A belated Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year as well. I have
enjoyed this past month reading the post of FML. Some happy and some
so very sad I cried at reading them. I have a sad posting today.

First I want to give a little history about Dave and Idee, I met Idee
the first day I volunteered at 24 Carat Ferret Rescue and Shelter. Idee
immediately took me under her wings to teach me all about cleaning
cages. How to strip and set up the linen in the cages, she was an old
hat at it, she had been going every week without fail to clean cages
for seven years. Idee and I became fast friends and when it was time to
do the big house cleaning for the November Open House I met her husband
Dave. He arrived with Idee to help, he worked tirelessly outside
helping with the power washing of all the cages in the shelter. I
immediately like him, he was just the sweetest man. He was a ferret
lover as well, this was new to me, I wrongly thought of ferrets as a
woman's pet. I know that was sexist but I was very new to the ferret
society. Over the year and a half I lived in Las Vegas I grew to love
both Dave and Idee. They had their three ferrets but Idee informed me
Lucy was Dave's girl, Idee would say that Lucy barely tolerated her
but loved Dave she followed him everywhere. I fear for Lucys loss
of Dave. For today at 4am Dave passed peacefully from this earth at
UCLA's hospital.

He became ill this past October and was in and out of the hospital with
no real diagnosis. He was sent to UCLA to see why he was losing weight
and was so ill and in pain. He would send us email with his updates. A
UCLA after an MRI he was found to have metastatic Pancreatic cancer,
why the Boulder City physicians didn't find it everyone wonders why. It
was advanced disease. He was sent home to Boulder City to have a biopsy
to see what kind of tumor it was and since the tumors had spread to his
liver his only option was chemo. That was not to be, his daughter was
driving him back to Nevada from LA and his condition worsened, when
they arrived it was to turn around and return to UCLA for treatment
Boulder City was unable to do. When he arrived back in LA his condition
was so grave that noghting cold be done except dialysis to reverse his
kidney failure. Things were far more advanced than anyone knew and so
he lost his fight last night before it even started.

Idee is devastated she hadn't even gotten to deal with the diagnosis
and then he was terminal. It is a very sad time for all of us that
knew Dave and what a wonderful person he was. I am most saddened by
my friend Idee's sorrow and her loss. They were a very special couple
who clearly adored each other and their ferrets. They both helped the
shelter out a great deal and Idee cleaned cages until the very last
day the shelter was opened. They explained to me what the FML was when
I asked what they were talking about FML. Please everyone say a small
prayer for Idee that she gets through this tyryng time and for little
Lucy losing her dad.

She will miss him so much as will Idee and all of his friends and
family.

Joelene

[Posted in FML 5470]