Lobster Lover

This is Mike again. I WISH it was Jim posting, but that's not possible, so I'm going to be the one sharing things with the few of you who are still interested in this blog. Jim wanted me to update you but forgot to give me the login info until after he passed, then I had to dig to find it. Jim didn't want anyone to be left out of the information loop when he passed, so here it is:

While Jim was still eating, one of his favorite meals which I fixed as often as I could and we could afford, was grilled lobster tail removed from the shell, split open butterfly style so it made it much easier to cook evenly, a cup of melted butter for dipping, and some steamed vegetables. He absolutely LOVED it!!

Take a look and make your own opinion.

Here's a close-up of what I fixed him:

He told me it was THE BEST lobster he'd ever had!! I think he said that because it had been a while since he'd had any lobster, and two tails at that!!

Semper Fi, buddy!!

The End of the Line - Resting in Peace

This is Jim's friend and roommate, Mike. Jim went home to the Lord Monday evening, August 8, 2011, at about 8:00 PM. They told us it was a very peaceful passing.

Jim moved in with us back in mid-May, 2011. He was active, vibrant, full of life and potential even though he knew he was dying. He took a road trip on his bike up to Portland from San Diego, and dumped his bike when coming off a slick freeway exit - riding his bike into a bunch of ice plant at about 5 MPH. He was taken to a local hospital where they discovered his VERY HIGH level of calcium in his blood - which was being leeched out of his bones by the cancer. Unfortunately, with his severely weakened bones, he got a hip fracture from the accident and was unable to ride anymore.

When Jim returned to San Diego (by air, his bike was shipped back to San Diego by his wonderful cousin), he wasn't the same even though he had been gone only a couple of weeks. Jim continued to lose weight as his deterioration accelerated. I tried fixing anything I could to encourage him to eat, including his favorite - lobster with drawn butter.

Just prior to Jim entering the hospital for the last time, I fixed grilled hamburgers for everyone and he visited with his three children. You can visit his Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/jameswadehall to see photographs, but Jim ate only two bites from his burger before he was over-full and started to get nauseous. During his last two weeks, the only way I could get any nourishment into Jim was by giving him his medications with an Ensure (which he would drink completely).

Due to Jim's high calcium level and worsening symptoms, he agreed to go back to the hospital to see if they might be able to flush his system to help him be not so confused (one time it took him two hours to compose a single sentence on his laptop) or help him not be so forgetful. Since he had a habit of bounding right back with some treatment, we thought he would be coming home soon. Little did we realize he would not leave the hospital.

Jim's daughter and I were in the hospital coming to visit with him when he passed, RIGHT BEFORE we got to his room. As a matter of fact, when I asked the nurse how long ago he passed (since he was still VERY warm), her response was: "a few minutes ago."

Thankfully, Jim is no longer in any pain and he can now be with his mother and his favorite dog, Hank.

Rest in peace my friend. We love you. Semper Fi, my Navy buddy.