Kel Thrush and His Story of Hope!

Earlier on in the first years of this blogsite; I made contact with Kel Thrush, another Ko-Op worker from back in the day. I believe that he graduated in the Spring of 1966. He was married to Beth. We exchanged a few comments and then we again lost contact.

I knew that his father, Orval Thrush, died in June 2014 - he and I exchanged a few emails, mainly centered on RVing. Like Annette and I, he had traveled and lived in an RV.

Not until I stumbled onto this video, did I know what was occurring in Kel and Beth's lives.

https://www.facebook.com/stpaulumcky/videos/726234864396878/

I too have been a long-time blood donor (O-Negative) - began donating while working in Urbana School District. Last year, I was able to donate double platelets (What Red Cross sometimes calls Power Red donations) four times. I will continue doing so for as long as possible. Two simple things in life that have given me immediate positive feedback: (1) quitting smoking [more than 42 yrs. ago] and (2) donating blood. And now each time that I donate, I will think of Beth and Kel. I recently received notification from Red Cross that I have passed the five gallon donation mark.

Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) https://www.mds-foundation.org/what-is-mds/

Kelly if you see this, I express my deepest sympathy to you. And I hope that your own battle with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis will yield the best possible result.

Great memories of working shifts with sandy-blonde headed Kel; he was a dynamo. Working with him guaranteed that a shift would go quickly. He taught me many different skills; we closed up the Ko-Op at least a quarter or two.