Monday update from our brother, Rick: Hello to my friends, family, and friends who are now family. It has been quite a crazy couple of months. Eight weeks ago I was working out with some of my young baseball players and celebrating with my daughter Karsyn at her Sweet 16 birthday party in Texas as a “perfectly healthy” 42 year-old guy. Since that time, I have been diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer that has spread to my liver. Yes, quite the wake-up call. I am a firm believer that God doesn’t give anything to anyone that HE doesn’t think they can handle. HE must know I am one strong son of a gun! So, it’s time to FIGHT and WIN! #shutdowncancer Now, with that being said, I have surrounded myself with people like you to help me get up when I am down and cheer me on when times are tough. It has not been easy and I appreciate all of you that have helped me thus far. I have had three rounds of chemotherapy and last Monday (7/8) was bar none the toughest day of my life emotionally and physically. I had to deal with the side effects, or “tricks” of chemotherapy. I was blinded for a short time only to be hit with leg cramps like I have never experienced before, and slurred speech and stuttering for six hours after. It was the unknown of how long it would last. My delayed speech made it hard to communicate with my friends and family. But, we made the best of it. Prayer, positive thoughts and patience guided me back to a better place. My hair is slowly thinning out in all the wrong places, my head being one of them. I was hoping the butt and back would go first but no such luck (yes, as you can tell I still need my sense of humor to get through this). Not so funny and the most annoying constant is my hiccups. The chemotherapy is making my diaphragm spasm, causing non-stop hiccups. Ginger and goji berry tea seems to help better than the medication I am on. Hopefully, it will settle down. It is actually quite annoying and painful. I am currently going in for blood work every week and chemotherapy every other week for the next five months. I have a CAT scan scheduled in two weeks to measure the effectiveness thus far. I hope and pray that this will yield positive results and that my tumors have shrunk. Time will tell. #shutdowncancer I have full confidence in my TEAM of doctors, nurses and support staff both at the University of Chicago as well as Northwest Community Hospital. They have been very positive and nurturing and, while I hate the medical regimen, I enjoy seeing their faces each week. TEAM CARONE, WOW! I am blessed with the prayers, support, and encouragement! Every day someone or something new inspires me to keep fighting. I am a positive person that will surround myself with love and laughter, so if you or someone you know fits the bill we would love to have them join the fight to #shutdowncancer. With love and laughter, Rick / Ricky C. / RC / Richard / Carone / Car-1
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:16:08 +0000
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