Jack's Journey...a blog to depict a cancer journey. A journey we didn't want to be on, but one we nonetheless were forced to embark on almost 17 months ago. With stage 4 cancer, we knew how it would end, but oh how we hoped and prayed for a miracle for my Dad. Although my Dad's journey here on earth has ended, I did not want the last entry in the blog to be the listing of the funeral arrangements. The blog was so much more than that, and so on behalf of my family, I wanted to share a few thoughts.
We started this blog so that the many, many family members and friends who had been touched by my Dad through all walks of his life could stay informed and join us in our fervent prayers for his healing and peace. And join us you did! I will admit, there were times when I struggled with "should we update the blog again ~ are people tired of hearing from us, would my Dad mind that we mentioned particular details, have we become too self absorbed with our trials, are we asking too much..." But every time we were thrown a new curve and we put the information out on the blog, we were immediately flooded with acts of kindness; notes, emails, calls or a visit, prayers or a meal, even simply a shoulder to rest a weary head on, all of these things and more spoke volumes of the love for my Dad and his family. We were blessed. And so, we thank you for allowing us to share our burdens with you. We couldn't have made it on this journey without all of you. We are forever grateful for the way modern technology allowed you to draw near us, soothe us, comfort us, re-fuel us, and help us press on to the end. We can't express our appreciation enough.
As my Dad would say "we are hanging in there". In the past month, we have been working hard to sort out a lot of the matters that come with the passing of a loved one. We have been busy making plans for the future of our family custom cabinet shop, and we have worked hard to get my parent's home on the market as my mom will continue on with plans to move near Jacquie.
And of course, we grieve. In this early part of the grieving process, it has pleased and helped us to hear from so many people who have shared with us stories of the ways that my Dad impacted them. Some stories we knew, others we are hearing for the first time. He was such an awesome man who was deeply loved.
While this particular phase of the journey has ended, my Dad will live on in our hearts, and through the legacy of wisdom and love he gave us.
With much love and gratitude,
Karen, Jacquie, Tami, Sandi, Jon and families
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Funeral Arrangements
Following is the pertinent information:
Viewing:
Thursday, September 24, 2009
6:00 - 8:00 pm
Bucktrout Funeral Home
4124 Ironbound Road, Williamsburg, VA 23188
757-229-3822
Funeral Service:
Friday, September 25, 2009
Quantico Marine Memorial Chapel
10:00 am (everyone needs to be seated by 9:45 am)
*Please inform the Gate Sentry that you are attending the Jack Daniel Funeral at the Marine Memorial Chapel. Please also be prepared to show photo ID (driver's license/government ID)
Burial:
12:00 p.m. Friday September 25, 2009
Quantico National Cemetery
For out of town guests needing accomodations:
A special rate is available at the America's Best Hotel, 119 Bypass Road, Williamsburg, VA, 757-253-1663.
Please ask for the Friend's of Jack Daniel Rate of $40.00/night when making your reservations.
Viewing:
Thursday, September 24, 2009
6:00 - 8:00 pm
Bucktrout Funeral Home
4124 Ironbound Road, Williamsburg, VA 23188
757-229-3822
Funeral Service:
Friday, September 25, 2009
Quantico Marine Memorial Chapel
10:00 am (everyone needs to be seated by 9:45 am)
*Please inform the Gate Sentry that you are attending the Jack Daniel Funeral at the Marine Memorial Chapel. Please also be prepared to show photo ID (driver's license/government ID)
Burial:
12:00 p.m. Friday September 25, 2009
Quantico National Cemetery
For out of town guests needing accomodations:
A special rate is available at the America's Best Hotel, 119 Bypass Road, Williamsburg, VA, 757-253-1663.
Please ask for the Friend's of Jack Daniel Rate of $40.00/night when making your reservations.
No more pain and suffering
Tonight at 10:05, our dear sweet husband and father entered into the Kingdom of Heaven. We are sad, but know that heaven is rejoicing.
We thank you all for letting us share our burden with you over the last 16 months. Your prayers, words of kindness, concern and mostly your love for us has sustained us all.
We will be working on funeral arrangements and will post them later on Tuesday.
With thanks and gratitude ~ Karen, Jacquie, Tami, Sandi and Jon
We thank you all for letting us share our burden with you over the last 16 months. Your prayers, words of kindness, concern and mostly your love for us has sustained us all.
We will be working on funeral arrangements and will post them later on Tuesday.
With thanks and gratitude ~ Karen, Jacquie, Tami, Sandi and Jon
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Very tough day
We believe that my Dad is starting to slip away. Please pray with us for a peaceful passing and a glorious welcome into the Kingdom of Heaven for our beloved Dad.
We can't predict how long this transition stage will last, but we are all right here with him, loving him through it.
God bless us all ~ Tami and Family
We can't predict how long this transition stage will last, but we are all right here with him, loving him through it.
God bless us all ~ Tami and Family
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Painful News
Yesterday, we learned that the cancer continues to grow and spread. We are running out of time and options. I cannot even begin to express how sad we are to hear this latest bit of news. Jacquie and Sandi came to be here too while we process this as a family, and it good for us to all be together right now.
Currently my Dad is undergoing radiation to his spine, where the new metastases has landed. He will have a total of 10 treatments. The goal of the radiation is to stop the tumor from growing so much that it would push on his spinal cord, and cause paralysis. Once the radiation is finished we may try one more chemo; however, we are sorting through some pros and cons before reaching a final decision.
