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Saturday, June 30, 2012

D-Day

Normandy, June 6, 1944

Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941

New York, September 11, 2001

These dates and images have been immortalized in our minds, across all living generation, as we faced the darkest days our country has ever known.  D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. As July 1, 2012 approaches we recall the events that took place prior to our Personal D-Day.

Sunday July 26, 2011 we were taking a trip to church with our daughter, Emma and our son, Lincoln.
All of a sudden I heard a sound behind me that made me think Linconln dropped something, but when he started crying we saw he had thrown up in the carseat. We went straight home to clean up and check his temperature and watch him closely, but he seemed to act just fine for the rest of the day without another episode.  I went back to work on a big project on Monday and we never really thought much more about it.

The next few days we got to spend some time outside in the sun and I noticed that Lincoln was getting freckles on his face. The only thing that crossed my mind was that he had been out in the sun too much, until I started to wonder why they looked purple. I asked Jenny what she thought but we just couldn't comprehend that it could be anything else.


Thursday June 30th was Jenny and my 10th wedding anniversary and we kept it simple and went out on a dinner date since she was working early the next morning. The kids would go to grandma's the next day but little did we know what would happen next. Sometime in the afternoon Jenny's mom called her at work to say that Lincoln had thown up again and that the spots on his face were breaking out even more. At this point there was cause for concern and Jenny called the doctor to see if we could get him in before the end of the day. I got home early, just before Jenny and she said that the doctor would only tell us that it could be an infection of somekind until Lincoln was seen. If there was anything else we would have to go to Portland to the ER to find out more there. We didn't waste anytime knowing the urgency of the situation and we were on our way up the road to Portland.

It doesn't take too long to get to Portland since it is only about 35 miles and we are right off of I-5 on the north end of Salem, Oregon. The Oregon Health and Science University is up on a high hillside overlooking the city of Portland and the Willamette river.
Doernbechers Childrens Hospital is right there, a place we had been many other times for family.
We headed straight to the emergency room at OHSU to find out what we needed to know. We were really nerveous as we waited in the room they had set up to draw blood. I don't know about you, but I have no problem with needles, but when they had to poke my 2 year old it felt like it was my first time.
Durning the next few hours I don't remember a lot of the details as we were trying to keep Lincoln calm as late as it was. At some point I remember the doctors coming in, after they set us up in a room in the oncology unit, and they began to tell us what we were up against. We were told earlier that it was one of two things and while we were praying it was not the worst of it, we braced for the impact.

"Your son has leukemia, we are 99.9% sure of it"

That is when the shock started setting in and the numbness took over. As the doctors continued to talk about the treatments and the numbers, the feelings of our son's life being any shorter than our own, began to infiltrate our hearts and minds. It had been a long day and it was late, so we tried to rest in the hospital room until we could began to take action the very next morning.

July 1, 2011 would be our D-day "the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated" and chemotherapy would began the attack on the leukemia cells for the next 29 days.

For one year now our son's little body had endured more chemical warfar that all of our family combined. He has been a warrior on the front line of this battle and has taken more harm than us all. He deserves a Gold medal from the president, but he would settle for a huge grant for childrens cancer reasearch. While some call his cancer, which is one of the most commen of all children's cancers rare, his fighting spirit is like any other child who is faced with a life threatening disease. He is fearless and only has hope that one day he will get to do all of the things that every little boy and girl should be able to do, live a life into adulthood. July 1 may be the one day a year that we don't want to think about, but now that our eyes have been opened to a world full of kids with cancer, we have to move forward equipt with the knowledge and understanding that awareness is the first step toward funding reasearch that will cure our little ones. Just like in any state of emergency we need to save our children first because they are our future.

and Pray with others for Lincoln @ http://www.facebook.com/prayingforlincoln


For my Wife on our Anniversary

Life it like a box of chocolates...


Boy meets girl...


 Girl falls in love with boy...

Boy asks girl to marry him... 


Girl needs a moment to think about it...



Maybe we should pray about it...


Yes!!!


What a magical time...

 
10 months later...




Many more years later...


...you never know what your going to get.



Friday, June 29, 2012

Trail Blazer

When was the last time you went somewhere new?
If you know me, you know that I like to travel and I have driven many miles, even over to the Oregon coast several times a year. The job that I have had for 5 years now takes me a lot of places and its the one thing I would miss if I ever changed jobs. Before this job I drove the same long road for 5 years and when I moved I just couldn't take it anymore. I'm a trailblazer and I always like to take a new road to get there.

