Ep. 500 - Get to Work

Join Rob as he returns to recording with a Memorial Day episode dedicated to his father, Robert J. Kaiser, Jr - may his memory be eternal. 

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#MemorialDay #RememberingHeroes #HonorOurFallen #NeverForget #MemorialDayWeekend #GratefulNation #SaluteToService #MemorialDay2023 #LandOfTheFree #HomeOfTheBrave #SupportOurTroops #ProudAmerican #InRemembrance #UnitedWeStand #FreedomIsNotFree #MemorialDayParade #MilitaryHeroes #Gratitude #LestWeForget #HonoringOurVeterans #RememberingTheFallen #ThankYouForYourService #FlagsAndFreedom #HeroesAmongUs #MemorialDaySale #RedWhiteAndBlue #Patriotic #AmericanHeroes #MemorialDayBBQ #MemorialDayVibes

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Cover Photo Credit: Our Loving Farmers' Market Community

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Discussion Links:

Robert Kaiser Obituary - https://www.waitefuneralhome.com/obituary/robert-kaiser

Hospice of the Western Reserve - https://www.hospicewr.org/

Donate to Hospice of the Western Reserve - https://p2p.onecause.com/hwr/donate

Ep. 437 - Happy Anniversary to the Founders! - https://www.buzzsprout.com/650959/episodes/11449280

Ep. 460 - Cody Grey on Living and Providing - https://www.buzzsprout.com/650959/episodes/11645725

In Loving Memory: Remembering the Kraut Guy from York Meadow Farm - https://www.yorkmeadowfarm.com/blog/2023/5/21/may-his-memory-be-eternal

York Meadow Farm: Lacto-Fermented Foods
Rich in probiotics, our fermented foods are also paleo and keto friendly. Eat a proper human diet.

YMF: Artisanal Bath & Body Products 🛁
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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:00

If we stand together, we'll never fall.

unknown 0:08

We can make a difference.

