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至急、助け乞う
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アイダリアさん(右)が元気だったころ、彼女が主事を務めた展覧会にお邪魔した筆者。
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Urgent call for help
A couple of weeks ago, one of my labmates hosted a farewell picnic at his home. Many members of our group are moving away in the fall, so a lot of people attended. Notably absent were Gene and Idahlia Stanley, my advisor and his wife. They are a constant presence at lab social events, but Idahlia wasn't feeling well that week. She had pneumonia and was resting at home.
Idahlia's pneumonia didn't get better after about a week, so she had more tests. That is when we heard the awful news: Idahlia has lung cancer that has already spread to her pelvis, spine, liver and brain. She has several tumors in her brain, including a large tumor about 3 cm by 2.5 cm. Idahlia understands the extent of her disease, and she is actively pursuing treatment because she wants to live.
Gene has sent thousands of e-mail messages asking his friends and colleagues for advice. When I asked if I could write about her, they consented immediately.
Idahlia is thin and delicate, almost girlish in appearance, and her voice is soft. But she is a powerful intellectual, artist and social activist. She is my parents' age, but I feel no generation gap talking with her, because her ideas are more modern than mine.
Idahlia is a co-curator of the Gallery of Social/Political Art in Boston. I've taken some of my friends to her gallery, and they have been immediately smitten. All of her paintings have scores of people linked with each other. I once asked her why there are no faces in her paintings, thinking it had some deep, metaphorical meaning. She giggled and said, "No, it's just hard to draw faces."
Idahlia doesn't have the slick confidence of an effective PR person, but she gets the job done. She has always been a bit frustrated at the difficulty of getting publicity for the gallery, but through her vision and hard work, she has put together several shows a year.
She lives consistently with her ideals. Always an advocate of civil rights, she taught at a tough inner-city school for many years during Boston's notorious race-related conflicts. This shows much more commitment and strength than arguing about "politics" in a coffee house or law school classroom.
As a couple, Gene and Idahlia date back to the '60s, when they were both liberal social activists. Idahlia told me that back then, she wore a fake wedding ring because they lived together before they got married and she didn't want to shock their conservative neighbors. Later, when they actually got married, she avoided taking wedding pictures at their apartment, so the neighbors wouldn't find out the truth.
Idahlia is also deeply committed to her children. I have vivid images of two exceptionally bright young adults, simply based on the stories she's told me. It's obvious that she enjoys being with them not only because they are her children, but also because she is interested in their ideas. They are younger than I am, but Gene has told me that they have been incredibly strong, not only supporting Idahlia but also handling a lot of tasks that need to be done around the home.
The entire Stanley family has a positive attitude, and I know they will not give up. Gene still worries about running a lab — he worries about us — but we want to lift some of the unimaginable burden off the family.
That is why I'm asking you for support. If you have any advice that may help Idahlia, including information about alternative treatments and experimental trials, please write to me at masakoyamada74@hotmail.com or contact the editorial staff at ST. What would be especially useful are testimonials from persons who have had similar experiences. I can read Japanese e-mail and Web pages, and can transmit the information to Gene and Idahlia.
The current plan is to use radiation treatment for her brain and lungs, and to move on to chemotherapy if she is strong enough. She has been eating a lot to make herself stronger. She is being treated at one of the finest hospitals in the United States, Massachusetts General Hospital, but this treatment can still only control the disease. There isn't much time, and we'd all appreciate your help. Thank you.
Shukan ST: Aug. 23, 2002
(C) All rights reserved
- Urgent
- 緊急の
- labmates
- 研究仲間
- farewell picnic
- お別れ野外パーティー
- are moving away
- 引っ越す
- Notably absent were 〜
- 目だったのは〜が欠席したことだ
- advisor
- 指導教授
- constant presence
- 出席率のいい人
- lab(=laboratory)
- 研究室
- pneumonia
- 肺炎
- awful
- 嫌な
- lung cancer
- 肺がん
- (has)spread to 〜
- 〜に転移していた
- pelvis
- 骨盤
- spine
- 背骨
- liver
- 肝臓
- brain
- 脳
- tumors
- 腫瘍
- extent of her disease
- 病状の重さ
- (is)pursuing treatment
- 治療を受けている
- actively
- 積極的に
- colleagues
- 同僚
- consented
- 同意した
- immediately
- すぐに
- thin
- 細い
- delicate
- きゃしゃな
- girlish
- 少女のような
- in appearance
- 見た感じは
- intellectual
- 知識人
- co-curator
- 共同館長
- (have been)smitten
- 魅了された
- scores of 〜
- 多くの〜
- metaphorical
- 比ゆ的な
- giggled
- くすくす笑った
- slick confidence
- 調子のよい自信
- effective PR person
- 有能な宣伝マン
- gets the job done
- すべきことはする
- getting publicity
- 注目を集めること
- has put together 〜
- 〜を企画した
- consistently
- 常に
- ideals
- 理想
- advocate
- 擁護者
- civil rights
- 公民権
- inner-city
- 都心部の
- notorious
- 悪名高い
- race-related conflicts
- 人種間抗争
- commitment
- 献身
- date back to 〜
- 〜にさかのぼる
- liberal
- リベラルな
- back then
- 当時は
- fake
- 偽物の
- got married
- 結婚した
- conservative
- 保守的な
- neighbors
- 近所の人たち
- find out 〜
- 〜を知る
- (is)deeply committed to 〜
- 〜と強く結ばれている
- vivid
- はっきりとした
- exceptionally
- 非常に
- obvious
- 明らかな
- incredibly
- すごく
- handling 〜
- 〜をこなす
- tasks
- 仕事
- running 〜
- 〜の運営
- lift 〜 off 〜
- 〜を〜から取り除く
- unimaginable burden
- 想像を絶する重荷
- alternative
- (近代医薬にかわる)代替の
- experimental trials
- 実験段階の治療法
- editorial staff at ST
- ST編集部
- testimonials
- 証言
- transmit 〜 to 〜
- 〜を〜に転送する
- radiation treatment
- 放射線療法
- chemotherapy
- 化学療法