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Cancer SUCKS

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  • Adding an amen to all the prayers above. Wondering how I can be crying for someone I have never met but accepting that tears are a right reaction.
  • DooneDoone Shipmate
    Me too, @tessaB. 🕯
  • Just back again from seeing her. She is skipping breaths every once in while, breathing very slowly. I printed the last few pages of this thread and the prayer thread for the sake of anyone in family or church-for their comfort, or to read aloud to her, or for use in memorial. I also sang several hymns for her as we'd discussed a year or two ago.

    The kitties are on duty. The tortoiseshell (Beatrice) was curled up to her when I was there.
  • Thanks LC, for your updates. Prayers for you as well as Ros.
  • Thank you, LC.
  • For Rossweisse, and Lamb Chopped
  • Thanks ever so for these updates, LC
  • AmosAmos Shipmate
    Thank you, LC. Glad Beatrice is there, comforting Ross.
  • 🕯 Rossweisse and Lamb Chopped
  • NenyaNenya All Saints Host, Ecclesiantics & MW Host
    Thank you, LC.
  • Thank you for your wonderful care of Rossweisse, L.C. Please be sure to take care of yourself as well.
    :heart:
  • bunnywithanaxebunnywithanaxe Admin Emeritus
    Kitties, guard her well and keep het warm. Be at peace, Ross.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    LC, you're a total heroine. Prayers for you as well as Ross (and the kitties - I'm sure they're as aware as the humans).
  • No heroine or anything else, just one of the Shipmates who love Ross. maybe you-all can tell us all more about your interactions with her, what has been so memorable? I'll never forget her for basically holding my hand and listening for hours when our first church fell apart.
  • AnnAnn Shipmate Posts: 45
    I think my main interraction with her was whe we were watching the Munx - that slightly oded pair of the Monks of Adoration - Ross sent me a set of screen-grabs of them over one Easter. I've never spent much time posting here (or the old boards), but read them every evening.

    Prayers ascending.
  • I think that I will remember Ross as cultured, good at scathing replies, a fellow lover of "smells and bells" and although I wasn't around for most of the last decade, as someone who fought cancer until the end.
  • Rossweisse's name caught my attention many years ago. I'm a huge fan of Wagner's "Ring of the Nibelungen" and was delighted that she was not only a fan, but an opera singer. I shared with her my experience when I went to "The Ring" in San Francisco two years ago, and I believe she was the first person to tell me that Chicago would be doing it in April 2020. We'd even talked about meeting there. I did get tickets -- and, of course, it was cancelled. I cannot hear "The Ride of the Valkyries" without picturing her in the cast.

    She's always been such a gracious person. As her body has worn down, she has usually been the first person to post prayers and kind thoughts for others, most of whom were in better shape that she was. She was adamant about her politics, and determined that she would live to hear that Joe Biden would be announced as the winner of the Election. It took a while, but she made it.

    I never had the joy of meeting her in this life, but her illness and coming death are upsetting me more than those of many people I consider real-life friends. The Ship will be smaller without her.

    Gute Wünsche (good wishes), Rossweisse, as you ride on.

    And now I'm in tears.
    :cry:
  • Praying for Rossweisse and Lamb Chopped. 🕯
  • Stercus TauriStercus Tauri Shipmate
    edited November 2020
    I had a call from the cancer patients' peer mentor coordinator this afternoon with a difficult request for help. My first thought was, "How would Rossweisse respond to this?" As I've said before here, she is inspirational and a strong role model. She still shares her strength, whether she knows it or not, and I love her for it.
  • Oh, Galilit--you'll appreciate this. I sang "For All the Saints" for her. I'd pulled up that earlier post where she said she loved it.
  • This is teaching me to get to know people before they leave this world. Lamb Chopped, take care of your own fine self, as well. Thank you for keeping us updated. Sending love to Rossweisse, her cats, L.C., and everyone on The Ship who is still wrestling and fighting this fucked-up evil known as cancer.

    I love you all.
  • I met Rossweisse under her real name on the opera-l listserv, and it was always a pleasure to read her writing, whether in reviews or anecdotes. I was also a professional opera chorister, but not at her level. I so envied the repertoire she got to do with Chicago Lyric Opera. (My nom du internet back then was Doberwoman.)
  • Oh, Galilit--you'll appreciate this. I sang "For All the Saints" for her. I'd pulled up that earlier post where she said she loved it.

    "Soon, soon to faithful warriors cometh rest "
  • My memory of Ross is how she generously shared advice and support when I was hit by the C-bomb. I came through and am in remission. But I have not forgotten how her wise words helped me to deal with it.
    I pray for a peaceful passing for her. I hold her in the Living Loving Light.
  • Her courage in the face of all she has gone through has been an inspiration for me. And when I really needed an example of faithful prayerfulness she was that too. Safe Home Ross.
  • NenyaNenya All Saints Host, Ecclesiantics & MW Host
    I've always admired (and sometimes been a bit scared by) Ross's clarity of thought and expression; also her robustness, feistiness and honesty. She said she didn't want to be remembered for her experiences with cancer, but one of the things I admire her for is the way she punctuated posts about difficult stuff with comments like, "It's all very tedious," "I need a different hobby" and "I refuse to worry about it right now. I'm busy."

