Michael's First Communion two Sundays ago

Clockwise: 1) With Fr. Mike Heintz; 2) With Mana and Boo Poo Pa; 3) Brothers; 4) B.J. is BK's godson. Michael is B.J.'s godson. B.J. traveled all the way from Louisville to be there; 5) RevKev came to concelebrate; 6) Godparents; 7) With his excellent 2nd grade teacher Bonnie Bykowski; 8) Margy with goddaughter Maria and sister Joan.

Groovy Tunes

With an estimated one month hospital stay, we know things are going to get a little boring for good ole BK. He has a boom box in his room and I have already created "Groovy Tunes Volume 1" with such favorites as Love Shack, Brick House, Play that Funky Music White Boy, Hey Ya, Word Up and Ballroom Blitz.

I'd like to create Volume 2 but need suggestions for some fun music. Close your eyes, sit back and think for a minute what songs get you groovin'! Let me know the name of the song as well as the artist. If you don't know the artist name, that's OK. I can do a search for it.

Thanks for the help. Maybe we'll get enough suggestions for a Volume 3 and 4!! - MK

MK's Cancer Corner: A View From The Other Corner

Day 1

As I sit here on Bobby's hospital bed I'm trying to string together the perfect phase of words to describe his room. Although, now you don't care about his 12' x 14' cell but are probably concerned as to why I've got the bed and where is Bobby! I just awoke from a nap. OK, sounds bad again but I didn't get home until 11:30p.m. from admitting him last night. Please don't freak out, Bobby is sitting in a chair next to me surrounded by paper, stacks of paper. OK, he's paying bills, exactly where I found him when I arrived. Actually you could say he is multi-tasking. He's paying bills and being poisoned. Great side effects to todays toxin, the "B" in the B.E.A.M. treatment. To keep these particular chemicals "stable" they come in 100% alcohol. Yes, 100%, that was no typo! The side effects, well, let's just say things aren't boring. Sugar Ray just ended and now the Talking Heads are blaring in the background. I'm predicting it's just about the funnest room in the hospital at the moment! So just goes to prove, you can't judge a book or room by it's cover or color (or lack of color). Sure this room is sinfully ugly, except for the funky patterned floor and the only bright spot is the glare from BK's bald head. But the guy inside has brought life and laughter to the room and smiles to his caretakers faces. Day one is just about in the books.

Here is some information I thought everyone would like to have:

Bobby's address:
The University of Chicago Hospitals
Bernard Mitchell Hospital
5841 S. Maryland Ave. Room TN670
Chicago, IL 60637-1470
Phone: (773) 753-1532
Patient: Robert Kloska

He is not allowed to receive flowers, plants or anything edible. Cards, letters, Catholic propaganda, cute pictures colored by nieces and nephews are all OK.

Directions to the hospital from South Bend:
Indiana Toll Road 80/90 West to Chicago
90 West to the Skyway
Take Stoney Island exit (exit is approximately 1/2 mile after paying second Skyway toll)
Left on Midway Plaisance (turn is in approximately 2.2 miles)
Right on Cottage Grove which is the fourth traffic light (I believe the street sign is missing)
Right at first light (sorry don't know the street name but it's almost an immediate right)
Left on Maryland which is first stop sign. You'll see the green awning to the Bernard Mitchell hospital ahead on the right. This is where you will enter the hospital.
Parking garage entrance is on the left.

To get home, simply follow the directions in reverse. The entrance ramp to the Skyway from Stoney Island is accessed by the two middle lanes.

A few tips to make your driving experience easier:

1. The drive is about 1 and 1/2 hours depending on the sort of driver you are, the car you are driving, i.e. new scarlet and grey Mercedes Convertible, and the Chicago traffic. Thus far the only traffic problems have been back ups at the toll plazas.

2. When on Stoney Island heading toward the hospital, stay in the two left lanes so that you don't get caught in the wrong lane when the road splits to Lake Shore Drive.

3. After the Lake Shore split, stay in the left lane. The right lane is filled with parked cars and transit busses.

4. The parking garage can be a tight squeeze. Drive the smallest car possible.

5. Best Chicago radio station I've found is 99.9. They claim "we play anything"! It's a good mix.

6. Toll Road toll from South Bend exit 77 is $1.75, obviously more from Elkhart. Skyway toll is a total of $3.00.

7. The check-in/security desk is on the second floor of the hospital.

That's about all from this side of the room.

BK's Cancer Corner: Okay, I'm here...

I'm at the Bernard Mitchell Hospital - one of the University of Chicago hospitals. Room: TN #670

Phone: (773) 753-1532 (But this will be busy often as I use the line to connect to the internet) No cell phone yet.

Unless I have a green sign posted on my door restricting access, you may just come right up to the room, knock and enter. You will have to check in with security on the 2nd floor. Once I become neutropenic, you might have to scrub down before visiting. Visiting hours end at 9:00 p.m.

