So few people in this world are a living, breathing inspiration. My friend Shayne Chester is such a man. He is an artist, a writer, and a beautiful, passionate person. His irrepressible spirit comes through his art and his words. I like to think that I am in a constant state of becoming the person I am going to be someday. But Shayne is already there -- a man of character and strength, who possesses unyielding integrity.
In a recent interview on RedBubble, Shayne was asked what inspired him during his illness. Here is what he said:
Inspired? I’d like to say I was inspired, but it was a far more earthy experience than that, basically it’s been a constant slog, claw over fist, the struggle for survival traveling with the bloody nightmare of intensive chemo. I don’t know how I got through it, but I do remember some things – the smell of fresh cut grass, the thought of laying on the beach getting sunburned, the colours of moss and pidgeons, six litres of Stolichnaya, Rembrandt, Elgar and Shakespeare, smelly Brie and laughing with friends. p.s. I lied about the vodka, I don’t drink.I count myself as very fortunate to know him and to be his friend. His work, his words, and his refusal to be beaten are an inspiration. I know there were times when he felt too ill to deal with anyone, but he was there to send a supportive and uplifting email to me. He is an amazing human being, and the world is a far better place with him in it.
I am honored that this blog post is a prize winner in the Bloggers Unite for Aids, awarded by The Wonderful Web. Thank you.
Hi Helen,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your visit at my blog =)
You really have a lot of insightful articles here. I will come back again =)
Seeya!
Eunice
marniesmith, 9 minutes ago
ReplyDeleteThe tubes going into the arteries of his chest are inserted before each cycle of chemo, two for the chemo drugs, one for taking blood. They are followed by a lumbar puncture or ‘spinal tap’ and a bone marrow biopsy, which involves a big needle being inserted into the hip bone. The chemo causes such nausea that Shayne didn’t eat for days at a time, he lost 20 kg and had six rounds of chemo over six months. I don’t remember him talking much here of what he was going through let alone complaining. And all the time the coven was working to sabotage his thoughts and work because he always spoke his plain truth. The archive of his work, including writing from this period, was deleted without notice and is lost forever. Never mind, I am sure shayne has the talent to achieve great things when he recovers while the small, ugly members of the coven will still be here like a stain on the www., trying to flog their snapshots of squirrels or photo’s of their fat bums to desperate old men.
Thisis such an excellent post that it won a prize for the Bloggers Unite for AIDS Blog Carnival at wonderfulweb.info
ReplyDeletePlease let us know how we can get your prize to you.
Wow, fantastic news! My email address is hmbascom@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much.
congrats. i am also a prize winner...
ReplyDelete(i hope i'm not spamming)