Browsing Tag

love

Family Journey Life Update

Letter To My Child

Posted on May 9, 2016

When we first received the news about the diagnosis, thousands of thoughts flooded my mind. One of the thoughts that wouldn’t leave me alone was, “what about my kids.” I love my kids! Each of them are amazing in their own unique way. I often wonder how well I am doing at raising them. I dream about their future and ponder what type of men and woman they will become as they grow older. Today i was looking through some old journals and came across a letter I wrote six months before Nola was born. Nola is our oldest, then Memphis and finally River. River is our miracle baby, but that is a story for another time. Below is the letter I wrote to Nola before she was born. We didn’t know what we were going to have at the time of this writing.

Letter to my child,

I often wonder about you! I have waited a long time for your arrival
and will continue to as you are only 14 weeks old as of today. I
couldn’t sleep tonight, so I thought I would write you a letter.
Your mother is sleeping right now. She needs her rest. It is 12:10AM
on Monday, August 26, 2006. It is quiet, yet the traffic on the highway
is steady. I wonder what you will look like? I often joke that I
want you to have your mother’s looks but my personality. Your mother
is so beautiful! I love her so much. Though we have not yet face to
face, I already love you with all my heart. You are so very special. I have
to be honest with you, I’m a little afraid. I don’t want to mess up raising
you. I want the best for you and your mother and I want you to have a
good life. This is our first time being parents and we don’t really know
what to expect. We are hopeful because of our faith. We pray for you on
a regular basis. The Lord is going to have tremendous plans for your life.
My first piece of advice for you is to love God with all your heart,
mind, and soul. The second piece of advice is to follow Jesus
wherever He leads you. Continually give yourself to the power
of the Holy Spirit because you my child are destined for greatness!
I love you and can’t wait to hold you in my arms for the first time.

Love,
Dad




Journey Life Update

Castle Fun Park – A Scary Trip

Posted on March 19, 2016

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but …

Earlier…

I had just finished my treatment at the doctors when I got an idea to take the kids to Castle Fun Park. We jumped in the Flex and headed east to CFP. The entire ride the kids couldn’t contain their excitement. It was like someone had given them a 2L of Coca Cola to drink before they got into the car. We arrived after a 10 minute ride, and went immediately to purchase our tickets. One of the traditions we have when we visit CFP is the kids get a blue slushy to drink. I think this is the highlight of the trip for the rugrats. After getting some food and their blue slushies, it was time to head upstairs and play some games.

It was our first time at CFP in a few months. They had obviously done some renovations and upgrades since we were there last. It was a blast watching the kids have so much fun. We are one of those families who haven’t really let their kids get involved with video games (and we are ok with that).

We made our way around the arcade. Each kid had their own card and could decide what games they wanted to play. It is hilarious watching 3 kids trying to figure out what game they wanted to play. I think they were on sensory overload. Part way through our evening, Memphis decided that he wanted to play ‘dome hockey.’ How many remember ‘dome hockey?’ I am not too sure if that is even the name, but oh well, that’s what we call it. We headed over to the game and made our teams. It was Nola & River against Memphis & Dad. Earlier I started to feel a bit dizzy, but nothing too much. I ignored it, and kept playing with the kids. A couple of minutes into our game and the dizziness seemed to increase, and the next thing I know – I hit the ground!

I had passed out. Where was I? How did I get here. All I remember is playing with the kids on the ground – or at least that’s what I thought I doing. Panic started to set in. I was scared. Not for me, but for my kids. They had no idea what was going on. I was out of control. Thankfully, there were two guys playing pool who had seen what had happened. They were concerned. I am sure they thought I was drunk. They called for help, and a few seconds later, two ladies showed up. I made my way to a car video game, and sat down. I still didn’t know what was going on. Nola is crying, the boys seem to be oblivious, the room is spinning, and I have no idea what is going on. Crazy! Nothing like this has ever happened to me. Things seemed to be settling down, and I was beginning to feel better after a few minutes. I called Jamie, and she arranged for the kids and myself to be picked up by our good friend Lizzie.

After a couple of minutes we headed downstairs to wait for our ride. The ladies with us were amazing! They did a fantastic job calming the kids, and even played a few games with them while we waited. Five minutes later, Lizzie & Jill showed up. As soon as I saw them I lost it. I don’t think I have ever cried so hard. I was scared – but mostly for my kids. I was relieved to see them. They just wrapped their arms around me, and assured me everything was going to be ok.

It was time to go home…

Check out the below video of our scary adventure to Castle Fun Park. You actually see the moment I pass out.

FYI – I am fine. There is nothing to worry about.




Journey Update

Next Steps

Posted on February 6, 2016

How are you doing?

Amazing! Great! I feel the best I have ever felt!

That is usually my response when people ask me how I am feeling/doing.

I still find it difficult at times to wrap my mind around this diagnosis. Other than the treatments, and all the dietary changes I have made, I don’t feel like I have cancer. To be honest, I find it to be one of the most frustrating, and confusing experiences I have ever endured. I just want it all to end. I want the nightmare to be over.

