Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Fletcher of the day: Miss Malaika

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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Fletcher making music pt 1

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Fletcher making music, pt 2

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Fletcher of the day: Yoghurt face

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Monday, August 29, 2011

Fletcher of the day: slide

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Sunday, August 28, 2011

Fletcher of the day: dry

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Friday, August 26, 2011

Fletcher of the day: new ride

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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Fletcher of the day: sitting with Saartje

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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Fletcher of the day: innocent...

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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Fletcher if the day: scooter

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Monday, August 22, 2011

Fletcher of the day: sleepy

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It's official...Fletcher is walking

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Sunday, August 21, 2011

Fletcher of the day: uncle Ronald

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Saturday, August 20, 2011

Fletcher of the day:bike ride

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Friday, August 19, 2011

Fletcher of the day: rock and roll

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Progress....

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Farewell Patrick


I met my friend Michelle when I joined a Field Hockey team in Amsterdam called AMVJ. I was the goalkeeper and she was an energetic midfielder who made me laugh. I wasn't working at the time and she had Wednesdays off, so we decided to have lunch together. One week turned into the next..and out of our weekly lunches, a great friendship blossomed.


When we met, several things were happening in Michelle's life at the same time; her father was recovering from a serious illness, she had a severe ankle injury from a hockey tournament and her boyfriend, Patrick found a lump in his neck.


I wasn't fortunate enough to know Patrick before he was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer, but I had the honor of knowing him after. Patrick was a medical student who, even after being diagnosed with a terminal illness, was determined to graduate. He studied part time, taking breaks for various rounds of experimental medicine and radiation, finishing his degree and graduating last year. His determination to finish spoke volumes about his character and will to battle his illness.


A few years after his initial diagnosis, his doctor told him that there was nothing more they could do, and gave him maybe 2 years. This is something he would hear many times, but this time Michelle and Patrick decided to get on with living. In June 2006 they married in what was probably the most emotionally intense and beautifully meaningful weddings I've ever attended.




A year later they had a daughter,  Jasmijn, and in 2009 their son, Thijmen, was born.


Through it all, Patrick, was always available for advice an information. When my husband, Maarten, was diagnosed with a mediastinal germ cell tumor in 2008, Patrick and Maarten, as well as Michelle and myself, became unlikely colleagues. Patrick was a great help in the early days of our diagnosis, helping us to understand what was happening to Maarten. He told us to call anytime, in the middle of the night if necessary, and I'm sure he meant it.  Both he and Michelle were a great help to us during that difficult time.


After trying a few rounds of chemo and some other experimental medicine, it became apparent that Patrick was losing his battle. The tumors were growing too quickly and his health, as it was, began to decline.  The last weeks he spent bedridden with oxygen and even needed a blood transfusion at one point.


Cancer is a disease that takes away your control. In the end, Patrick decided to take the control back by deciding when end it. His wife writes on her blog (in Dutch):


Diep respect heb ik voor zijn beslissing om het heft in eigen handen te nemen. Ondanks zijn ziekte heeft Patrick altijd gekozen om te leven, om de rol van zijn ziekte zo klein mogelijk te maken. Met zijn keuze voor euthanasie heeft hij dit nog eens onderstreept. Beperktere tijd, maar daardoor heel bewust, mooi en intens. Leven!


'I have deep respect for taking the decision into his own hands. Despite his illness, Patrick always chose to live and to give his illness the smallest role possible. With his choice for Euthanasia, he emphasized this belief. Limited time, but purposeful, beautiful and intense. Life!'


It's sad to think this beautiful soul isn't here anymore, though I believe it was a courageous to decision for them to make in the end and the right one for them. I wish them strength and love to get through this, and I hope you will take a second to think about Patrick and Michelle,  unknown to you or not, and wish them well on this final journey.



Thursday, August 18, 2011

Fletcher of the day: still hungry

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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Fletcher of the day: Dinner!

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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Fletcher of the day: oatmeal crumble

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Monday, August 15, 2011

Fletcher of the day: happy to be home

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Sunday, August 14, 2011

Fletcher of the day: watching Opa Robbert

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Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Lens-FitzGeralds

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Fletcher of the day : camera ham

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Friday, August 12, 2011

Mom's dessert

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Fletcher of the day: dinner time

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Time for lunch, at the old port in Marseille

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Enjoying breakfast in La Flogere before we're off to marseille

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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Fletcher of the day: at the pool with Oma Mary

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Enjoying the view

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Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Fletcher of the day: over there

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Monday, August 08, 2011

In the treehouse built by @Dutchcowboy

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Fletcher of the day: My crazy parents in Provence

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Forcalquier

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Sunday, August 07, 2011

Fletcher of the day: white chair

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Saturday, August 06, 2011

Provencial store

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Fletcher of the day: fountain

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Preparing dinner

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Friday, August 05, 2011

Fletcher of the day: pink lamp

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Thursday, August 04, 2011

Fletcher of the day: ready to go

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Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Fletcher of the day: French straw hat

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In Sisteron

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Fletcher of the day: walking with Oma Mary

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Monday, August 01, 2011

Fletcher of the day: hat

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Good morning from La Flogere

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