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What a powerful story! I am glad you decided to share it. It speaks to the humaness in us all. I have always been a bit annoyed by the saying, "There but for the grace of God, go I". It seems to arrogantly assume that those who are healthy or financially well off are somehow superior to those who are not and that God has rewarded the more "deserving" with health, wealth and happiness. This, of course, is not true but that hidden thought causes us to separate ourselves inwardly from the handicapped and the poor. Outwardly, we may be compassionate and giving, but inside we are thinking, "I'm different". Then one day we find we are not different at all. The scary thought for me is that one day someone will look at me with pity, that I will lose my "MEness" and become "that person over there in the wheelchair, drooling. You confronted that demon at the the graduation and you mourned for your lost perfection and illusions. I think we all must go through that, face it and move on. Thank you for putting the experience into words and sharing it with us all. I am trying very hard not to give you unsolicited advice,but I think the person with the brain tumor was coping in her own way with humor. This is also how I cope with PD. It makes the enemy less scary when you can look him in the face and laugh. Laughter also helps to make friends feel at ease and better able to talk to you about your medical "problem". That is preferable, I think, than keeping it a taboo subject.... even if they sometimes offer unsolicited advice. I like to think they offer advice only out of love and concern. Mary Sheehan