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RadiationTherapy

(5,818 posts)

33. Welding and metalwork was my brother's trade for a while and I admire it very much.

Thu Dec 4, 2014, 12:40 PM

Dec 2014

My brother's career was cut short at age 24 by a malignant naso-pharyngeal cancer which he survived due to the most intense radiation treatment available at the time. The radiation burned his nose, mouth, throat and nerves so he breathes through a hole like a dolphin and eats stomach-injected purees. His tongue is paralyzed so he can barely speak and he is also mostly deaf. His left arm is a dangling skin covered bone due to nerve damage. I visit him every week and we make music, paint, do videos, etc. Art and memories of our thousands and thousands of miles of hitchhiking and road-tripping are all we have now, really, since it is so difficult for him to travel or interact with others. He is also a bit reclusive due to the disfiguration of his body.

Anyways, welding is an amazing trade and I think it is one to take pride in due to its practical and artistic potential.

(I hope I am not too heavy here, but I don't get to talk about this aspect of my life very much. Sorry if it was a downer.)

One of my favorite videos together:

Our channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrAgqfIXdvdY9lx_n8Cz_4w

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The problem with "You didn't build that." [View all] KentuckyWoman Dec 2014 OP

like Star Wars! snooper2 Dec 2014 #1

Yes, there is a handful of these folks, but they still benefitted from highways, unions, etc. NYC_SKP Dec 2014 #2

You know it's not 2012, right? geek tragedy Dec 2014 #3

Thank you JustAnotherGen Dec 2014 #4

"many of those people" Why do you think many people who worked hard to build a successful business RadiationTherapy Dec 2014 #27

My husband does JustAnotherGen Dec 2014 #28

Ok, that's great. Let me mark that down... *1* RadiationTherapy Dec 2014 #29

I think he's a good start JustAnotherGen Dec 2014 #31

Welding and metalwork was my brother's trade for a while and I admire it very much. RadiationTherapy Dec 2014 #33

I yet think we should all laud Paris Hilton for the economic, artistic and ethical contributions she LanternWaste Dec 2014 #5

Am I in some kind of fucking time warp here alcibiades_mystery Dec 2014 #6

Election..... KentuckyWoman Dec 2014 #18

I'm pretty sure we won the election where your talking point dominated discussion. Drunken Irishman Dec 2014 #24

the fallacy of the half-truth. unblock Dec 2014 #7

and there are advantages available to them....that the rest of us slubs do not have access to... VanillaRhapsody Dec 2014 #12

and in truth a lot of their "work" is merely seeing that the money winds up in their pockets unblock Dec 2014 #17

Affluent people are not "rich" KentuckyWoman Dec 2014 #21

and you made mine. for the most part it's not about the hours you put it. unblock Dec 2014 #25

The problem is... the Third-Way poseurs MannyGoldstein Dec 2014 #8

The problem with "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." FSogol Dec 2014 #9

The problem is you misinterpreted that statement. JaneyVee Dec 2014 #10

This is not what "You didn't build that." is about. Mass Dec 2014 #11

We should cut their taxes as recognition!!! JoePhilly Dec 2014 #13

havent you been paying attention belzabubba333 Dec 2014 #14

any thoughts on Benghazi? napkinz Dec 2014 #15

The issue of "you didn't build that" is about the socially built infrastructure, paid for by DrewFlorida Dec 2014 #16

Not to mention, no decent employees to work for them without our education system bhikkhu Dec 2014 #20

Exactly! DrewFlorida Dec 2014 #23

I see what you're saying, I think. AverageJoe90 Dec 2014 #19

I read this and expected "Titanium" to come on the radio Recursion Dec 2014 #22

it should have been, Doctor_J Dec 2014 #26

The only way to make that point in a manner that is understood by the 1% Skidmore Dec 2014 #30

Two things: Tommy_Carcetti Dec 2014 #32