Rick Kolodziej

On March 11th 2015, a little over 2 years ago, Rick was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colorectal Cancer that had metastasized to his liver. It has been a long journey and we are both thankful for all the souls we have met along the way.  This site is dedicated to providing updates to all the wonderful people who have supported us along this journey.  We always knew that this was a long shot. 

On Jan 23, Rick developed shortness of breath/breathing issues, after discussing options with medical EMT's we made the decision to bring him back down to Rochester.  He was admitted to the Mayo’s - St. Mary's hospital medical ICU for what was thought to be pneumonia but was actually a return of the original cancer that has migrated to his lungs.  Our goal was to bring him home, which happened on Feb 6th. 

He is alert and awake, he is in NO pain, and being kept comfortable on O2 at home with Hospice support. We are both at peace with our health care directives and have some wonderful memories these past weeks sharing our memories and laughter with family and friend.  He is receiving the best of care; we are in constant awe of the medical staff. Thank you all for being part of our support teams these past couple of years.

Be patient with us, we will be checking back to answer questions. His greatest regret is not having that one full summer at the lake post retirement.  Maybe he will surprise us all.