Thank you for keeping us all in your thoughts and prayers as we navigate through this painful and difficult time ~ Tami and family
Currently my Dad is undergoing radiation to his spine, where the new metastases has landed. He will have a total of 10 treatments. The goal of the radiation is to stop the tumor from growing so much that it would push on his spinal cord, and cause paralysis. Once the radiation is finished we may try one more chemo; however, we are sorting through some pros and cons before reaching a final decision.
Thank you for keeping us all in your thoughts and prayers as we navigate through this painful and difficult time ~ Tami and family
Monday, September 14, 2009
A quick update
It is my privilege to be in Williamsburg with my parents this week. I relieved Jacquie's daughter, Lauren, who was a big help and huge blessing to my parent's with her youthful personality. She makes everyone around her smile with her natural good cheer and my mom and dad just loved having their oldest granddaughter here with them. Thanks, Lauren :)
My Dad is starting to feel somewhat better from the nasty infection he had. He is still tired and weak, but the infection seems to be under control and his kidney function has improved some. The main complaint as always is his swollen eye. The left side of his head above and around his eye remains very swollen and it causes him to have some fairly intense headaches.
This week he will have a PET scan, which will determine if the cancer has spread further. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts as it will be a tense couple of days until the results are in. The scan is tomorrow and we will meet with the oncologist on Thursday for the results.
I will have more information toward the end of the week.
Tami and family
My Dad is starting to feel somewhat better from the nasty infection he had. He is still tired and weak, but the infection seems to be under control and his kidney function has improved some. The main complaint as always is his swollen eye. The left side of his head above and around his eye remains very swollen and it causes him to have some fairly intense headaches.
This week he will have a PET scan, which will determine if the cancer has spread further. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts as it will be a tense couple of days until the results are in. The scan is tomorrow and we will meet with the oncologist on Thursday for the results.
I will have more information toward the end of the week.
Tami and family
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Not what we were hoping for
Dear Family and Friends ~ Thanks for checking back in with us. We have received some recent scan results and unfortunately they were not what we wanted to hear or what we were hoping for. A CT scan of my Dad's lungs shows that he has at least 10 new tumors there. Clearly the sutent has not worked to beat this beast back and we were so very disappointed to hear that he had not stabilized. On top of this, my Dad has another infection that has just totally wiped him out. He is weak and tired. The last two days he has been receiving IV antibiotics in the Oncologist's office, along with some saline to re-hydrate him. He is responding and starting to feel better, which is a big relief to us.
Further treatment options are currently on hold until he is feeling better and able to tolerate treatment. He also needs to have a full body PET scan so that we can determine if there are any other areas where the cancer might be materializing. One treatment possibility would be to move on to a chemo drug called Torisel. It is a chemo that is often tried next when the sutent has failed. It doesn't have an overly high success rate, but as we keep telling ourselves, someone has to be in the percentage that it helps -- so why can't it be my Dad! We won't know until we try and at this point my Dad is willing to give it a go once he feels better. So if we were to be asked what the major concerns and prayer requests are, that would be one of them - that he begin to feel better so that he can tolerate chemo. Another issue that has surfaced is that his remaining kidney is beginning to show signs of distress. He has been experiencing high levels of creatinine and so today he saw a kidney specialist. She is removing one of his blood pressure medicines that could be causing this, and we hope that a little bit of tweaking will keep him far away from having to start any dialysis.
I'll end this rather discouraging post with a glimmer of good news. The existing tumors that are on his skull have not grown, nor have any new ones developed. We are very grateful for that.
Thank you to all of you who have recently showered us with your kind words of encouragement. They are so welcome and are like a balm to our weary hearts. We are a strong family, but oh man we feel deeply. We vacillate between brave fronts and tears regularly these days. And so, it is comforting to us to be uplifted and surrounded by so much support as we soldier on. One of my dearest friends wrote to me today to tell me what my Dad means to her. She said that she has never met a more kind, wise, thoughtful and caring man than my Dad. I couldn't agree more.
Further treatment options are currently on hold until he is feeling better and able to tolerate treatment. He also needs to have a full body PET scan so that we can determine if there are any other areas where the cancer might be materializing. One treatment possibility would be to move on to a chemo drug called Torisel. It is a chemo that is often tried next when the sutent has failed. It doesn't have an overly high success rate, but as we keep telling ourselves, someone has to be in the percentage that it helps -- so why can't it be my Dad! We won't know until we try and at this point my Dad is willing to give it a go once he feels better. So if we were to be asked what the major concerns and prayer requests are, that would be one of them - that he begin to feel better so that he can tolerate chemo. Another issue that has surfaced is that his remaining kidney is beginning to show signs of distress. He has been experiencing high levels of creatinine and so today he saw a kidney specialist. She is removing one of his blood pressure medicines that could be causing this, and we hope that a little bit of tweaking will keep him far away from having to start any dialysis.
I'll end this rather discouraging post with a glimmer of good news. The existing tumors that are on his skull have not grown, nor have any new ones developed. We are very grateful for that.
Thank you to all of you who have recently showered us with your kind words of encouragement. They are so welcome and are like a balm to our weary hearts. We are a strong family, but oh man we feel deeply. We vacillate between brave fronts and tears regularly these days. And so, it is comforting to us to be uplifted and surrounded by so much support as we soldier on. One of my dearest friends wrote to me today to tell me what my Dad means to her. She said that she has never met a more kind, wise, thoughtful and caring man than my Dad. I couldn't agree more.
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