Sunday, October 11, 2009

Another great day for Mom today. Busy, but great!

For the past few weeks, hula practice has been in full force in preparation for Ia Oe E Ka La hula competition in Pleasanton, California at the beginning of November. And Mom's latest news of the cancer spreading in to her brain, hasn't kept her from being at the halau to support as she always has. Halau is her sanctuary. It's where she loves to be.

Going on this trip to see our halau perform at this competition is just one of many things that Mom had planned way back when & this latest news is not holding her back. We're going & that's that!!

Sunday's are a full day of practice for all that are going to competition, so we potluck & plan to just hang out all day long & today was no different. Mom didn't take a nap like she usually does, but she ate off & on all day. So did everyone else who was there. After a long day at halau, she went home & is just relaxing tonight!

When I got home, I received an email from Uncle Danny Kaopuiki who many of you know that used to write for the NW Hawaii Times when it was in publication. As soon as I received his email, I called Mom to share it with her. His email was just so wonderful to receive & confirmed that my Mom has truly blessed not only me & my family, but also so many others...thank you Uncle Danny for allowing me to share your email & the draft of your upcoming column!

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Aloha Tanya.......

Please give my love to your Mom..........I have loved, admired and respected her for so many,many years and am always. always so entranced with her lovely smile and warm affectionate hug she shares with me each time we meet! You already know what a special lady she is and I consider her one of the true Icons of Hawaiiana here in the Pacific NW.

I used to write for the NW Hawaii Times (which went out of existence earlier this year) and have since been persuaded to keep writing my "Holoholo" column on line. Attached is a draft of my next column (google "Holoholo Northwest") which will be going on line the 15th of October 2009...I plan to open the column with the information about your Mom, my dear friend Sweetie Camacho......could you send me a picture (or pictures of her and maybe like the one of the Halau at E Hula Mau which you have prefacing your "Just me Sweetie" blog) that I could use with the column? Mahalo.....I would also welcome any input you would like me to include in the column (perhaps the latest on your plans to visit Hawaii....or whatever you think people would like to know)..........

Your blog is outstanding........anyway, please review my draft and I would like your comments plus any pictures you would like to have added to the column...by the way: my columns are strictly a "labor love" (I don't get any money for it but do it because I want to keep our Hawaiian community (like we used to do with the NW Hawaii Times newspaper) in the Pacific NW updated on people/events/activities that impact all of us)........Mahalo and give your Mom my love....Danny Kaopuiki

And here is the draft of his column....

"She is sooooo sweet....and soooo talented..........and sooooooooooo loved! One of the most popular Hawaiian wahines in the Pacific Northwest, someone who has shared of herself, of her love and Aloha with all of us for a long, long time! Now, it have become a time for us to share, to give support to Sweetie Camacho! Several years ago Sweetie was diagnosed with cancer in her thyroids which she seemed to have gotten under control when the cancer spread to her lungs and even then, it seemed that this feisty wahine had begun to beat the odds......the cancer has now gone to her brain. For most mortal souls, this would have been time to say “Enough is enough...I quit!”...but Sweetie is not a quitter and she continues to fight every day! The doctors had to stop the chemo treatments she had been receiving for her lung cancer so they could focus radiation treatment on the brain cancer!

Sweetie Camacho........a volleyball player extraordinaire... a volleyball coach who helped develop a number of young, future star volleyball players here in Washington....a musician who caused a lot of open mouthed admiration when she got on stage with Earl Cerbana (guitarist) and Kumu Hula Kamaile Hamada (ukulele) and played a standup bass (auwe, every other wahine we know play da uke or maybe da guitar but standup bass? Da only other Hawaiian we know who played standup bass is Robert Cazimero (and truth be known, Sweetie almost as good as Robert))....a singer with the lilt of an angel in her voice when she harmonized with Earl and Kamaile...a hula-dancer-second-to-none who was an instrumental part of the Halau Hula Kamaile Lauli`ili`i winning numerous E Hula Mau (in California) and Mai Kahiki Mai (in Washington State) hula competitions! But more, much more important than her athletic and her musical abilities is the Aloha she has in her heart........admired and respected friend to so many! Most importantly, Sweetie is a fantastic wife and mother and grandmother!

Sweetie Camacho’s daughter Tanya says her Mom has received a lot of phone calls, emails and cards of support from those who are familiar with what is happening but there are many, many more of us who did not realize the latest in Sweetie’s health status. Just me Sweetie is an internet blog that Tanya has created to keep Sweetie’s family and friends and fans updated on how Sweetie is doing! Type in Just me Sweetie on your computer and find out what’s happening...more important: respond to her with your Aloha and prayers and words of support! Aloha my dear friend Sweetie...mahalo for all that you have done for our Hawaiian community here........God Bless You and Yours!!!!!"