|
|
|
BOOK TITLE
Condition of Limbo
AUTHOR Barbie Perkins-Cooper
GENRE Non-fiction memoir
ISBN: 1588511774
PUBLISHER AmErica House
BLURB
The beast of cancer attacked Walter W. Perkins like a wild prey, stealing his health, and independence, leaving him too weak to enjoy life to its fullest. Eventually the monster threatened his life; nonetheless, the horrific disease of esophageal cancer, could not steal his wit or his spirit. While he struggled to survive the tyrant of cancer, his courage, taught his second born daughter how to forgive, and to accept painful mistakes from the past.
BACK COVER:
December 9, 1997 changes the holiday season for Barbie Perkins-Cooper when her father is diagnosed with esophageal cancer. During the early stages of cancer treatments, Walter W. Perkins swallows his stubborn pride, reaching out to his daughter for support and unconditional love.
Realizing he will no longer have independence, Mr. Perkins wants to take back his life – to die with dignity. While she watches his condition deteriorate, the author is defenseless to provide for his care. She finds roadblocks everywhere she turns. She researches issues of elderly care, discovering that our society is slightly anemic where care for the elderly is concerned.
Thus begins her excruciating struggle to accept her father’s terminal illness, nursing home care, and the decisions she must make as his primary caregiver.
A Condition of Limbo: Chronicles of a Daughter’s Unconditional Love, is a special memoir developed during the difficult, stressful days and months of a father’s valiant battle against terminal disease, and his daughter’s struggle to accept the inevitable, preserving his dignity against all odds, while searching for closure to her family’s painful past.
EXCERPT
At approximately 8am on Tuesday, December 9, 1997 Dad closed the door to his apartment, ending the last of his privacy and independence, locking all of it away for the last time. He did not know this would be the last time he saw his apartment. He did not say goodbye to any of his friends at the retirement complex where he lived exclusively for over 15 years. He never told anyone he was ill and could not retain food.
On that damp and cold morning, he locked the door to his apartment, placing the key in his jacket pocket. He walked tall and proud, never stopping to look back as he walked towards my car. I smiled at him, touched his shoulder, and kissed him on the cheek, before driving away. I was clueless to the nature of his illness, convincing myself his nausea was because he was a little malnourished due to not eating a balanced diet, while living independently on the tight, fixed income of Social Security.
At the hospital, an hour passed and I sat alone in the waiting room, pretending to read a magazine. The door opened. A doctor approached. I recognized his receding hairline and face. The pleasing smile, firm handshake, and reassurance I observed when I met him was not revealed as he approached me.
Somehow, I knew from the look in his eyes the report was not what I was prepared for. Somewhere a voice echoed, to warn me that from this moment on, our lives would not be the same. I listened carefully as Dr. Avery Burns spoke to me, informing me of my father’s diagnosis. He asked if I was alone. I nodded yes.
Tuesday, December 9, 1997 would not be entered into my journals, because it was now infused in my mind. My heart fluttered as I tried to regain control. The endoscopy revealed a tumor, located in the esophagus. A malignant tumor…
Cancer…the dreaded word echoed inside my brain. No! I screamed! It cannot be cancer! There must be some mistake! My Dad took such good care of himself, but like lots of men from his generation, he failed to visit doctors for regular checkups, and he ate healthy meals, when he could afford them. Sternly, the doctor stared into my horrified eyes. He shook his head no. He reached for me, to steady my wobbling, shrinking body.
Shaking uncontrollably, like a leaf falling from the tree of life, I collapsed – screaming hysterically. Unaware of where Dad was, I did not want him to hear me – or to think I was making a scene, or being a bad girl again. Why must my Dad who changed his life for the better after the shameful divorce suffer with cancer? My dad did everything right. He cannot have cancer! I recall bursting into tears at that moment – tears stung like fire on my face -- hot, salty tears flowed like an endless waterfall.
REVIEW SNIPPETS
”Written with such passion and elegance, A Condition of Limbo makes the point very effectively.” Dr. William Thomas, Eden Alternative founder
AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
http://www.amazon.com
$24.95
E-mail address for book review:barbiepc@bellsouth.net
www.barbieperkinscooper.com
|