    I love the way that she didn't suffer fools gladly but she also expressed her love and appreciation for all of us here. I know that she was and is a loyal and loving friend. I never knew her in real life, or heard the sound of her voice, but I look forward to meeting her and hearing her sing in another time and on another shore.
  • I am proud (!) to say that I was the first person to be officially admonished by her when she took on the role of Hell Host...
    :wink:

    She did it firmly, but with the grace she has shown so often on these boards.
  • Many thoughts for Rossweisse; plus respect and admiration for Lamb Chopped who I have no doubt is just the right kind of strong support to give the best kind of comfort.
  • I met Rossweisse once only on the Zoom Ship church. She welcomed me personally and asked about my Ship name. I thank her for that personal touch. I admire and respect her wisdom and loving kindness in her posts, and I share her love of singing,
    Peace be with you, Ross and may you be welcomed into the heavenly choir.
  • AmosAmos Shipmate
    I've known Ross in several worlds, including the one called 'real life,' where we once had lunch at a High Table. Looking forward to seeing her again in yet another world at a yet higher table, where the singing is even more glorious.
  • jedijudyjedijudy Heaven Host
    It was a great surprise when Rossweisse sent me a PM quite some time ago letting me know that her dear aunt (the two share the same name) lived here in my town. She was unable at the time to visit her, so she asked me the great favor (it was a privilege, really!) if it wasn't too much of a bother to visit her aunt. Her aunt was as delightful as Rossweisse is! So, when Ross was able to come here to visit, we would always get together at a locally owned seafood restaurant and chat for hours!

    Since then, even though she was suffering greatly, Rossweisse was always, always concerned about my health and pain. A great and gracious lady, and a good friend.

    My eyes keep leaking.
  • I met Rosseweisse once when business brought her to New York City. We had lunch, and it was a lovely occasion. What struck me was her intensity. Later, when she was first diagnosed with cancer, we exchanged a series of PMs, in which that same intensity came through. I will miss seeing her on the ship greatly.
  • She was such a cheerleader for me when Mr. Image was having his cancer bout. Her shining inspiration of kind care for others will stay with me forever. I am amazed at how sad I feel to lose from this world someone who I had never met. Yet still, we had met in a special ship sailing way and I believe that I am a better person for having done so. Thank you Rosseweisse, you will not be forgotten.
  • 🕯Praying that the end will be what @Rossweisse hoped it would be, as per the conversation we had on the ‘end of life care’ thread in August. She did get to vote, one of the things she hoped for.

    🕯 🕯 🕯 May our Lord embrace and hold her.
  • bassobasso Shipmate
    I had the opportunity to meet her when she visited San Francisco. We met at Grace Cathedral, and shared lunch afterwards. Nicole's mention of her intensity is spot on.
    When she told us that she wouldn't be able to sing any more, I told her about a time when I had lost my voice for a few months. I said that it was like waking up without a limb. It was exactly the right thing to say at the time, and I'm glad I found those words.
    I'm glad to have known her, and hope her journey is peaceful.


  • I've just come back from sitting with her. She is still sleeping, and her breathing has not gotten worse. Both kitties are curled up with her, though I had to discourage Aida from walking across her middle.
  • GwaiGwai Epiphanies Host
    As a writer and editor who also loves language and has strong opinions about them, I have always appreciated that side of @Rossweisse . I have always known her to be one for a good turn of phrase who was willing to use words to fight for her opinions but was a very caring person.
  • NenyaNenya All Saints Host, Ecclesiantics & MW Host
    Thank you, LC, for joining your ministry to the sick to that of the feline one.
  • AmosAmos Shipmate
    Thank you, Lamb Chopped. Thank you, thank you. And for the image of the cats cuddled up to a sleeping Valkrie.
  • OhherOhher Shipmate
    Lamb Chopped, my heartfelt thanks for your attendance, lovingkindness, and faithful care, as well as for keeping us informed. May some watchful Eye in the universe note, in an equally loving Heart, your presence -- comforting to Rossweisse and also to those of us who cannot be there. Bless you and thank you.
  • KyzylKyzyl Shipmate
    Ross and I “met” waaaay back on the Episcopal discussion boards on AOL in the late 90s. Via dial up modem no less. Then I moved off AOL and lost contact. Lo and behold one day I see a name on SoF and thought, “there couldn’t be two?” and we met again.
  • I met Rossweisse initially through her role as host of Via Media on the old Ship. We tried to get it going again on the new Ship but it failed to gain momentum, except for a thread where Ross and I (and occasionally others) compared notes on what our respective choirs had been singing that week. I never met her in person, but I will miss her virtual presence.
  • RooKRooK Shipmate
    @Rossweisse was one of the people I clashed with most in Hell, back when I first discovered it a couple decades and a lifetime ago. We were natural enemies: my misanthropic anti-religious snark offended her loving religious insight. But her fiercely calm intensity was a joy to interact with, and she was one of the Denizens who helped me craft my better-balanced humanism that I cherish today.

    I sought her out, a few years ago, to check in on her. My intent was to understand her point of view of things that were happening on the Ship, and to be supportive about her neverending honeybadger-like enduring of cancer. Except she ended up being a very important confidant for me to lean on during my separation and divorce.

    I will be forever grateful for all of it. #teamrossweisse
  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    I always appreciated that when Ross said she would like to be a Hell Host she was given a place. she expressed herself clearly an forcefully in that role. I will miss her brilliant use of words.
  • Lamb ChoppedLamb Chopped Shipmate
    edited November 2020
    This morning Ross is sleeping peacefully with two cats very intensely keeping her company. (Aida smacked Beatrice in the face with her tail--I think it was an accident, but who knows? It didn't disturb Ross, though.) Nothing has changed, and her feet are still warm. They say they will text me when the time comes.
  • Thank you, Lamb Chopped.
  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    🕯 🕯 🕯
  • 🕯 🕯 🕯
  • DooneDoone Shipmate
    Thank you, @Lamb Chopped 🕯
  • NenyaNenya All Saints Host, Ecclesiantics & MW Host
    Thank you again, LC. Holding Ross in love and prayer. Lovely to hear about the kitties too.
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