More than a year ago, we partnered up with the US Racquetball association to bring them a new website.  Curt Rettke, being on the USAR board and a IT Project Manager decided to help out.  We had some of our differences but it was clear that we both had the same goal to try and make the USAR better through the web.

Time passes, I get a call from Curt every now with some ideas for the site and then and then they stop.  I just figure that Curt has gotten busy and is working other projects.

Jackie tells me yesterday that Curt Rettke died.  I was on the phone at the time.  I was thinking "Car Accident" or "Maybe he was older than he sounded on the phone?"  He died at the age of 42 from ALS (Leukemia).

That sucks.  I mean, I wasn't best buds with the guy, but I wish I could have called and wished him well.  In one of the entries on a website that was made to follow his progress:

1/26/05: While inpatient, my heartbeat rose to 150 which promoted a cat scan of my lungs which showed that my fungal pnemonia had worsened enough to kick me out of EVER getting a transplant. Drugs can only stabalize it, not kill it. Only my own neutrophils can kill the infection, but I don't produce neutrophils. Hopkins essentially sent me home and said they have nothing left to offer me and I should consider just enjoying the time I have left.

Everyone's had bad days, but this would be horrible.  What I read in this message is that he was losing hope.  Being the agnostic type, I sometimes believe that's all we have in life after you strip and tear things away from someone, hope that someday it'll get better.  Even knowing the outcome, I read the entries from the beginning, hoping for some good news...

Cancer sucks.  I just wish I had knew.  Maybe I could have called and passed along some hope.