Dad's Fight

AT PEACE

2009-12-24T12:47:00.000-08:00

After the goodbyes and I love yous were said, dad went to sleep peacefully just before 2pm on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009. He was ready and at peace, going with laughs and joking up until he closed his eyes for the last time. With dignity and grace dad went just the way he said he wanted leaving this world with both Kentucky and Husky hats on his head, saying "I came into this world in Kentucky and I'm leaving a Husky". He had a dollar in his pocket from over 20 years of bets finally being paid and making sure he had the last word with his best friend Brian.

Dad will be missed by so many as he touched every life he came into contact with. As his family, we thank all of you for all of your love and support and we wish you all a very happy holidays.

Last Holiday

2009-12-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to everyone! Dad was admitted into the hospital on Thursday afternoon for dehydration and is expected to come home Tues or Wed of this week. When he comes home we will be having hospice come in to help keep dad comfortable in his last few weeks. Dad is at ease with his final journey as he has shared many laughs, experiences and stories with the all of his friends and family in his short life.

As he shares this last holiday with us we all want to thank you for your warm thoughts, comforting hugs and holiday cheer.

We cherish you all!
Gary, Brenda, Jamie, Tonya and Keenan

Thank You!

2009-11-21T17:09:00.000-08:00

Thank you to EVERYONE who came to the party last night! Although dad wasn't feeling well during the day....once he started seeing everyone, he perked right up! Thank you for all of your love and support! Happy Holidays to you all!

Weigh In!

2009-11-12T21:54:00.000-08:00

We saw the Dr on Monday and dad had some fluid in his abdomen causing him to have increased abdominal pain as well as trouble breathing. He went in yesterday to have the fluid removed. They removed 2 pounds of fluid in an hour! He is doing well and is excited to see all of you at the party next Friday!

Party Time!

2009-10-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

We are having a Pot Luck! This is a chance for old friends, new friends, lost friends, co-workers and loved ones to come together to celebrate dad's life. I am sure there are stories to look back on and laugh at in everyone's memory.

We never know how much time we have in our lives so dad would to take this opportunity while he has it to spend a few hours with the people who have been a part of his life over the years.

Please join us:
Friday, November 20th 6-9pm
At Jennings Park Barn 6915 Armar Road Marysville, Wa. 98270
Bring your favorite dish
Dessert and Beverages will be provided

Feel free to bring your kids

RSVP by Nov. 14th to Jamie @ jamie_jefferson@msn.com, via a message on this blog, or at 425-280-5481

We look forward to seeing you all soon!

Radiation

2009-10-14T20:50:00.000-07:00

Well, we met with the radiation Dr. today and since the cancer is throughout dad's abdomen he doesn't think that radiation is going to be effective. So now we will meet with the oncologist again on Monday, but as it looks now, we will go with dad being strong and fighting.

We are looking at possibly having a get together soon so everyone has a chance to see dad before the holidays. Once a date and location are determined we will post it here....so keep checking back frequently!

Dad is reading e-mails so feel free to send him an e-mail via this page or at gjefferson2@msn.com

See you all soon!

Coming Home

2009-09-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

Dad is most likely coming home today! He is in good spirits and hurts from laughing so much yesterday. He is his happy self and can't wait to sleep in his own bed and recliner!:) He is going to be sore for a while from where they cut him open. Then he will be back to just being sore. Please feel free to send him e-mails, comments on the blog or cards in the mail. He loves hearing from everyone, just not as much energy for constant or long visits.

We will continue to keep you updated and look forward to staying in touch!

((HUGS))

Surgery

2009-09-24T09:40:00.001-07:00

Dad is awake and waiting for a room. The doctor came out and spoke to us a few minutes ago......the news is not good. The cancer is throughout is abdomen. They put a feeding tube in for the future if he needs it. For now he will be eating on his own and doing everything as normal.

He will be strong and fight for as long as he can and he will choose to go as peacefully as he can. But for now he is alive and will fight to spend time with his friends and family.

We will try to answer your calls and e-mails as we can, but please understand that for the next few days we will be processing and spending time together as a family.

Thank you for your positive thoughts and prayers!

Posting Comments

2009-09-23T22:16:00.000-07:00

It has come to my attention that some of you are having trouble posting comments. You must first become a follower and be signed in before your comments will post. Please let me know if you continue to have problems.

Visiting

2009-09-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

After surgery dad is going to be tired and sleeping a lot. If you would like to visit please give him a few days and then call mom or I to see how he is feeling and if he is up for visitors.

