Hello friends,
I lost a dear friend in the program, Bob J. He passed on December 21, 2006. He is one of the oldtimers in our area, April 24th would have been 31 years clean. Another addict passing from this world with grace and gratitude...that never ceases to amaze me. Before he had surgery on March 1st of 2006 he wrote an email to the fellowship and requested that we share it with those who needed to hear it...so I am putting it here.

I am leaving town on Christmas morning and will not be back until the 3rd or 4th of January.

Have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year...and know that I love you all.

Lon

My name is Bob J and I am an addict!

Some of you know that I have been having health problems.
I was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphosytic Leukemia (CLL) a couple years
ago.
I have undergone three different kinds of chemotherapy since then.
Sometime in December my bone marrow quit producing hemoglobin.
I have been kept alive with blood transfusions about every third day,
sometime every other day.
I have received more than 30 Units of blood.
I have been very weak for a long time and spend most of my time sleeping
or in BryanLGH East Specialties Clinics getting either blood or
platelets or both.

All of my health care people have been wonderful. All the doctors and
nurses. Oncology nurses are the absolute best people on earth. (next
to you guys, :O) (after completing my first 5 months of chemo, I
missed all the attention I got from all those doctors and mostly the
Oncology nurses.

My spleen is three times normal size and is destroying my platelets. I
am having surgery to remove my spleen on March 1 at 12 noon. At St.
Elizabeth Hospital. The surgeon says that I have a 40% chance of
surviving the surgery. Not having the surgery would probably be worse
and lead to death shortly anyway. The surgeon tells me, "If you think
you feel bad now, your going to feel worse." He said I would be in the
hospital for at least a week. And that I would need taking care of
after that.

God's will, will be done. If I die I am in Heaven. I have been saved
by Jesus Christ who has paid for every sin I have ever committed. Death
is a Christian's ticket to the Mansion in heaven that He has prepared
for me.

I love you guys. It has been a good run. I have been blessed to go to
5 world NA conventions, several state conventions in several states, and
a bunch of RUN FOR FUNs. I stopped going to RUNs because my lungs could
not take the ubiquitous campfire smoke. I smoked four packs a day for
20 or so years. I destroyed my lungs but for some reason or other did
not get lung cancer. Breathing has been increasingly difficult these
past years because I have COPD, emphysema, CLL made it worse,
chemotherapy made it worse. I have trouble breathing clean air. Any
pollutants make it worse. I am not telling you to quit smoking, I am
telling you how it was for me.

God is good. He loves me more than I can imagine since before he
created the heavens and the earth. He has loved me by first, middle and
last name since before the beginning of time. He loves me and His will
be done.
I am in as good a spiritual place as I have ever been. I am ready for
what ever happens. It saddens me the thought of leaving you guys
behind.

God loves you more than you can imagine, even if you don't believe!!!!

Don't use.
Go to meetings.
Read the book.
Talk to you sponsor.
If your sponsor dies, get another one!
Pray.
When you are wrong, promptly admit it and make amends. This is for your
spiritual health, not the person you have harmed.
WORK THE STEPS.

Love and Hugs,
Blessings from Jesus Christ, even if you don't believe, He loves you!

Bob Johnson
Lincoln, Nebraska
where NA has been going continuously for over 30 years now.
If this message might help anyone you know, tell it, copy it, you have
my permission.

I have no idea what God has in mind for next week, but it will be His
will and it will be good!!!