Jim’s Story

Site created on July 12, 2020

On Father's Day, 2020, I walked into the Stanford ER with shortness of breath, loss of voice and abdominal swelling, and was wheeled out with a cancer diagnosis.

The prognosis? Not great at all! But I have a terrific care team at home and at Stanford, and I'm not throwing in the towel any time soon.

I've been heading into the oncology clinic very regularly since my diagnosis, and have been doing chemo every other week since July of 2020, which -- knock on wood -- I've been tolerating fairly well. The big goal, beyond managing the illness and its effects (pain! insomnia!), is settling into a routine that promotes longevity, a life worth living, and sanity. A few years on, this is a goal toward which we've made a ton of progress.

This page is meant to serve as a central location for updates as folks wish to check in (or not!). It’d also be nice — optimal, even — if at some point I can offer a small tip or suggestion or hard-learned lesson that may help you or someone you know. That would make both me and this effort useful! Other than that, I’m here to occupy myself and have a good ol’ time logging my thoughts. Apologies for the oft-lazy writing; I do these entries on the fly and try to set things down as I think ‘em.

If you need to reach me directly at any time, feel free to drop a line to jimmylaakso@yahoo.com or 347-721-8120 (I was unable to speak for 2-3 weeks due to tumor-related vocal cord paralysis, but I'm yakkin' just fine now after some procedures).

Newest Update

Journal entry by Sarah Guido

Jimmy is at peace.

I have a Jimmy shaped hole in my heart that I will never be able to fill. I miss him with every fiber in my body, however I am so grateful that I can share with all of you that he went in peace. 

He left this world around 1:30 am on May 16th 2024 while we were both sleeping in his hospital bed at home. It was perfect, he passed on in my arms but I didn't have to watch him go. He was surrounded by so much love here at home and all over the planet as non stop messages kept coming in and I made sure to read and play all of them for him. After he passed I picked flowers for him from our garden and placed them on his chest, and one in his hair, lit the candles he had given me for my birthday and valentines day and played the record with our first dance song "Never my Love" by The Association.

I wish we had more time and all the time still would still have never been enough, but I can promise we made the best of the extra time that Stanford and all his Doctors and Nurses worked so hard to give us. A special Thank you to our hero and his Oncologist Dr. Curtis Chong and all the other Doctors and Nurses who helped us along the way and gave us the most precious 4 years of our lives.

Also, thank you to everyone who touched our lives and helped us along the way.

I truly believe he is with his brother Rob on the other side and he is with all of us all the time now and that we will be able to see and hear him in every joke and stroke of humor.

Please feel free to reach out any time. I may be slow getting back to you but I eventually will.
917-351-6599
sarah.guido@gmail.com

If you would like to honor Jimmy please listen to your favorite record for him or perform a random act of kindness for complete stranger. 

With all my Love and gratitude,
Sarah and Sisu (the cat)

P.S. In lieu of flowers, Jim hopes that you will consider donating to the Alumni Association of Fitchburg High School or the Happy Lungs Project in your giving.
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