Thanks for all of your understanding!

Surgery

2009-09-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

We met with the surgeon yesterday and dad is scheduled to have surgery on Thursday, September 24Th bright and early in the morning. The surgery will take 3-4 hours and then he will be in recovery. He will be in the hospital for 5-10 days depending on what all they do in the surgery and how he is recovering.

The goal is for them to be able to go in and take out the tumor and the stomach along with surrounding tissue, lymph nodes and pieces of other organs. They would like to try to save a viable piece of the stomach to create a small stomach sack. However it is more likely that they will take it all and re route the intestines to attach to the esophagus.

If they get in there and the cancer has spread which at this point it does not appear on the Cat Scan that it has, they will put a feeding tube in and close him up. Both of the doctors say they do not know what they are going into for sure. Unfortunately we can not see everything on a Cat Scan. However they did see that the fluid that was on in abdomen is gone from the chemo which tells us that chemo did work at least a little!

Dad is very anxious as we all are. We are keeping our thoughts positive as we process this next step in the fight.

Next Thursday will be along day for us, so I will do my best to post the surgery update as soon as I get a chance. You are welcome to text me Thurs and I will get you information as soon as I can 425-280-5481. However I won't be able to take calls in the hospital, so texting will be your best bet until the website is updated.

Keep your love and prayers coming!

Going Camping

2009-09-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! It is a long holiday weekend and the whole family is heading over to the property to go camping! Dad was able to go in and have fluids twice this week and he has worked extremely hard to get fluids in by himself! When your sick and you don't want anything it is hard to force yourself to pick up the glass and drink.

Yesterday he was looking much better than earlier this week......good job dad! We hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend and we will let you know what the CAT scan says at the end of next week.

Cheers! :)

2009-08-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Things around here are pretty much the same. Dad started chemo again Monday! He is tired, but he is doing everything he can to keep going. He says that this treatment is tough for him. He is doing what he can to stay hydrated with hopes of going to the property for Labor Day weekend!

In Sept after the long weekend he will head in for another scan and then meet with the Dr's to go over surgery options. After those visits we will know a lot more!

In the meantime... thanks for all of your love and support. Dad checks the website and comments regularly... keep them coming!:)

Still Tired

2009-08-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

Well, dad has been able to stay out of the hospital with this round of chemo. However he is extremely tired and is definitely not feeling good. We are hoping that he will be on the rebound next week and have a few good days before the next round.

Following the next round we should be doing tests to see about doing surgery and going from there. Keep your fingers crossed!

Another day....

2009-08-08T23:01:00.000-07:00

Dad has been very tired today and just plain not feeling well. He slept most of the day and was able to position himself to decrease the edema (swelling) in both of his legs and feet. He tried his best to be positive and keep up his good spirits. He will most likely feel sick for the next couple of days and then start the up hill climb to have a good week. He goes into the Dr for routine blood work on Monday and he may go to the treatment center a day or two for fluids to help him out.

If you notice the profile picture has changed....dad shaved his head and beard! He can't bring himself to let go of the mustache yet!:)

Keep those positive thoughts and prayers coming!

Round Two

2009-08-03T22:53:00.001-07:00

Today started round two of my chemo treatment. So far so good! After meeting with the oncologist today I will be going in to the Cancer treatment center on Wednesday and Thursday this week and possibly a few days next week to get fluids pumped in to me in the hopes of avoiding having another hospital stay.

I want to thank everyone for all of their cards, calls, thoughts and prayers! They mean so much to me and keep me going! Now that we are getting into the chemo groove please feel free to call and check in. Just know that I may not always be up for talking and or talking for long and I will do my best to get back to you.

I will talk to you soon,
Gary

Weekend

2009-07-27T07:42:00.001-07:00

Dad had a great weekend with energy and an appetite! He was up and doing things around the house even though Kevin was there to do them. He ate well and is keeping it down...yeah! Dad was playing jokes on Kevin all weekend so his spirit and personality are all in check this week:) Dad and Rick are talking about going east of the mountains to the property for a couple of days this week so you know he must be feeling better to endure the 31/2 hour drive.

The sun is shining and hot... enjoy the week!

Home

2009-07-23T15:28:00.000-07:00

Dad came home today and is feeling tired, but definitely better than he did over the weekend. It appears that with each chemo treatment dad may end up back in the hospital towards the end of each chemo week. Now we know to expect it and it will be easier and less stressful for everyone.

We appreciate your positive thoughts and prayers... keep them coming!

