help the man

OK, I know I have told you about this beautiful family in North Carolina previously. They are the Lawrensons. I believe I introduced you to Nate's blog, which details not only things about his wife, Tricia's Cystic Fibrosis and lung transplant; but also about their beautiful little girl, Gwyneth. Since Tricia's double lung transplant, it has been discovered that she has Post-Transplant Lymphoma. Tricia has started a more aggressive chemotherapy and Nate has set a personal goal of raising $3000 in a week for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

As you all know, Cancer is something that has affected my family. My dad was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in 2001. He had his prostate removed and never had any further elevated PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) levels. Then, in 2005 we discovered Dad had another form of Cancer. This second time he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, or bone marrow cancer. Multiple Myeloma is treatable, but there is no cure for it. After a few battles with his body, my dad ultimately died from complications of the Multiple Myeloma. I detested watching my dad be in pain and watching him be unable to do the things he wanted to do. I always think of my dad as being my big, strong dad who could take care of anything. There is seriously no way for me to tell you just how strong I think of my dad as being. The day my dad left our house to go to the hospital (which ended up being the day he died), my dad barely had enough oxygen to put one foot in front of the other because his hemoglobin was 5. But he drove himself and my mom to the hospital with ice all over the ground, then he wouldn't let the hospital workers take him, in a wheelchair, inside out of the cold until he made sure that my mom was going to make it safely across the ice to him.

OK, I hate to have gone off on a little sideline memory stroll there..... but please go to Nate's blog and help him help his wife and brother in-law. Too many people are affected by Cancer. Thanks!