Deal Hudson writes about his conversation with Bob Novak on InsideCatholic.

I spoke to Bob Novak this morning for about 10 minutes. He’s leaving Thursday for Duke University Hospital where he will have tumor reduction surgery performed by the same surgeon who operated on Ted Kennedy. After a two week stay in Durham, he will return to his home in Washington to receive chemo and radiation treatment.

Bob said he hoped that the treatment would improve his quality of life as well as extend it. When I asked him whether he thought he could beat the cancer, he said he didn’t think so. He also said that some of his doctors have counseled against the surgery, but he thinks they were being too conservative.

Bob received an unexpected but welcomed phone call from Ted Kennedy’s wife, wishing him well. When I asked him whether I could visit when he returns to Washington he said, “When you’re 77 years old, and you have brain surgery, anything can happen.” I told him that if something did happen there would, of course, be grief, but I believed that in the “blink of an eye” we would be seeing each other in Heaven. He replied that he thought that that was a good way to think about it.

Bob was his usual mater-of-fact self, but sounded understandably weaker. However, when I remarked that I was glad he had published his memoirs and had completed his book tour, Bob told me that he’s looking forward to the release of the paperback version in September. He’s determined to do all he can to extend what days he has left in the presence of God, his family, and friends.

He knows that many of us are praying for him, and he is very grateful.

May God be with you Bob.

 

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