Tired

2009-07-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

On Monday Dad went into the hospital because he was throwing up blood and we wanted to make sure that he was not bleeding internally. We got him admitted and on IV fluids to help hydrate him. He was on a clear liquid diet the first day and yesterday was able to try soft foods. He will remain in the hospital just as a precaution until he is able to eat without throwing up. We need him to keep the nutrients of the food down long enough to absorb into his body so his body can use it. He is doing much better today, with more color in his face and is back to giving the nurses a hard time! :)

Week One

2009-07-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

Well it is the end of week one and dad is not feeling great, but is ready to have the pump gone! The heat is taking it out of all of us, so dad is sleeping a lot and not much for visitors or talking right now. But we are hoping these are the few days that were expected and that he will be back and running again next week. Even when you expect to not feel well, it is still never fun. Keep throwing out those positive thoughts and prayers and we'll keep putting them to good use!

Have a great weekend!

1st Chemo Treatment

2009-07-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

Dad had his 1st day of chemo at the cancer center yesterday. All and all it was just a lazy boring day sitting around with tubes hooked up to him. He is set up with a pump to continually give him the 3rd medication until Thursday afternoon at home. He will follow this treatment plan as 1 week on and 2 weeks off. Typically with this intense treatment the patient is quite tired during the week of treatment and can be sick the week following.

Dad slept most of the day today, but did get up for a short walk with mom this evening. Other than being tired and having periodic nausea dad is doing well and wants to thank everyone for their continued support, positive thoughts and prayers.

Since dad is feeling pretty tired we would like to keep the phone calls to a minimum and let him rest. Please keep checking back here for updates. We are keeping this as up to date as possible for everyone so that dad doesn't have to be on the phone all day. As his immune system weakens with the chemo his energy level is going to decrease and we need him to use all of his energy in fighting.

Again, thank you everyone and we will keep you updated with any new changes. If a few days pass with no updates you know that he is fighting and there is nothing new to share. (Which will be a good thing for the few months of chemo!)

If you have questions or want to send dad a message feel free to use the comment section on this blog and dad will get the messages and we will make sure to answer any questions you have.

Thanks for caring!

Chemo 2

2009-07-10T07:56:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday we met with the chemo team and we apparently had the chemo treatment schedule confused. Dad is still doing intense chemo but not as intense as was heard the week before. His sessions will be one week on, two weeks off. During his on week he will have treatments early in the week at the Everett Cancer Center. They say that typically people who are going to get sick during chemo with do so 3-4 days after treatment.

Dad's 1st treatment will be this Monday the 13Th. The center is very cozy and they allow visitors during treatments for patients to spare them from boredom! After the 1st week and we see what it is all about and how dad is feeling we will be sure to let you know of his up coming chemo dates and if he is feeling up to visitor at the center.

One thing to note: When you do visit please be sure to wash your hand often with soap and water! During chemo the immune system is down and patients are more susceptible to infection which is not good and fighting the infection can counter act the chemo treatment.

This weekend mom and dad are off to the Mariners game with Joyce and Brian :) Enjoy the sunshine!

Chemo

2009-07-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

We had a hot weekend at the river this weekend. The heat took it out of all of us, especially dad. In between a couple of naps we enjoyed great friends and family which of course came with tons of laughs.

Before we left last week dad met with the oncologist and will be heading in bright and early on Tuesday to get his device hooked up to him. He will meet with the team on Wednesday and get all the details of his treatments. His first treatment will be on Monday, July 13Th.

At this point it looks like the treatment plan may be 3 weeks on at 4 days a week and then 1 week off. It is my understanding at this point that each treatment may be up to 6 hours in a day. Of course we will know definite details after Wednesdays appointment.

We'll keep you updated as details unfold so keep checking back!

Oncologist

2009-07-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

Dad will be meeting with the oncologist this afternoon and will be setting up a treatment schedule. As soon as we have the information we will be posting it to share with you.

Have a great 4th of July weekend! We will be at the property enjoying the sun!

Fighter

2009-07-02T10:49:00.000-07:00

Well as all of you know.... dad was diagnosed with stomach cancer on Saturday, June 27th, 2009. Working closely with his team of doctors, dad will be starting treatment soon.

Our family would like to extend heartfelt thank you's to everyone who has called checking in on us. We are all doing well and have a positive outlook as we fight this as a family.

Dad has asked that we start a blog so that we can keep everyone updated easily. We will do our best to post regularly to keep everyone aprised of how well he is doing.

Again, thank you for checking in on us and we will let you know of all smart ass comments dad wishes to share! :)