Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Wednesday May 25

Feeling pretty good!  Can eat anything as long as i eat slow and have some water to drink.  I don't eat big quantities of food and usually only 2 meals per day.  I am not gaining any weight.  I currently weigh 173 lbs.  Food smells don't bother much anymore like they had.  My energy level is about 85-90%.  I did some hiking and a lot of walking past week.  This may contribute to the fact of not gaining any weight.  No vomiting.  No dizziness, no major fatique. 

Originally, I was suppose to get a PET Scan during the week of June 6.  However, I received a phone call from the Cleveland Clinic and they changed my date to July 6.  It seems my Radiation Oncologist, Dr. John Geskovich is going to be on vacation during the month of June.  I do have appt. with local Oncologist, Dr. Frederick Marquinez on June 6.  I will discuss this delay with him and see if this bothers him at all.  It ticked me off!  I want a status update!

My Aunt, Phillis Echols, passed away yesterday in North Carolina.  I will be traveling sometime this week for funeral services for her in North Carolina.  She was a great woman!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Monday May 16

I apologize for the delay in this update!  Will try to do a better job!  The reason for delay is good news!  I was feeling good and getting caught up on my chores!

Medically, I started to eat food again this past week.  I can pretty much eat anything now as long as I do it slowly and with liquids to flush it down with!  Very little vomiting.  I gained about 5 lbs back!  I am at 176 now.  We are in a "recovery" period for lack of a better term and they are letting me get my strength back.  On or around June 6th we will get another PET Scan to determine where they cancer still exist.  We are hopeful that it is out of Lymph Nodes and only in esophagus.  If this is the case, they will probably drop some radiation probes down my esophagus and "zap" me from the inside.  I do not not much about this procedure yet.  My energy level is about 80%!  Most of my dizziness is gone unless I get up real fast.  I have also begun to exercise daily with walking or biking.  On Thursday, I did a 12 mile bike ride!  Yes, it did wear me out but I enjoyed it!

The Kent Firefighter's sponsored a Reverse Raffle for me and my family this past Friday night.  We had 340 persons in attendance and they actually had to stop selling tickets due to hall size limitations.  The Committee, Brock Murphy, Scott Simmons, Kathy Beatty, Michelle Moore, Dave Moore, Chief Williams, and Paula Baughman worked extremely hard on this event.  Many other persons helped as well.  The event raised an overwhelming $19,358.00 for my family!  Prizes were donated by over 120 persons!  All the cash winners kindly donated their winnings back to our family, including the grand prize of $2,000!  We are so fortunate to have been directed into this family of people and this Community!  The Lord continues to provide for our every need!

http://kent.patch.com/articles/packed-house-for-don-beckett-reverse-raffle?ncid=M255#photo-6065997

If you paste the above link into your browser, you will see an article and 15 photos from the fundraiser by the Kent Patch!

I also received my letter this week from the Ohio Police & Fire Pension System regarding my disability from the fire service.  They have awarded me a total and permanent disability at 60% of my base pay less taxes and less health insurance cost.  Unfortunately, this is not enough money to live on and we will most likely file an appeal and provide the Board with additional information to attempt to get the percentage higher.  This may take several more months.  However, this is progress in the right direction to help provide for Heidi in the future!  Thank you Lord!

Please also keep in your prayers and student at Kent Roosevelt High School, Ryan Anderson, whom has Bone Cancer  and is undergoing Chemotherapy and surgery at this time! 

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Wednesday May 4

May has arrived! Hopefully the weather will catch up!

Not much medical news to report.  My head feels clear, my vomiting is down to about 1 time per day which is related to trying to eat solid foods.  I usually get some food stuck on the way down and it causes me to vomit.  However, I have been eating some breakfast food now (very slowly) and usually one late afternoon small meal.  This is great news because I can cut way back on the Ensure shakes!  My current weight as of today is 171 lbs.  I started on January 7 at 196.  So weight loss right now is 25 lbs.  However, once I can eat normal again, I fully expect to recover some of this weight.  I did drop as low as 169 lbs. 

My energy level is about 50-70%.  I have been doing some good walking on the days that it is not pouring down rain.  I am going to prepare my bike today for riding when weather clears again.  Last summer I did a lot of biking.  This will help rebuild my muscle strength and tone.  I have lost a lot of muscle in short time.

Let me tell you about some events in our lives here recently.  This past Friday night Heidi and I were invited to Stow High School where each spring the students do a talent show.  Heidi and I attended because we both love to watch high school talent.  When we arrived, we were greeted by a committee from the school.  The informed us that we had reserved seats and free admission.  We also learned that they had selected me as their local charity for this event and ticket sales (half) would be donated to me.  The other half went to an International charity in Africa.  What a thoughtful and precious action by these wonderful students!  I so appreciate them! 

Saturday morning, Heidi and I attended our 2nd American Cancer Society Relay for Life this spring.  This was held at the Ravenna Stadium and we really wanted to attend because my Oncologist Dr. Frederick Marquinez and his staff participate annually in this event.  Dr. Marquinez was present and while he was photographing the survivors in the survivor lap, he was crying.  He such a good man!  I truly love this man.  This event is very well planned out and the day was beautiful!  I also came home Saturday and took a 3 mile walk!

A wonderful woman named Michelle Baker whom is an attorney in Tallmadge offered to do a will and other documents for Heidi and I for free.  It seems that Michelle had cancer at one time in her life and wanted to help us.  We are so grateful to Michelle to help us with these documents and answered questions for us.  She also found a way to lower our real estate taxes since I will be on disability.  Every little savings adds up!

Most of you probably already know about the Don Joseph Toyota fundraiser that generated $2500 to us from the dealership.  This was a facebook event where people could "friend" Don Joseph and write "Team Beckett" on their wall.  We had to get 2500 persons to do this and it was accomplished in only 6 days!  I am so grateful to the ownership and staff at Don Joseph Toyota!  I am having a nice thank you sign professionally made to present to them this week.  The sign is being donated by a friend of mine Shane Branning at ProDecal in Canton, Ohio!

I am also so looking forward to the Reverse Raffle to be held on May 13 at the American Legion Hall in Kent.  I will get to visit with friends that night!  People whom mean so much to Heidi and I! 

Heidi and I are so blessed by the friends and family that we have!  The Lord gets working daily in our lives to help answer our prayers and provide our every need!  I hope each and everyone of you know the Lord personally.  If you do not, I would invite you to attend church and learn about his word!  Please call me!