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Well, hi there and welcome back to another episode of the All Around Growth Podcast. My name is Rob Kaiser and I am your host. Today is Monday, May 29th, 2023. And this is a show where we talk about personal growth and development through finding balance in life. Now I believe that we cannot fully grow and develop into our full potential as human beings unless we live a balanced life in several different areas of our life. And accordingly, for the purposes of the discussion and for the purposes of the show, we compartmentalize it and oftentimes take an in-depth look at each area of life in each episode. We rotate through these topics, and in each episode, the topics routinely relate to financial, physical, personal development, family, spiritual, social, and career, and we generally discuss them in that order. However, it's been over two months since the last show, and today we are going to talk about why. What's been going on? Why has it been two months since the last show? Well, the last show that was recorded was on Saturday, March 18th, and that was episode number 499, where we talked about our financial lives, specifically the fear of financial insecurity. And originally I didn't plan on anything big for episode number 500. The original plan was to simply continue recording and moving on with something relating to our um, you know, the physical aspect of life. You know, most content creators celebrate benchmarks like this, you know, episode number 500 or various other anniversaries of the show, but I'm not that guy. I'm not most content creators, and I've never really done this show for any particular reason other than it being a labor of love. It's a passion project. We lost internet here on the homestead, and the following week things had begun to change in life, but the change didn't really seem that serious yet. However, on the following Saturday, April 1st, we had another storm, and the recording was delayed again. But by that time, in early April, it was apparent that the changes in life had become a little bit more serious than we initially expected. Now, for those of you who are in the Telegram group, you know exactly what I'm talking about, the changes that took place. But for those of you who are not in the Telegram group, first and foremost, I would like to invite you to join it and participate in the group with us. You can do so from any internet browser by simply typing t.me slash all around growth into your browser and join us. You don't need to download any additional apps on your phone. You can simply use this on your desktop, and that's a great way to stay connected with all of us. And by doing so, you get the ability to get a behind-the-scenes look at the show and our lives. You know, in that group we connect with each other, cultivate relationships, form friendships, and much, much more. There is a true sense of community there, and for that I am sincerely grateful. This community that is there has been very helpful for the hard times that myself and my family have recently experienced, and it truly is my hope that that group will be helpful for you when you experience hard times in your own life. So, what are the hard times that I'm talking about here? And what are the changes in life that I previously mentioned that led to a two-month delay in recording? Well, in short, my father was diagnosed with cancer in April and he passed away last Saturday on May 20th. So here are the details and a summary of what has taken place over the past two months and why the recording of the show has been delayed up until today. Now, on Monday, March 27, 2023, two months ago to the day, my mom took my dad to the express care for a lingering cough that just wouldn't go away. Now they both had been sick a few weeks prior with a cold. Mom got better, but dad did not. And at the express care, they took a CAT scan and immediately directed him to go to the emergency room. Now the CAT scan revealed that his right lung was opaque with an apparent mass that was visible, and the following day it was diagnosed as likely cancer, and that was March 28th, Tuesday. Now, over the course of the next 30 days, numerous tests were run and it was determined that it was indeed lung cancer. Now, we soon learned that it was lung cancer, but it was different. It was a rare form of cancer, and with less than one one thousandth of one percent of patients being diagnosed with this particular type of cancer, right? Now multiple doctors at multiple institutions were consulted to determine exactly what it was and the best course of action to take. And soon enough we also learned that dad's exposure to Agent Orange during his time in Vietnam was very likely a contributing factor to this cancer that he was experiencing. Now all the tests that were performed determined that the preferred treatment protocol, which was targeted genetic therapy, had been ruled out, and he was to begin treatment with chemotherapy and immunotherapy. But the Kraut guy was again taken to the ER on Wednesday, May 3rd with extreme shortness of breath and extreme fatigue, and this was the third time he had been in the hospital, and at that time it was determined that he had a blood clot in his pulmonary artery and also had pneumonia. And he was admitted into the hospital for a third time. The second time he was admitted into the hospital was because of his um pleural catheter. He had a catheter inserted into his uh the pleural lining of his lung so that we could drain that regularly, but it got clogged and we had to take him to the hospital where he was admitted and stayed for a few days before going home again. This time around he was extremely short of breath, extremely fatigued after coming home from a doctor's appointment, and we took him in again. Now, he stayed in the hospital for a few days and luckily was able to receive his first round of chemotherapy on Saturday, May 6th, and at that point they scheduled his immunotherapy treatment. Now, um, at that time, due to the nature of the cancer, doctors also decided to begin a course of radiation treatments. They just wanted to hit him with everything in the toolbox, and he began those treatments on Wednesday, May 10th while he was still in the hospital. Now, Thursday, May 11th, he was discharged to a rehab facility, and the intent with that and the idea behind it was to help him regain some of his physical strength that he had lost due to the rapid decline over the past few weeks. And because that rehab facility was outside of the hospital system, he would be able to begin the immunotherapy treatment, which was only available as an outpatient procedure. During this time, the radiation treatments continued and he had a series of appointments scheduled for the following week on Wednesday, May 17th, and that was where he was going to receive his first immunotherapy treatment. However, during that week, while he was in the physical and occupational rehab facility, he continued with the radiation treatments and his health continued to decline and it continued to decline rapidly. It accelerated, his decline accelerated, and during the appointment with the oncologist on Wednesday, May 17th, which happened to be the very first appointment of the day, it was determined that the chemotherapy and the radiation treatments that he had been receiving so far were actually destroying him. His blood