By the way, its very weird to be here tonight. I feel absolutely fantastic - same as the past week or so. But I know tomorrow that I'll begin to get very sick. Its difficult to accept the severity of the oncoming discomfort when you've just had several energetic feel-good days. I'm trying to soak up every minute. I don't want to go to bed because that will make tomorrow come all the sooner.

While I'm complaining, let me say that hospitals in general make you feel like you've lost your dignity. You're given ridiculous clothing to wear. At any moment the nurse with whom you've been chatting pleasantly can come back in and tell you lie on your stomach and drop your pants so she can get a sample of something. Umm, that's a little awkward. They put i.d. wristbands on you that make you feel like cattle - I currently am tagged with three of these things. They measure everything that comes out of you. They walk in with needles and help themselves to vials of your blood at their pleasure. You can't even get a cup of coffee without it becoming an ordeal.

But enough whining. I actually think my current attitude has more to do with the fact that I received some disappointing news tonight - not about my health, just another issue I care deeply about. The more you care and invest and love something or someone, the more you suffer when you see an injustice. But I know its worth it. Love, care, personal investment are what make us authentically human - and that's a good thing. If we ever lose that, we're in trouble as human beings. Yes, I keep telling myself tonight, its better to care and suffer than to live a life of cold indifference. Anyway, I'm sure I'll have more positive thoughts tomorrow.

Peace.

Are you a home schooling mom or dad?

If so, I am asking for your help! I'll tell you how in a minute. But first....

I've been presented with a project that I am really excited about. Finally, I will be able to combine my intense love for my children, my dedication to home education and my enjoyment of writing into one great project--Amazing Grace for Homeschoolers to be published by Ascension Press. I'll be working as an editor and writer for this book.

In this book will be a compilation of inspirational stories and anecdotes, some light-hearted and some some deeply moving for homeschoolers, by homeschoolers. This book will be one in the series of "Amazing Grace" books already published by Ascension Press. The first book "Amazing Grace for those who Suffer" quickly became a national Catholic best seller. Other books in the series at the top of the Catholic best seller list include Amazing Grace for Mothers and Amazing Grace for the Catholic Heart.

You can submit a story at this site. If anyone has an idea and wants to talk about it before writing or knows of another family with a story or interest, I'd be happy to talk to you about it. I'll be collecting these stories all summer. This will be accomplished at a relaxed pace. So please prayerfully consider if your experiences, inspirations or epiphanies could be used to help inspire others. Our family has been so blessed. I believe that this is an opportunity to share some of that blessing with others. You may send submissions to my email: thomasfamily10 at msn dot com. Please put "Amazing Grace Submission" in the subject line.

Thank you! I will keep you posted about this project.
Love and prayers, Theresa

" Grandpa, can I fish alone? Don't you know I am already five."

Three minutes later, Joseph had landed a fish.

At Least We're Not These Guys

We've had a lot of rain. More today. More tomorrow. Maybe we'll get a reprieve Saturday. Interestingly, St. Isidore (the saint from earlier this week), is one of the patron saints for rain. OK St. Isidore, THAT'S GOOD! THANKS, THAT'S ENOUGH! Funny, I can't seem to find anyone listed as the patron saint of sunshine.

Happy Birthday John Paul II

Today we celebrate the birthday of the late Pope John Paul II. Beloved by many of us simply because of our shared polish heritage, John Paul wove his way into our hearts with his charisma, intelligence, and most of all, holiness. What a gift that amidst the tensions and controversies of our day, God saw fit to bless us with the leadership of this holy man. Praise God for his mercy! To read more about John Paul's life, click on the title above.

It is true that with God there are no "coincidences"... today we also pray for Bobby who is entering his "hospital incarceration" in Chicago, so let us invoke the prayers of our brother in Christ, John Paul, for our brother in Christ, Bobby. Oh, the communion of saints is so cool!
(... and, may I add, helpful!)

BK's Cancer Corner: Beauty and the Beast

Yes, here is my beautiful daugher Meg with me at Michael's First Communion. I post this picture so that anyone coming to visit me in the hospital is prepared to recognize me without any hair. Please note that in the hospital I will probably only be wearing a sport coat and tie for dinner. At all other times the dress code is "smart casual."

As I posted earlier, I will now be admitted on Thursday and we shall begin the intensive chemotherapy on Friday. I then have about six days of poisoning before they begin to rescue me with my stem cells. Somewhere right now in Chicago, there is a freezer containing two bags of my blood with 5-7 million stem cells. These are critical to the process. I sure hope nobody accidentally kicks the plug to the freezer. Wouldn't that be funny, "Woops! Well Mr. Kloska we've got some bad news for you. You know those stem cells we collected for you? Well, they sort of, um, spoiled. And so did the leftover chicken salad. Looks like you're screwed and we're going to have to order Chinese. Have a nice day."

