We'll miss you Bill

We lost good friend last week. Bill Harris died on December 31st after a 3 year battle with a very aggressive brain tumor. We met Bill when he and his wife bought the house next door to us six years ago. They purchased an older home and Bill did a really fine job remodeling it. He was really good with his hands. He was a warm, friendly, happy man. He worked in high tech as a marketing guy and helped me design my CD cover for Silk Road. He was a guitar player as well and we enjoyed talking about music and computers. We also shared a passion for food and cooking. Shortly after learning that his wife Jamey was pregnant, he also learned that he had a tumor in his brain. It turned out to be non-cancerous but very aggressive. After the initial shock, his approach was very positive. He started to make a documentary about his and other peoples experiences with this kind of tumor. He must have learned that the prognosis was not good. I don't think he got very far with the documentary. Over the course of the next three years he had several rounds on chemotherapy, radiation and many operations to remove the tumor

as well as plastic surgery to repair the damage. He spent a good deal of his last year with half of his head shaved and large sutures showing. He recieved most of his treatments as UC San Francisco for free because he was involved in some new treatments. Most patients with this type of tumor live for about a year, but Bill lasted three. The last year was really hard to watch. Bill was working on and off but his life was really centered around his son Logan and his wife Jamey. A final surgery was done to try an new treatment but it failed. His drug treatments made it very difficult for him to carry on a coherent conversation. You could tell he knew what he wanted to say, but couldn't get it out. Sort of like a stroke victim. The steroids made his face puffy and the scars and missing hair made him look like the subject of medical experiments, but his attitude remained positive to the end. He was a really good man. I don't really see any point in asking why this sort of thing happens. As far as I can tell there is no answer. We love you Bill, and we'll miss you.