work indicated that his white blood cell count was extremely low and he was no longer a viable candidate for immunotherapy. Moreover, it was determined that due to his weakened physical condition, the treatments must be stopped. Now, despite the circumstances and the pain that he was in on account of the various cancer treatments, Dad wanted to continue. He wanted to keep fighting. The doctor advised him that this was unwise, and she told him that if she was seeing him as a patient for the first time due to the nature of his condition and the status of his physical health, she would not suggest any treatments whatsoever because the cancer had simply progressed too far too quickly, and based on his physical status, the the any any additional treatment like chemotherapy, radiation, and such would do more harm than good. Now, toward the end of that appointment, when the doctor asked to speak with my mother outside of the room in the hallway, I could tell that the outcome of the discussion was not going to be good. I remained in the room with dad in silence, and though I could not hear the details of the discussion, in my heart I knew what was about to be said. When the doctor returned into the room, she told my dad that he had three to four weeks to live, maybe a month, and she told him that he was going home now, going to go into hospice care, and that we were simply going to keep him comfortable during this time. Now, by this time, Dad was almost non-responsive. Simply going from the rehab facility to the hospital took a big toll on him, but I think he knew what was going on, and I think he understood what was happening. Um we went to the lab, had more blood work drawn. He was given his first dose of pain medication, and we returned to the rehab facility where he had been staying, and within an hour, a nurse, a coordinator named Julie from Hospice of the Western Reserve had arrived to coordinate the home hospice care. Mom and I packed up the majority of dad's belongings at that time, and within a few hours we returned home to prepare the spare bedroom for dad, which involved breaking down the crib and one of the beds that were used when dad's grandchildren, my nieces and nephews, uh, that were used when they stayed over at the cabin. Now, the following morning on Thursday, May 18th, all of the equipment was delivered the hospital bed, the oxygen condenser, the nebulizer, tray tables, everything that was needed to make him comfortable during his stay at home. And mom went to visit with dad to ensure his transport went smoothly, which it did. My sister Kate and myself spent the morning and the early afternoon preparing the room for dad's return, and by 3 p.m. he was home in bed next to the window in the guest bedroom in the cabin overlooking the pond. Later that afternoon, a nurse came by from the hospice of the Western Reserve to do the initial assessment, and my mom being a nurse herself asked the hospice nurse straight up what her thoughts were and how much time that she thought he had. And despite the fact that the doctor said two to three weeks, maybe a month, the hospice nurse said, we're looking at two to three days, maybe a week. And with his birthday being Saturday, May 20th, she said it wouldn't surprise me if he rallied for his birthday and then died shortly thereafter. Now, during the next few days, the next few days consisted of around the clock care with dad. My entire family was present. My brother was here, my sister was here, my mom was here, I was there uh 24-7. Um the next day, my uncle and my cousin came over, that was Friday, May 8 uh 19th, and they came to visit him, and my uncle told us that he looked happy. Or my uncle told us rather that he was happy because dad looked to be at peace and content while he slept in the bed during their visit. Um shortly after you know, seeing him in bed, Dad decided to get up. He was determined to go sit in his chair, his favorite chair, visit with my Uncle Tom, my cousin Julie, have some ice cream, and um just do his best to live like he normally lived. And he did. Now, later on that day after Dad went back to bed, we continued preparations because we were going to throw a birthday party to celebrate his 77th birthday, which was going to be the following day on Saturday, May 20th. And the preparations were largely made by my sister, and it was beautiful. Balloons, cake, um, birthday decorations, everything you can think of. And on the morning of his birthday, my sister had outfitted his room with said balloons and all the various birthday decorations for him, and he had he knew that the day had arrived. By 10 a.m., the entire family had arrived at the cabin. My sister, my sister-in-law, and my nieces, my brother-in-law with my nephew. Dad saw and heard the grandchildren playing while laying in bed overlooking the pond. And shortly thereafter, while sitting on the edge of the bed, he slumped over into my mother's arms, and my sister called for my brother and I, and we got him situated back in bed. But we realized that something had dramatically changed. And mom, being a nurse, she told us that he was dying, but we we we knew. Um, when someone begins dying, you you know what's going on. And we all began saying our last words in that moment, telling him how much we loved him and that it was okay now, that he was going home. And we immediately sang him happy birthday. And when we finished singing him happy birthday, he took two final breaths, and he went home. His passing was beautiful, it was peaceful. He passed away at home, surrounded by the family that I loved so deeply, and he sacrificed so much of his life for. And quite frankly, his passing could not have been any better. Now, unbeknownst to us, apparently my dad earlier in the week confided in my Uncle Tom during Uncle Tom's visit to the rehab facility on Monday that dad didn't believe that he was going to live to see his birthday. And my uncle assured him that he would indeed live to see his birthday, and indeed he did. My father was born on the morning of May 20th, 1946, and he died on the morning of May 20th, 2023, at the age of 77, surrounded by his loving family. May his memory be eternal. For those of you who don't know my father, it feels appropriate to read his obituary, and I will go ahead and do that now. Robert Jock Kaiser Jr., a loving and devoted husband, father, and grandfather, returned home to God's kingdom on May 20, 2023, after a courageous battle with cancer. Robert's light-hearted nature and fortitude persevered despite how rapidly life changed. He passed away peacefully in the arms of his wife and three children who surrounded him with love and gratitude until his final breath. Robert was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Audrey and Robert Kaiser Sr. on May 20, 1946. Upon graduation from St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, he attended Xavier University in Cincinnati. Robert went on to join the Army and served in Vietnam as first lieutenant. Following his service in Vietnam, he returned to Cincinnati to serve as captain in the Army Reserves and attended Xavier University to earn his master's in business administration. In 1972, he met the love of his life, Denise Kaiser, her Denise Peart, rather, who stood by his side through all the joys and challenges of life. They married in 1973 and spent a beautiful 50 years together, working together to raise their three children