On Friday, Oct. 28, 2008, after a courageous two-year fight against brain cancer, Brad Perkins died at age 53. He was the beloved husband for 22 years of Sara, and adored father of Marit.
Perkins was a writer, producer and voice talent for KIRO News Radio for 28 years. He also was an active hockey player, serious mountain climber, bicycle rider, coach, scuba diver, musician and enjoyed the study of languages.
A close family friend, and Madison Park resident, Kathryn Hinds passed along a letter Perkins had written in January that is now circulating through e-mail networks again.
A friend and local resident who loved life died too young last night," wrote Hinds after urging Perkins' thoughts be published in the Madison Park Times to help the community both mourn and remember his life.
"The nasty treatments require three-hour infusion treatments twice a month. I get loaded up with medicines called Avastin, and Irinotican, along with various solutions to deal with side effects. I hate the stuff. It all makes me rather sick, and extremely tired. While Temodar causes no significant impact on lifestyle, the Avastin does. Due to its half life, the medication stays in me all month. In fact following the final infusion, it still takes six weeks to completely rid the system of this toxin. Furthermore Avastin compromises the blood's ability to coagulate, and can induce clotting. This limits the sports I can play especially hockey, as even a minor injury or bruise can be a big problem. With both treatments I have issues of stimulation overload, and mental processing. Loud, bright environments, late nights, multiple or insipid conversations, as well as learning new tasks, or dealing with complex ones, can rattle me. However, it can be a good excuse to leave a party early.
I'll return to Avastin in January. In March we'll travel to Duke, and the staff will determine whether to change anything, or stay the course. Still, in light of the fact a portion of my ashes should have been scattered about the Adirondack Mountains last winter, I will paraphrase Lou Gehrig. I feel like the luckiest man on the face of the Earth, and for that matter the other eight planets in the Solar System. There are many, many people who have it far worse than me.
Victory in life is a matter of turning improbabilities into miracles. The survival statistics for Glioblastoma types remain grim. Funny thing. That only heightens my resolve to beat this darn thing. My ordeal is simply akin to severe Adirondack blow-down through which one must push to reach a summit. Face the ordeal with strength and a smile, and you'll conquer the highest peak along with climbers who got there following an easier trail. Either way it's the same summit, and the view equally glorious."
A memorial service for Perkins will be held on Saturday, Nov. 15th at 11 a.m. at Epiphany Episcopal Parish, 1805 38th Ave. in Madrona. Donations in his memory may be made to the SMC Foundation, FBO Brain Cancer Research, 747 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122-4307.
Erik Hansen may be reached via mptimes@nwlink.com.[[In-content Ad]]
