DUNGENESS — One- thousand origami cranes carry a get-well prayer for Clallam County Commissioner Steve Tharinger as they fly through his home.
Ninety of Tharinger’s friends spent four hours last week folding the paper birds of Japanese legend — symbols of longevity whose recipient is granted a wish.
They presented them to him and his wife, Yvonne Yokota, Friday night.
The multicolored cranes, hung like a huge mobile from a bicycle wheel, were the latest in a sustained wave of good wishes Tharinger has received since October. That’s when he announced he had lymphatic cancer and would undergo four months of chemotherapy.
Today, bald from the treatments’ side effects, somewhat wearied from their toxicity, he will receive his last dose of chemo chemicals at Olympic Medical Center.
Awaiting results
Tharinger said Tuesday he won’t know for about a month how successful the treatments have been.
But he added: “I’m feeling as good as I’ve felt in four months” — largely thanks to all those paper cranes.
