Reeling and Healing Midwest Blog

There I was, manning the booth with two wonderful gentlemen, Dave and Wally. They had just returned from a much needed break and now it was my turn.

I had decided to head into the main show arena and create the opportunity to connect with some of the vendors and guides who have supported us in the past years. Armed with business cards, I combed back my hair and made a run for it.

As I strolled into the arena, I noticed a friend with whom I hadn���t seen in quite some time, but always made an effort to ask about - whether his well-being or what he was currently involved in within the world of fly fishing. The past few years he had written a book, received a number of awards and was diligently fighting the big corporations who were buying up water rights throughout the Midwest. I was excited to see him and have the opportunity to catch-up and share our latest life stories.

Little did I know how his life was changing.

He was surrounded by others who had the same mission of connecting. I said, ���Come by my booth later���, gave him a hug and went on with my first mission. After completing my rounds and then stopping by to visit with the ���Bug Man���, Dean Hanson (awesome guy, fabulous exhibit and a cancer survivor) I made it back to the Reeling & Healing Midwest booth. Dave and Wally were proud to announce they had sold t-shirts, hats, and raffle tickets.

A little while later, my friend stopped by the booth. He���s 72 years old and was tired from all the activity at the show. I pulled up a chair for him and we started to share. I could tell by the look in his eyes that something was amiss. And as fast I recognized it, he blurted out, ���I have something to tell you. I haven���t told very many people. But my health is not well. I have lung cancer.��� I stood there numbed by his words, hopeful for him and focused to stay ���present��� and listen to his story.

He wasn���t the first person to share his cancer diagnosis with me, but hearing the words from him, having know him for a length of time, I couldn���t help but become very affected by the grim picture he was painting with his words. So affected, that I struggled with how to follow-up with him in the days after our meeting.

What follows are some of the words that I shared with him via email (he���s hard of hearing and we struggle with phone calls).

Here goes�Ķ

I���m sorry that you have cancer. I can���t state it any simpler than that - and there���s no sense in making it sound fluffy. Bottom line is that it sucks that you have it. It sucks what you���re going through. It just sucks. I thank you for sharing your story with me.

Please know that though I work with so many individuals who are diagnosed, battling, surviving and kicking cancer, the news always affects me differently - especially when it���s a person who has been in my life for a period of time. And especially someone like you who is such a beautiful, infectious and vital spirit. Dave and my prayers are with you and your family.

Last Fall, I was honored to be chosen by the Lance Armstrong Foundation to attend their First Inaugural Summit on Cancer Survivorship. I traveled to Austin and spent 3 days with Lance and a few hundred individuals who are trying to make the lives of cancer patients and survivors better. I encourage you to venture onto their website at www.livestrong.org. They provide all types of support and assistance.

Even if you���re not interested, please read the LAF Manifesto or watch the video. It inspires me to continue to help others in the fight against cancer. And I tell you, hanging with Lance was inspiring too. His goal is to find a cure and he���s hell-bent on achieving it.

I am first and foremost a teacher. I just happen to be one that uses fly fishing as a tool to help others reconnect their spirit back into the world around them with the help of God���s great and wonderful outdoors. In my 10 years of volunteering with the Reeling & Healing Midwest retreats, I have seen great healing, joy, love and hope culminate in everyone who attends. As you journey through your treatments, doctor visits, tests, bills, etc., don���t hesitate to make that time to take yourself back to the water - be it a lake, stream, river, pond. Knowing what I do know about you, I believe that���s where you find some peace. And though you may not believe it, being next to or in the water will help you heal - mental, emotionally and physically.

Just before dinner on the first day of a retreat, I coach everyone who attending for the first time on how to shout at the top of their lungs, ���FISH ON!��� I start out by saying that almost every fisherman I���ve fished with yells the call when they hook into a trout or fish. Then, I share that beyond the excited fisherman they will soon become in the river, is the spirit battling cancer. And just as Nike shouts the triumphant slogan of ���JUST DO IT���, and Lance Armstrong has filled the world with yellow and his fight song of ���LIVESTRONG���, Reeling & Healing Midwest has the deeper meaning of ���FISH ON!���

It is then that everyone gathers together and in unison, thunders out, ���FISH ON!��� And you can���t help but feel the power resonate from those words.

So my friend, keep ���FISHING ON!���

Fish On!