What an amazing weekend we had! First of all, it was Rick’s week off
from chemotherapy so he was really starting to feel well over the weekend,
which was a wonderful treat!
Rick’s brother Mark drove to Utah
from San Diego to bike in the Huntsman 140 ride for cancer research. The ride
started at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, then 70 miles south and then back to
Huntsman again. Wow, 140 miles is
a long ride especially in the heat!
He was able to raise over $3,000.
We were so touched that he would do it. We were at one of the water stops at Westlake High
School. The grandkids loved
holding up their signs that said, “Ride like the wind” or “We love you Uncle
Mark” or “Kick Cancer’s butt!” It
was so fun to cheer for him. When
he got to Rick, Mark presented him with a Huntsman 140 jersey that said,
“survivor” on it. It was very
emotional for our family. Mark
turned to Rick and said, “next year you are going to ride it with me.” Later in the day, Mark sent us this
wonderful note:
Dear Rick and Jana,
Thank you so much for your donation.
I can’t tell you how much it means to me. I am so touched by my amazing
friends & family and their generosity.
The knowledge I have gained in the
past 2 months about cancer research has made me realize that there needs to be
more done. The advancements are amazing! Scientists are finding new
ways to fight and cure cancer. It was important for me to do this ride, firstly
to support you and secondly to support cancer research. Every time I felt
tired or felt in pain, I just thought about your struggles and what you were
going though. It made the ride much more bearable.
The ride was such a great experience.
There were 1000 riders who were all out riding for friends or family who have
been affected by cancer. All had worked to raise money for cancer
research. It was so special to sit at the finish line and listen to the
announcer tell about the riders, who they were riding for, and how much they
had raised. I raised over $3000 and had a huge cheer when I crossed when
they said how much I had raised. It really made me feel happy and
grateful for all my amazing friends & family. I can’t wait for you to
be there next year to experience it.
I love you guys so much. My
thoughts and prayers are with you every day.
-Mark
Another great event last weekend was that Madison went
through the temple for the first time.
This will now allow her to visit the temple regularly and feel the
strength and peace that is there.
It was so wonderful to be with her along with most of our children and
Rick’s mom and Dale. We are so
happy for Maddie and so proud of her.
Monday morning Rick and I got up early and went to get some scans and other tests run. It didn’t take very long so when we got home, we took the grandkids to see “Finding Dory.” It was so fun to be with most of our grandchildren. (we miss the Wheadons kids that live in Indiana.)
Today we met with the doctors at Huntsman. Mark was able to be there with us. What a great support he has been! The doctors presented the results of
the scans up to this point. They
were concerned that the clinical trial drugs that Rick has received to date,
have not been as effective as they had hoped. The doctors determined that we should suspend the current
treatment regimen and move forward with a different set of clinical trial
drugs. While we were disappointed
in the results, we are pleased that the doctors are willing to make a
mid-course change that would work toward better results for Rick.
We treasure the time we have together and continue to see
the blessings in our lives. Although
this isn’t a trial that we would choose, we have grown so close as a family and
have learned to make the most of each day! We continue to feel the Lord’s hand in our lives and
appreciate so much the thoughts and prayers of all of you! We recently saw this quote that made us
think of all of you and the way you have supported our family.
“Together we can lift and strengthen one another in the
great and important days ahead.”
--Neil L. Andersen
For Father's Day, Maddie put together a video for her Dad. It is very touching and she said I could share it:
Below are a few photos of friends and family being Strong
Like Rick! We have also seen many
posts on facebook showing support for our family! Thank you so much for your love and support!
Love,
Rick and Jana
The Pitchers
The Youngs