Jim Dillman's Healing Fund

James Dillman: October 1946-July 27, 2020

Our beloved teacher Jim has left his physical form today to continue on his journey.

Jim’s life was a life of service. He served his country as a soldier in the US army and was awarded the bronze star for meritorious acts. He served the people of Hawaii as a fireman. Lastly, he served our Yoga community. It’s hard to imagine our community without Jim; he was always there like a steady heartbeat. He was a teacher at our center for decades and until recently he had never missed teaching his classes in over 11 years. He was that kinda guy: duty, responsibility and service to others. He loved his students and they loved his steady & calm presence. What a blessing to have him in our community.

In the last year, he got to experience how much we really loved him. To all his students and friends that helped him through his cancer journey, team yogijimbo, know that Jim loved and appreciated each and everyone of you. He faced his death with fearlessness that was sustained by his life long yoga practice. He understood that yoga is a path to eliminate suffering. He will be greatly missed.

We send our condolences to Jim’s sister, Phyllis, and his family on the mainland. A celebration of life will be planned in the near future and we will make every effort to keep you updated in these challenging times.

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1/31/2019 Update:

Hello friends of Jim,

Jim has now finished his chemo and radiations treatments! Jim met with his surgeon last Friday and she explained how she was going to remove any remaining cancer with surgery. This laparoscopic procedure is scheduled for the end of February. From now until the end of February, Jim's only task is to gain more weight and recover from the chemo and radiation treatments. He is now having high dose vitamin IV's treatments and these makes him feel great. Thank you everyone for all your love and support.

For those not on Facebook, here is an update from Jim himself: 

"I finished the 28 days of radiation, toward the end I felt as if I were being cooked from the inside out. I did well,the Dr. said I was amazing because I had none of the problems that plagued others like loss of voice,inability to swallow. I was lucky and blessed at the same time. I could not have done it without all the help I got from you folks, the drivers thank you so much for your kindness and willingness to help. You are all angels."

11/1/2019 Update:

Jim celebrated his 73 birthday last week and is doing really well.  He has been out of the hospital for over three weeks (hooray!) and he  loves his new temporary home in Hawaii Kai. The assisted living facility is a very healing place for Jim - “it’s got good vibes.”

Thanks you so much for donating to Jim’s Go Fund Me page. Jim is so grateful for your donations and your love. His team of friends, family and students are working on helping him navigate his bills and finding out the best insurance coverage options. Jim is blessed to have insurance and VA care but unfortunately this assisted living facility is not covered. This money will go along way to cover his three month stay. His room is quiet and he spends his morning out on his lanai taking in the beautiful scenery.  He is getting stronger and able to go for walks around the campus.

Jim has finished three rounds of chemotherapy and is now receiving chemo as an out patient. He will see his oncologist next week to assess his treatment progress. He is still being fed through his “j-tube” and he is upping the calories so he can pack on some pounds. He has gained a least four pounds. He dreams of eating french toast smothered with butter, drinking a cool carrot juice and biting into a crisp mackintosh apple.

The other big news is Jim now has a cell phone. He wonders why he didn’t do this sooner! He is also able to check email and facebook. Please call, email or visit him - he would love to hear from you.

Thanks you so much for your outpouring of support and love. Jim feels it and it’s helping him heal.

Love,
team Yogi Jimbo



Initial Post:

Jim has no family here and WE are his family and thank you to everyone who has stepped up to help. Jim has a fighting chance and we are going to work together to get him through this!  

Jim has a cancerous mass in his stomach.  It is isolated and there are NO other cancer cells in his body!  Currently, the doctors are trying to get his blood counts up after a 48-hour chemotherapy.  He faces some weeks of chemo.  The plan is to shrink the tumor and then surgically remove it.  Currently in Queen's hospital, when the doctor feels he is stable, Jim will be released to a "short-term rehabilitation facility," to build his strength up. The one that has accepted him is Maunalani Heights.  Jim is being fed by a J-Tube because the mass is currently blocking the food pipe.  He cannot drink or eat anything at all. 

Help us help Jim, our beloved yoga teacher, get through this rough medical adventure. 
Mahalo