Update on the Dadster

Hello world. I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend! The weather yesterday was perfect for laying around and not going to work!





As some of you know, my dad has been going to a blood oncologist since the beginning of this year because of some "alarming" lymph nodes. He's been seeing a fantastic physician, Dr. Scott Blair, who I know personally from my job at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. About two weeks ago, my dad had a lump on his neck that was painful, along with night sweats and flu-like symptoms, so he went to the emergency room and had a cat scan. He wasn't admitted but because of the results of the cat scan, Dr. Blair asked that he get the lump removed. He had two lumps removed last Tuesday and on Friday we found out that my dad does indeed have lymphoma. So, the disease that I've been working towards finding a cure for for the past three years is the disease my dad is now fighting. Oh, the irony! I do feel confident he will be able to get past this but I don't think it's going to be pretty or easy. He is no spring chicken, and with the possibility of chemotherapy, I worry about him being sick and by himself. You never like to see your loved ones sick with anything, so it's definitely not going to be a good time. However, my dad is a fighter, having almost every kind of health problem you can imagine (including getting a toe amputated) and he's still kickin' it, so I have faith that he will get through this, no matter how shitty it is.





That being said, I would really appreciate donations toward my fundraising and training for LLS through our Team In Training campaign. I've mentioned this before on this blog, but I'm training for the Columbus Half Marathon while raising money for blood cancer research. This is my third half marathon this year and my second TNT event. My first was the Capital City Half in May of this year, and literally two days after that race, I signed up for TNT again (before thinking it would ever be to help someone in my family, let alone my dad.) I'm committed to raising $750 and I'm at about 61% so I still have a ways to go. The money is due the end of this month, so I'm really cutting it close. I have a give-away on my fundraising website to win a certificate for 1 dozen bagels and one coffee tote once a month for a year. I've had some people ask about this so I want to clarify: one person wins the certificate and they can use the certificate to get a dozen bagels and a coffee tote once a month until October 2012. Each $10 donation enters your name to win the certificate, so if donate $20, your name will be entered twice, if you donate $100, your name will be entered 10 times, if you donate $1,000, I'll just give you the certificate. I really appreciate anything you're willing to donate because shit just got personal.