The Travelings of Gimpy

Derek at the 2010 Eden Prairie "Relay for Life" event. Derek is in the center, holding the sign (the big guy).


Welcome to my Web Page. I will be using it to keep my friends and family updated in my struggle against cancer. Feel free to browse through past journal entries. Also, I would love it if you would sign my Guest Book, it's nice to know who's been keeping updated on my progress. And if you've already signed my Guest Book once, feel free to sign it again!

Journal

Saturday, July 17, 2010 8:40 PM CDT

Last night was the Eden Prairie Relay for Life. The night was full of laughs and fun as together we celebrated the conquest of those over cancer. There was also much sadness on my part, as I met with people still going through their own battle with cancer.

The most powerful part of the night was the luminary ceremony. Lining the whole length of the track were white paper bags decorated in honor of, or memory of, someone with cancer. For the ceremony a candle is placed in each and every bag and lit. Participants walk around the track in silent remembrance.

This is my favorite part of the night, as well as the most difficult. As I walk in silence memories assault me.

I remember the moment after my biopsy, looking at my parents, asking them the results, yet already seeing the answer in their faces. I remember my first night of chemo, lying awake throughout most of the night as my nurse Jen kept me company from myself.

I remember being so tired I could barely move. I remember showering being a full day event. I remember throwing up at nearly everything I ate. I remember waking up at 4am with a fever on Christmas day and driving to the hospital.

There are good memories, too. I remember my parents doing everything in their power for me. I remember my friends showing up to keep me company, even when I wasn’t very good company. I remember the laughs my nurses and I shared, even in the midst of chemo treatments.

I remember those who journeyed beside me, losing their own battles after fighting hard. I remember Laura Jahnke, teaching me that having a reconstructed knee can actually be a good thing. I remember Ryan Shuman, sharing a hospital room with me through the good times and the bad. I remember Alex Aubmets and the passion he had to see cancer destroyed forever. I remember my neighbor Karen supporting me through my battle before hers began.

I also remember those who survived their cancer while fighting beside me. I remember Steve Symons, winning the battle yet losing his leg. I remember Liz Kaiser, a lot younger than I, braving the battle with a courage I admired. I remember Marcus Offerdahl, only a child but also a favorite roommate of mine, facing something no one, but especially not a child, should ever face.

Most of all, I remember how the Lord Jesus never let go. Through the sorrow, through the pain, through the thick and the thin, God guided me and gave me strength.

Memories are a powerful thing. Especially memories of cancer. They grip at us, causing pain, sorrow, grief, and any other number of emotions. We can’t let the past hold us back and cripple us, but we can’t not look back. To not look back is to forget, and we must never forget. Instead we must remember and celebrate the lives of those who lost the battle and the lessons that they taught us. We must take those memories and use them to give us the strength to fight back against cancer.

We must never give up in a fight where victory seems so far out of reach. Every dollar raised for research, every time a researcher learns something more, every time that knowledge is used to fight cancer, every time cancer is cured - there is victory. The battle against cancer will not be an easy one, but it will be one that is fought until the end.

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Hospital Information:

Patient Room: HOME!

University Childrens Hospital - Fairview
500 SE Harvard Street
Minneapolis, MN, 55455
612-387-2359

Links:

E-mail Author: ephstruth@aol.com

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