Today I traveled to Silverton, Oregon and I was installing a chainlink fence for a customer that wanted to keep his goats in after they escaped. If you know anything about goats, they will eat anything, even thorny blackberry bushes.

Have you ever wanted to take a blaze new trail or go in a new direction and all you could see was a wall of blackberries? Unfortunately a chainsaw wouldn't even help get through this mess, but about a year ago I was facing a hopeless journey in a direction that I never thought I would go in.

 
As I write this blog, looking back at the trail our family has blazed, over the peaks and valleys of leukemia with our son Lincoln, I realize that we were never alone. Although no one imagines themselves joining a family on a journey like this, they willingly left the safe roads that they have always known, sometimes taking the lead when they saw the struggle our family was facing.

Recently I came across a facebook page that I liked because it wants to aggressively reveal the Truth about childhood cancer http://www.facebook.com/theTruth365film. Its a hard road to travel when your a trailblazer, but this is one that I am watching closely to see if it leads the way to new highways for cancer research to travel on.

During most of your life you will have the choice to either follow the traffic down the freeway, or take the back roads and discover new things. Just remember that if a 3 year old, little bald boy, dressed as Batman can be a leader. You were born to be. Please listen.

 

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Time Flies By

One year ago we were outside in the summer sun enjoying the day...


and taking pictures of all of the things we loved like squirrls...
and frogs...
 and birds...
 and fun.
We had many smiles and laughs together...

...but we never knew this summer would bring us...

...a journey of uncertainty...




...with no end in sight.



A 2 year old boy would fight for life...
...with his heros by his side...
and only HOPE for a cure.
http://www.facebook.com/prayingforlincoln
http://www.facebook.com/RunningForLincoln
http://www.facebook.com/groups/132084550254587/


Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Thorne in My Side


There is something that has been creeping around in the dark shadows that I have had to face in the last 12 months. Its not something new or different because I have felt this way before and sometimes more than once a year. Its like a sunburn that burns at first but then itches like crazy later on. It seems like everything is in black and white, where nothing tastes right and sleep is hard to come by when you need it but sleep is never enough when you can get it. Its a thorne in my side that I have finally recognized, but now that I can see it for what it is I can fight back. Don't worry, I'm not doing anything that would be harmful, but I am facing a giant that needs to be taken down once and for all. When my son was diagnosed with cancer, I wasn't shattered like I had always imagined I would be if something like this ever happened to someone in my home, I just asked what are we supposed to do next. When I feel myself sinking in my own insatiable desires I remember that I am on a journey that is ever changing and there is always something ahead that I will have to face. I won't let myself stay in one place anymore, trying to take shelter from the storm, I will press on towards the goal no matter how bad it gets. I have made it this far and I can only attribute God's grace and the help of those who have shown sacrificial love, hope and faith for me and my family. Now that this journey is taking us to new heights I can only hope the view at the top is as breath taking over the valley as it was during the climb. As always, a song that says a lot to me at this moment in my life, listen and read the lyrics

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

A Poem

I just wanted to share a poem I wrote tonight and picture that I took from the 4th of July two years ago. Back then we watched the fireworks not knowing that one year later our 2 year old son would be diagnosed with leukemia. We spent July 4th, 2011 in the hospital and it was then that we became aware that childhood cancer is not rare, but that it is everwhere in every state and many towns. Remember the kids fighting cancer this 4th of July because they may not enjoy the freedoms that we do outside of the hospital beds, and remember their families because they will feel like their freedoms have been taken away because of cancer.


Monday, June 25, 2012

Everyday Heros


Every little boy grows up with a dream of being a superhero. Lincoln knew the first time he dressed up as Batman that he would have superpower and could defeat any enemy. His bat suit made him fly and he had super strength that could even take down the joker (daddy), but little did he know that every superhero has a weakness. For Lincoln his super strength would be taken by the greatest enemy that any child could fight but Lincoln would not fight cancer alone.
In the last 12 months he has come so far
From taking medicine and getting shots
Staying in the hospital with other sick kids
And learning to fight like a superhero again
With the super strength that cancer fears, even from a child 

 
And thanking God everyday
 
For people who have helped in so many ways
As you read this, know that you have helped Lincoln in his battle against leukemia.
This song is for all of Lincoln's heros who share their superpowers with him in his fight.


Thank you, keep praying for Lincoln http://www.facebook.com/prayingforlincoln
We need more hero's like you to https://www.facebook.com/speakuptosilencecancer
Join 1000 Strong and running to raise awareness nationwide @