A Good Friend Said 'Goodbye' Today

When I first heard the words 'multiple myeloma,' I had no idea what battles were in store for Karl. Karl (aka 'Kappy'), was my wife's hairdresser, and a part of our extended family for almost 30 years. He was like a brother to me.

He was Talented. Creative. Funny. Acerbic. Artistic. After his stem cell procedure and follow-up chemotherapy, he would call us daily with updates on his blood counts and whether the blood was replenishing itself in quantities sufficient to sustain life. At one point, he was told he 'was in remission," and that made all of us happier than a first kiss from that 'special someone.'

But this year, along came pneumonia, and Kappy was hospitalized. With little or no immune system following his stem cell and chemo processes, he was fighting an uphill battle. Little did any of us know that battle was one he was destined to lose.

And he lost it graciously, dying in his sleep, when the combined wizardry of the medical team at UCSF couldn't reverse the direction fate had dictated for him.

He will be missed. RIP, Kappy.