Many of you have been asking what happens next? Well, the plan is to increase the Vitamin C therapy I receive from 50 grams per day up to 100 grams. We have seen great success with these treatments, and we hope to have more success because of the increase in volume. I will also continue to have my lymphatic detox treatments on a regular basis until the doctor feels I am in a better position. The key is to keep my body as healthy as possible. Having a healthy, and strong immune system is critical for me in the fight against this horrible disease. Along with all the weekly treatments, I hope to have an MRI done as soon as possible so we can see how things are doing.

Please continue to pray for us. We need it!

We need wisdom right now to know what to do. The ongoing costs of treatment is quite expensive, and with the IV treatments increasing in the next week, we need a miracle! The cost of my treatments will be approximately $1500.00 per week. To most, we know this seems crazy, but so is poisoning yourself with chemo & radiation – just my honest opinion. We are aware the naturopathic route is a personal choice, but we feel it has been the right choice for us. Jamie and I are working on some projects to help us raise funds of our ongoing expenses, and we hope to share them with you on the blog next week.

Until then, thanks again for all your love and support during this time. You guys are the best!




Blog

Humans

Posted on January 20, 2016

Humans are incredible! Have you ever stopped and thought for a minute or two just how awesome we really are? Stay with me for a second. I am well aware that in this world there have been inconceivable and horrible atrocities carried out by humans over the years, but let us not focus on them. Rather, let us fix our attention on all the incredible humans who have made this world a better place.

As I sit in treatments 16 hours a week, I have had the pleasure of meeting some incredible people. People who are fighting for their lives on a daily basis. These individuals are not alone. Behind each one of them are families, friends, and support groups who are willing to do whatever it takes to see their loved ones become well. Recently, I have had the pleasure to meet two extraordinary men who are up against some pretty big odds.

Stan (not his real name) has been diagnosed with brain cancer and just had a tumour the size of a medium orange removed from his brain. He is a fascinating man. He is optimistic that he will beat his diagnosis. He has made some drastic changes in his life to give himself the best chance to live. He has a very loving and supportive wife who is with him every treatment. Remember, we are here 16 hours a week, working at getting healthy. It is so encouraging to see and hear the love and the support they have for one another. Stan is one incredible human!

Pete (not his real name) has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. His story is very raw, and powerful. He is an older gentleman who was recently married. While away on his honeymoon, he became ill. When they arrived back, he made a doctors appointment to see what was the problem. After some testing, it was confirmed he had cancer of the pancreas. He had been given only months to live. What makes this story heart breaking, is that this is his wife’s second marriage and her first husband passed away because of cancer. Obviously, she is devastated about the news of her husband, and I think Pete is hurting deeply for his wife as they walk through this difficult season. You can see the pain on his face and the hopelessness in his voice when he speaks. Although they face this difficult time, they remain vigilant, and are doing all that they can to give him the best chance at life. Pete and his family are incredible humans!

What about you? Do you know any incredible humans? I would love to hear about them.




Blog Journey

Stage 4

Posted on August 21, 2015

We decided we would walk to the hospital this morning. It was a short, brisk walk from our house to the clinic. It’s kind of nice living so close to the hospital in light of our situation. We arrived on the second floor of the cancer wing and proceeded to the front desk. I checked in wand was given a bunch of paperwork to fill out. Jamie and I took our seat in the waiting room and filled out the all the necessary forms. It didn’t take too long to fill everything out, so I returned the forms to the nurse at the desk and took my seat. I was nervous at all. I actually was quite excited to finally get the ball rolling. We waited about 20 minutes and then it was time to meet with the doctor. We were ushered into a small, sterile room. We waited a few more minutes before the door opened and a young lady walked through the door. She introduced herself as Denise and that she would be collecting a little more background information on me before i was to meet with Dr. Ahmed. After about 15 minutes of answering her questions and taking some time to ask her some questions, it was finally time to meet with the doctor. Dr. Ahmed introduced himself and sat down next to me and spent a few seconds looking over my file. He asked me a bunch of questions and then it was time for him to do a physical. I was too excited about this, but hey, whatever. I got up on the table and followed the doctors instructions. Let’s just say he was thorough. After the physical examination I got dressed again and took my seat. He told me everything looked and sounded good. That was positive! As we sat in there in the examining room, Dr. Ahmed began to inform us about what our next steps would be. The tumor in my colon will be left alone right now because they are concerned about the spots on my liver. We knew that there were spots on my liver and on my lungs but what he told us next was a punch right in the face. He informed us that the spots on my liver are cancer. It is stage 4 liver cancer. Are you kidding me? I just sat there stunned. Jamie too. Dr. Ahmed informed us that the best course of action will be chemotherapy. We listened to what he had to say and left the room speechless. Our heads were spinning. What were we going to do? Before we left the office we asked about the success rates of chemo and the mortality rates. He could give us a definitive answer as he is not a specialist in this area but he did say that the mortality rate in the past with this type of cancer is 5 years. Now we respect what the doctors have to say and we will do what they suggest to do, but we continue to hold onto our anchor.

Hebrews 6