It’s been three very long years since your departure.  I hold your memory so dear to my heart, and this help me to live.  I see you everyday around me, and everywhere inside the house I kept your belongings in the same places.  In that way you’re still here.

One cactus that Leroy cut it off from roof always remind me of you.  It’s tough, independent and strong to survive as I see you in the same. This cactus grew on our roof quite a long time ago.  We first found out about it when some neighbors told us they’ve seen it up there.  We found it and it was standing about 1 feet tall on top of the roof.  Leroy went up on a ladder and tried to pull it out the next day.  It would have grown there and damaged the roof.  Cactus was so strong that it took a long time and Leroy still can't pull it out, finally Leroy cut it off.  I then planted it in the backyard.

The cactus grew, and very soon it became very tall.  Sometimes when there was a strong wind blowing and I would watch it swing back and forth in the wind, but it didn’t break.  Every year we see it has flowers, although they are short-lived.  When the cactus grew to 12-15 feet it finally broke from the middle one day in a gust of strong wind.  But cactus lives, and continued to grow from the place where it broke.  It grew three new branches from the broken place and never broke again since then.  

By now it grew even more new branches from those three branches and is a very big giant cactus tree.  In recent years a lot of new flowers blossom, and then grow into beautiful red, delicious fruits!  They are the most rare and delicious fruits I have tasted.  Although Leroy is not here but his spirit character shine, I can feel it through the fruit. I know you are here with me. Remeber of Leroy forever.

It's now entirely two years since you left us. Although the wound of losing you would slowly heal, but the hole in the heart may never recover.  Just like one says, death leaves a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal.  

Every morning when I sat in front of the computer studying the Wall street or
searching the information I need, I could always "see" you also working on the computer quietly, I so much wished I could talk to you to get your opinion from time to time. Whenever I entered a theater to watch a movie by myself, I so much wished you could be beside me and explain the story I was confused about...  

Your kindness, your smiling, your high spirit in fighting disease, your continually finding new things to challenge yourself, all of these good characters are deeply implanted in my inside and accompany me and uplift my day when I am feeling down. I indeed miss you daily.  

During these two years after you were gone, my body suffered a lot of pain and also experienced many health problems. I regularly visit various doctors and did all kind of examinations. I am fighting with a lot of different problems and often feel very exhausted.  However whenever I thought of you and I would feel strong - you helped me go through the difficult time. 
 
Thank you, Leroy! You will be remembered forever.

It's Thanksgiving Day, and I want to thank Leroy, as always. I thank him especially for his kind and strong support. He indeed is with me and helps me when I'm in trouble.

One day during the last month I sudden felt something unusual in my left cheek. After I took a careful look I saw a rather large white, rough and hard patch protruding on the inside of my cheek. I didn't know what it was. I then searched the web for information regarding this strange symptom. I read that it's a kind of precancer lesion that often appears in smokers or is caused by "mechanical damage". It's called leukoplakia. Sometimes it requires oral surgery in order to prevent it from transforming into cancer.  

I never smoked, then I realized it must have been from my recent dental cleaning, when the technician put a very large film into my mouth which hurt me inside my mouth badly and damaged my cheek membrane. I became very scared and worried that it would never get better. I kept checking it often, whenever I had a chance, it did not go away. I called my doctor and made an urgent visit. My doctor agreed with my diagnosis and suggested to me to pay close attention. He said I may need to do oral cancer screening and later to perform oral surgery if the leukoplakia doesn't fade and heal in the next few weeks. I got even more scared after that and had trouble eating and sleeping.

While I was scared by myself I happened to remember that Leroy always said don't worry, face it what ever it is and believe in that everything would be fine in the end. I soon felt calm and strong again, as if Leroy was here with me. After I changed my way of thinking and followed Leroy's attitude of optimism, I began to eat and sleep in a normal way again. I looked at the leukoplakia as if doing research and tried some treatments that I found to reduce the inflammation. Two weeks later the leukoplakia disappeared like a miracle. I told Leroy thanks. And today I want to tell Leroy thanks again, and happy Thanksgiving Day!