and cultivate an admirable life. For nearly 30 years, Robert held various management positions in the field of information systems to provide for his family. In 2006, Robert and Denise moved from Bay Village to Medina, where they developed their beautiful 20-acre homestead. And along with Denise, Robert founded York Meadow Farm and specialized in growing produce, baking sourdough bread, and creating unique varieties of sauerkraut and other lactofermented foods. Affectionately known as the Kraut Guy, Robert left a lasting impression on everyone he met. Robert was also a dedicated adjunct professor of mathematics at Cuyahoga County for me to say Cuyahoga Community College up until his recent cancer diagnosis. Robert was a member of the St. Raphael Church and enjoyed being an active member of their choir for over 25 years. And while living in Bay Village, Robert served as videographer for the Bay High School football team and was heavily involved in his children's sports and extracurricular activities. Robert had an intense thirst for knowledge and spent most of his free time researching his interests. He thoroughly enjoyed exploring new places and seeking to understand how everything worked. Robert had a fantastic memory of numbers, facts, and details, and as an educator at heart, he loved to share his knowledge with others. Along with his passion for fermenting food, Robert held lifelong interests in herb gardening, gourmet cooking, classic cars, the 50s and 60s eras, Sudoku puzzles, coin collecting, and the history of Cleveland. While he had widespread interests and a complex mind, Robert was a simple man at heart and was perfectly content in any situation so long as he had a cup of dark roast coffee in his hand. Robert is preceded in death by his mother Audrey, father Robert Kaiser, brother James Kaiser, and sister-in-law Helen Kaiser. He is survived by his wife Denise, sons Robert Kaiser and Matthew Kaiser, married to Laurel Kaiser, daughter Kathleen Schoen, married to Luke Schoen, and grandchildren Emily Kaiser, Megan Kaiser, and Lincoln Schoen. Brother Thomas Kaiser, brother Lawrence Kaiser, and sister in law Laverne Kaiser, and brother Joseph Kaiser, along with numerous nieces and nephews. The funeral mass will be celebrated on Thursday, June 1st, 2023, at 10 30 a.m. at St. Raville Church, located at 525 Dover Center Road in Bay Village, Ohio. And there will be a reception with light refreshments to follow on site in the community room. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that monetary tribute gifts be made to Robert's name, to hospice of the Western Reserve, and there is a link in the obituary to do so in order to thank them for their incredible service and compassionate care. This wonderful obituary was written by my sister Kate, and this was one of the many things that she has done over the past week as we all collectively work to take care of everything that needs to be taken care of when a loved one passes away. My brother has taken on a tremendous amount of work as well, and I am very grateful for both of them for their support during this time. Moreover, the outpouring of love and support from the rest of our family, friends, and our community has been overwhelming and humbling. We are sincerely grateful for all of it. And for those of you listening who are already aware of the news, I'd like to thank you as well. It means a lot. So today, with it being Memorial Day, it seemed appropriate to do this episode, record this episode in memorial of my father. Now, Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. From 1868 to 1970, it was observed on May 30th, but since 1970, it's been observed on the last Monday of May, and that is today. Now, while my father didn't die while serving in the Armed Forces, his service in the armed forces ultimately turned out to be a primary factor in the cancer that eventually took his life. So later today, we are going to be gathering at my brother's house for a Memorial Day cookout, like many people do. And this will be the first holiday that we will spend together as a family without my father. As our family regroups and actively works to get back on track with our lives, it only seemed appropriate to dedicate this benchmark episode number 500 to my father and the legacy that he has left behind. To learn more about his legacy, I would definitely encourage you to check out episode number 437 titled Happy Anniversary to the Founders. And this episode was released on their anniversary, October 6th of last year, 2022. And in that episode, I revisited the original interview that I did with Mom and Dad, which was remastered and re-released in order to celebrate their anniversary. And I'll link to that in the show notes. In that episode, and in that interview, we covered the history of the farm, including when the property was first identified and purchased, when mom and dad sold their home and finally moved into a rental property in the same town where the property was located, the challenges of maintaining a property when you don't live there, specifically the management of berry bushes, fruit trees, and ducks, things that were needed in order to provide a quick return at the farmer's market. You know, things like produce with a quick turnaround time, biscotti and fresh coffee, things that they first started doing at the farmer's market. How they learned to make items in the winter season for sale in the spring before all of the produce was ready, the challenges of failure and inexperience when it comes to starting up a new homestead and being new vendors at a farmer's market, the willingness to adapt and change to fill voids at the farmer's market, the challenges of taking on too much too fast, and ultimately how this led to our current setup with a tenant farmer Cody, who I've interviewed on the show before. Embracing concepts of permaculture and self-sufficiency, health problems, specifically gastrointestinal problems, and how that relates to fermented foods and why we started doing that in the first place. And how we settled into what we're doing now with fermented foods and bath and body products. And finally, we had a discussion about all of the potential here on the farm and the vision for the future. So, again, guys, that is episode number 437 titled Happy Anniversary to the Founders. I will link to that in the show notes as well. And I would encourage you to listen to that so you can get a better idea of who my dad is and what he's done here on the farm. Now, dad's funeral mass is this Thursday, and throughout the week we will be spending more time with family, continuing to take care of family business, and continuing to work in the way that dad would have wanted us to. Now, with that said, my brother had an interesting dream prior, just a few days prior to dad's death. And the dream was interesting because it went something like this. There was no context in the dream. There was no real environment or or or anything specific that he could pinpoint, right? It was just him and my dad. My brother looked at my dad and said, What do I do now? And without skipping a beat, my brother or my father in the dream just looked at him and said, get to work. And with that said, I'll simply conclude the episode now and encourage you to do the same. Get to work. This is Rob Kaiser, and thank you.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

What can I do? The needs are menu.