Joel's Story: Told by his dad.

Graduated to Heaven on July 17, 1998.

One of the last things that Joel ever did in his life was to overcome the terrible effects of concurrent biochemotherapy just long enough to join his fellow graduates on the stage. His class applauded this feat with a standing ovation on June 4, 1998. They wheeled him to the stage, but after three grueling hours of pomp and ceremony, he stiffened his back, stood tall, and marched as though there was nothing wrong. Few people understood that night that a little more than a month later, he would graduate to heaven.

In January of 1998, Joel began to experience problems with nausea and headaches. A  blood test reflected abnormal liver function, but a second test came back normal. His annual x-ray was postponed because it was assumed he had a viral infection. Symptoms kept coming back and in April and May his doctor attempted twice to clear his condition with antibiotics. When this didn't work, we went looking for a different doctor. Within a week, he was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. ( Continued on page 2)

Email:kenneth.harmon@verizon.net