm discovering that the lesson isn't often an easy one - but how precious it is.