An update on Anne’s suffering from radiation treatments and chemotherapy
Like life itself
A world of beauty,
Ikebana floral art:
Fleeting poetry.
My wife Anne is afflicted with glioblastoma, an incurable form of brain cancer.
https://www.braintumour.ca/fr/types_de_tumeurs_cerebrales/glioblastome/
Anne is currently suffering from severe nausea stemming from the intensive radiation treatments and chemotherapy which she’s undergoing five days a week for the next three weeks.
She finds solace in the beauty of Japanese Haiku and Tanka poetry and the delicacy of Ikebana style floral arrangements.
Anne creates decorative arrangements that include miniature dried flowers. Recently, she learned that her art resembles Japanese Ikebana, an aesthetic of which she was previously unaware.
Ikebana (literally “giving life to flowers”) is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, in which the arrangement brings nature and humanity closer together.
https://www.britannica.com/art/ikebana
https://japanobjects.com/features/ikebana
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/everything-you-need-to-practice-ikebana
The philosophy behind ikebana is grounded in Japanese aesthetics, which emphasizes simplicity, understated elegance, and a respect for nature. Ikebana is not simply about arranging flowers, but creating a harmonious relationship between the natural materials used in the arrangement and the space around them.
A haiku is a type of Japanese poem that always uses the same number of syllables in a three-line format:
- the first line is five syllables
- the second line is seven syllables
- the third line is five syllables
Unlike many other poems, haikus usually don’t rhyme.
Often, a haiku focuses on a single moment in time and, in many cases, juxtaposes two images.
Anne has notebooks in which she has copied out poems by the master of the Haiku, Matsuo Basho (1644-1694).
https://mypoeticside.com/poets/matsuo-basho-poems
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-haiku/
She has also memorized reams of other poetry and prose, including all of Jane Austen.
A fragile flame in the wind
A sole human life:
Boundless quirks, complexities,
Evanescent…gone?
Your friend,
Robert
https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/
Anne is the true artist in our home – Robert McBryde
Anne Is The True Artist In Our Home: Song Version – Robert McBryde
I came across your stories today on Facebook.
Very touching but also strangely uplifting. Uplifting in the sense of courage that you are showing as a family.
We are all human and will face the end in a myriad of ways. All with the same outcome.
It’s hard to believe Gord Downie has been gone 8 years. Following his circumstances seemed like a Canadian pastime at that time. I was never a huge fan but did like their music.
When it was announced he was suffering with the disease your wife is now afflicted by, I somehow was struck by his courage and how he handled his resolved fate by projects that he had wanted to do, and realizing his time was short, threw himself at them. Remarkable strength I thought. To be so secure in your existing life and fate that you have the sense to seemingly not worry about yourself but to find answers for others who have experienced severe emotion with loss.
I sincerely wish your wife Anne, and yourself and family, the best possible life and outcome that is meaningful to all with the love of your family holding strong.
Thank you for your courage to write and inform others of Anne’s journey and your own.
Thanks so much for your kind comment. We are experiencing a very harrowing journey. Your reaching out like this really helps!
Re-reading your message, I’m quite moved. It is so kind, understanding and well written.
I hope that you receive this return message, as I don’t fully understand how this technology works!
All the best.
Robert (and Anne)