I swear, sometimes, no matter how bad we might have it.................

[DFW]

My younger daughter, the one living in Germany, "inherited" four children when she chose to stay with her current partner, with whom she now also has two daughters of her own. Her partner has an older girl, who moved to the USA (their mom is American), and the three boys still live in Germany. They are perfectly bi-lingual, and all three of them ore among the most perfectly behaved, smart and genuine young people I have ever met. They are brunette (the oldest), redhead (the middle one) and blonde (the youngest). Mother Nature decided to paint a rainbow with them.

The middle one, now somewhere around 16-17, just started a nice relationship with a local girl. At age 17, she was just diagnosed with a rare, aggressive eye cancer (who knew?) that she is desperately trying to beat.

How cruel can fate get?

[niyad]

1. I am so sorry to hear this. What are the chances of her beating it?

What is the likely outcome.

Fate truly sucks sometimes.

[DFW]

2. The diagnosis is very recent, and my wife and I only hear third hand, so we aren't constantly getting news.

It goes from the girlfriend's family to her boyfriend to our daughter to us.

All we know is that it is ugly, and that she is determined to fight it to the extent possible. What no one knows is just what extent is possible. Finding that out is the next step. It is not easy, since what she has is highly unusual, and there aren't many specialists who know how to treat it. This doesn't have to be horrible news--think of my wife's diagnosis of "the murderer" ten years ago. There is a chance she'll recover, and as long as there IS that chance, we'll all cling to it.

[niyad]

3. I always remember about your wife beating "the murderer". Holding

all of you in light and love for best possible outcome.

[Diamond_Dog]

4. I am so sorry to hear this, DFW.

Wishing for the best medical care and strength for all family involved.

[DFW]

5. One thing I just learned

The four men in the family, my daughter's S.O. and the three boys, had been scheduled to leave for a week's skiing vacation in Austria. The one boy said he was staying home to be with his girlfriend, and the other three immediately canceled as well, saying they weren't going to leave their son/brother alone in that situation. My wife and my daughter are VERY glad to have become a part of that family!

[niyad]

6. Damned onions!!!