Thursday, May 10, 2007

Fortunately


Growing up on of my favorite childhood books was "Fortunately" by Remi Charlip. I remember reading that book over and over again.
Here's a clip from the book:

Fortunately, Ned was invited to a surprise party.

Unfortunately, the party was a thousand miles away.

Fortunately, a friend loaned Ned an airplane.

Unfortunately, the motor exploded.

Fortunately, there was a parachute in the airplane.

Unfortunately, there was a hole in the parachute.

You get the idea good news, bad news in the end it was a happy tidy little story.
Now I told you that story to tell you this story.

British Man Expecting to Live a Year Spends All and Finds Out He's Not Dying
By Nannette Richford Published May 07, 2007

John Brandick a 62 year old British man may have learned the meaning of "Live Like You are Dying"; unfortunately, he's now faced with living with nothing but the shirt on his back and the black suit and red tie he planned to be buried in.It turns out, that when he was told two years ago that he had pancreatic cancer and was would likely die within a year, it was all a big mistake. But he didn't know that then. Brandick, thinking he only had only a year to live decided to get the most out of what life he had left. He quit his job. Then he quit paying on his mortgage. He embarked on a spending spree that ultimately depleted his finances. He used
his savings to go on vacations, go out to eat, and do all the little things that made life enjoyable. What he didn't give away to friends and family, he sold to raise a little more spending money to make his last days enjoyable. After all, he wasn't going to need any of it any more.
A year later, when Brandick returned for a medical appointment, he suddenly discovered that his cancer was merely an inflammation of the pancreas and not a tumor at all. Instead of facing death, Brandick was now facing life. It came as quite a shock to Brandick. He was suddenly given a new lease on life, but then he remembered that he had no money left to live on. When he spent his money on vacations and fine dining simply for the joy of it, he had no idea there would ever come a time when he would need it. "When they tell you you've got a limited time and everything, you do enjoy life," he told Sky TV. "I'm really pleased that I've got a second chance in life... but if you haven't got no money after all this, which is my fault -- I spent it all -- they should pay something back." he adds. Although Brandick thinks the hospital should give him compensation for this misdiagnosis; the hospital claims that after a review of his case, that the diagnosis would have been the same from any other facility. They do, however; offer their sympathies. Brandick is considering selling his house if he does not receive compensation. He is also considering suing the hospital that diagnosed him. "LINK"

Poor John, reminds me a little of Ned, except John's story would be titled Unfortunately. This guy did what Tim McGraw sang about in "Live Like You Were Dying" except poor John ain't dying all that quickly now. But alas John did manage to pull off a fairly decent plan, screw it I ain't paying my mortgage or my car note, matter of fact I might buy a boat, no make it a yacht. John fortunately your gonna live, unfortunately you ain't got no mo' stuff.......

1 comment:

Nannette Richford said...

Excuse me...but the article "British Man Expecting to Live a Year Spends All and Finds Out He's Not Dying" is copyrighted.

If you wish to put the lead paragraph on you site with a link to the original that's fine... but simply posting my article is not.

Nannette Richford