I’ve always been proud of my cousin, Joan (Lind) Van Blom, and her husband, John. Both have had long careers as world-class rowers and great competitors, which we’ve watched from a distance.

Now she faces a life-and-death competition with brain cancer.

A few days ago, Bob Keisser of the Orange County Register profiled the couple, and I’m prouder than ever (“Long Beach couple gets through life one oar stroke at a time“). They are facing their circumstances with incredible grace and courage.

Here’s a piece of Keisser’s story.

“It’s a process of adapting and getting used to new situations,” said John, who owns a cabinet-making business. “The initial shock and dismay was over the prognosis. We’ve gotten used to the new realities and moved on.

“The statistics for this cancer are lousy, but there are exceptions, so we hope to be the anomaly that lasts. In the meantime, the MRI is your friend.

“Whatever grace you see in me is from the way she handles it. If she was down in the dumps, it might affect me differently. But my personality is sort of to put my head down and deal with it.”

“John’s the reason I can have a positive outlook,” said Joan, who was a teacher for the Long Beach Unified School District for 30 years. “If I was by myself, it might be a whole other world. He’s always been the cook, and he’s a very skilled craftsman, so he can fix anything. I always used to tell him I hope I die before he does because he does everything for me.”

And then she laughed. “So be careful what you wish for.”

It’s a very bitter-sweet story. Do check it out.