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The Life He Wanted
By Dina Dove
My brother is in the last days of his life here on earth and he is only 51 years old. Shocking start to an article, isn’t it? But, it is true. Of course it is a time of sadness and more specifically for me, because his diagnosis saved my life. Conrad was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer in 2008. Because of that, I had a colonoscopy. I had the same cancer, but in a very early stage. While he has been on chemo and watched his cancer spread to other organs, a simple surgery completely cured mine. Shortly after my surgery, I drove down to Arkansas to have lunch with Conrad. Both of us dealing with the same illness created a new ability to speak more intimately about life and our concerns over our futures. We talked about his treatments and the doctor’s expectations. At that time he was hopeful that he would have more than a couple of years. Con was feeling good. But, at the same time, he was facing the possibility of a shortened life. During lunch I asked, “So…. how do you feel about it?” The wisdom of his answer both surprised me and warmed my heart. He wasn’t angry. He did not look at his life with regret. In a way, his answer reflected gratitude. He said, “You know what? This would be a real tragedy if it happened to a kid or a person who hadn’t done what they wanted in their life. But I’ve been able to do exactly what I wanted. I’ve lived the life of my dreams. Most people never get that.” Always an avid fisherman, for the last 17 years, Conrad Dove has been a striper guide on Beaver Lake in Arkansas. In order to achieve that goal, he worked full time at a job, did construction work on the side and, for many years, drove down on weekends to guide part time until he could afford to make it his full time living.
And stories…… you know by his stories how much he has loved his work. I dare say, it wasn’t really work to him. Over the last several months, as his health has declined, Conrad has been able to continue to guide because of the love of his wonderful friends and fellow guides who have gotten his bait and even helped him on his trips to handle the physical work that he could no longer do. So much so that only a week ago, he finally had to stop fishing. We never really know how many years we will have on earth. Many people put off living their dreams for an entire lifetime. But what a blessing and…. what a legacy, to, at the end of a life, be able to say, “I lived the life of my dreams.”
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The Life of His Dreams
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Fantastic Intel! gilbertg
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Thank you for sharing my brother's life with me thru our story.
Dina
Hi Dina, What a touching intel. Unfortunately alot of people take life for granted and never fulfill their dreams like your brother did. We shouldn't be afraid to open our hearts and express our love and feelings to the ones we love. Life is so precious and yet so short....God bless you & yours. I'll be following your intels..
Gina
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Thank you for sharing my brother's life with me thru our story.
Dina
I believe in some ways, we are all living on borrowed time.
I thank you for sharing your brother's rich legacy to have lived the life of his dreams... wonderful heartfelt story.
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Thank you for sharing my brother's life with me thru our story.
Dina
A touching Intel. Am always touched by stories of love and support among siblings. Being able to say he's lived the life he's always wanted, that's a great consolation. Wish I could say that too.
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Thank you for sharing my brother's life with me thru our story.
Dina
The copyright for this content entitled "The Life He Wanted" has been specified by the contributor as:
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
Details 
This content may be copied and distributed (but not modified), as long as a) it's for non-commercial use and b) the original author is acknowledged with a link back to the content page.
If you use this content according to the license specified, you must link to the following URL:
http://dinadove.qondio.com/
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