When I arrive at the University of Chicago Hospital tomorrow, I'll be sure to post my contact information on the blog. Margy and I have never done cell phones due to the cost. We had a minimum plan for emergencies only (50 minutes per month). But we're now going to be able to each get a phone which will make this whole month go a lot easier. When we get them up and running, I'll post those too.

I'm taking the boys fishing with Dad today after school. That "Cats in the Cradle" song has been stuck in my head so when I looked down the other day at someone's feet and saw that Nike swoosh, I knew I needed to just... well, you know the rest. Weird how stupid things like that can affect your decisions.

If you haven't seen my post from yesterday, be sure to check out BK's Cancer Corner two posts below. In the next two days I will be visiting the Eucharistic Adoration Chapel at St. Mary's in Bristol to pray in thanksgiving for the people who have blessed my family so generously. They have eliminated a major source of stress for a while. The cell phone thing, among others, is really a big help. We are grateful. God is good. Matthew 6: 24-35.

The visit of Cardinal Turkson to South Bend

Having given the commencement address at Holy Cross College and celebrated Sunday Mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral, Peter Cardinal Kodwo Appiah Turkson, Archbishop of Cape Coast, Ghana, visited Antioch Sunday evening at the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration convent. After answering questions from the teens on everything from culture of life issues to the papal conclave, Cardinal Turkson said that meeting them was a surprise and a pleasure. "You are not what I expected," he told them. "When they told me I would be speaking to teenagers, I expected something very different. The mood (of silent prayer and worship) we found you in was very inspiring. We will be sharing what we found here with our youth in Cape Coast."

We had a smallish group due to the Marian prom, but His Eminence told someone today that our Antioch meeting was one of the highlights of his visit. The man to the left of him is Br. Paul Mensah, C.S.C., the District Superior in Ghana and a good friend of mine. I'm wearing one of my many cool African shirts. Hey, since I quit going over there I never get a chance to wear them so I figured this would be as good a time as any.

Br. Paul attempts to draw a map of Africa so he can explain exactly where Ghana is. As you can see, His Eminence was very amused.

I was fortunate to spend quite a bit of one on one time with the Cardinal. Because I met him several years ago in Ghana when he was still a bishop, we had lots to talk about. He also told me all about Pope John Paul II's funeral and the conclave that elected Pope Benedict. From the way he talks, I'm guessing that he voted for Ratzinger. He added that as far as he could tell, there was no apparent politicking or manuevering taking place before or during the conclave. Just a bunch of Cardinals praying really hard and voting in silence. Very different from what one might suspect.

For those of you who remember Fr. Jamie Myers who was at St. Vincent's with Lisa, Cardinal Turkson has elevated him to Vicar General of the Diocese. That's a very high honor, but I'm not surprised. Fr. Jaime is well regarded over there. The Cardinal was also nice enough to pray over me for my healing and he gave me a rosary given to him by Pope Benedict. Very nice.

BK's Cancer Corner: Gratitude. Just gratitude.

If you were in Margy and my shoes, you would never doubt the goodness of people or the existence of God. Never. I mean, I'm just speechless right now. I'm sitting in awe of the care and generosity of so many people.

To those who read the blog - THANK YOU.

I know I'm going to be okay because I'll need at least 40 more years to "pay it forward." People are so nice. Today has been literally unbelievable. Just unbelievable. Thank you.

If you want to understand what I'm talking about, read Matthew 6:25-34. That is the only way to explain it.

I'm heading to Chicago on Thursday to begin treatment. We delayed my admittance a few days so I could tie up some loose ends before being incarcerated.

Feast of St. Isidore the Farmer

Today is the feast of St. Isidore the Farmer, which is significant for us in the Kloska clan... St. Izzy's is of course, Dad's home parish in Grand Rapids, and it has always held a special place in his heart. The grotto on the grounds looks strangely alike the grotto on Pleasant Place, which may have subconciously influenced Dad's artistic creation of his backyard masterpiece. Dad's former first grade classroom is now the adoration chapel at St. Isidore's, which is awfully fitting seeing as how Dad LOVES adoration. Finally, there is a great story about St. Isidore the farmer - the man who owned the land he farmed accused him of slacking off on the job since Isidore insisted on going to Mass daily. When the owner came out to the fields to reprimand Isidore he found angels plowing the fields in Isidore's place, and the owner never complained again! This is also a fitting story for Dad - no matter what is going on, he makes it to Holy Mass every day, and just look at how Our Lord has helped Dad with his work, providing for all of us children. Today, in honor of St. Isidore, let's take an extra moment of the day to praise God and lift our hearts and minds to him. And by the way, the website for Dad's parish seems to be either down or altogether defunct, but you can check out Dad's old school at http://home.catholicweb.com/stisidoregr/index.cfm.

"The Goose" turns 5!!

Happy Birthday Joseph!!