Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.
As most of you know, Dad has been battling advanced, aggressive prostate cancer since April of 2015. Despite yearly prostate check-ups, at the time of his diagnosis the cancer had already spread beyond the prostate to his liver and lymph nodes. The outlook was grim; we thought we might have as little as six months left together. The past five-plus years have been a testament to Dad’s incredible spirit and endless optimism (and the fact that, except for the cancer, he is as healthy as an ox).
It has also been a journey of tremendous courage and grit. Working with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Dad spent more than a year enrolled in a trial of a new cancer treatment drug which was incredibly effective…until it wasn’t. After two other trials, he entered a long phase of every-three-week chemotherapy treatments. Though they made him terribly sick for about a week, he never complained and in fact steadfastly focused on the two out of three weeks he felt pretty good. We had several extended family trips during this time – 25 of us off to Mexico, and twice to stay all together in a massive cabin in the Leavenworth area – where we all reveled in his trademark humor and warmth and silly antics. We are forever grateful for the laughter and joy of those times.
Of course, through it all – every medical appointment, every difficult day, every moment of joy – Jeanene has been by his side, supporting and loving him. What a blessing she has been and continues to be in Dad’s life.
Now that Dad is nearing the end of his journey and no longer has the energy for phone calls and visits, we hope this Caring Bridge site will provide a space where we can post updates and you can check in or send messages if you choose.
We want you to know, beloved friends and family, that you are always in the room with Dad, propping him up and helping him begin to understand what a positive impact he has had on so many lives. He loves you, and we are grateful for all of you.
Love, Melinda, Hillary and Mick
PS –
You can always visit this site to see if there are updates. However, if you want to receive an email when there is an update, you have to FOLLOW Dad’s site.
To Follow this Site and receive update notifications: 1. Visit Dad’s site. 2. Click/tap the “Follow” button found on the right side of the site's cover photo. 3. You will see a pop-up that offers additional information. Click/tap the Close button.
