Endings and new beginnings--an update on Garth

Tonight marks the end of adding new items to the auction. I can't even find the words of gratitude to express my love and appreciation for everyone who has been supporting our efforts to raise money for Dad's treatments! This has been an amazing experience for me personally as well as the entire Abbott Family. I would bet you could catch any member of the Abbott Family at some point during the day sneaking a peak at the auction. Not just because there are so many fabulous things and services being offered, and not just to see who is bidding on which item, but to see the people and the love and the generosity behind each bid. Thank you everyone.

Tonight also marks the beginning of Garth's first chemotherapy treatment. I will spare everyone the details that have brought us to this moment. It has been a fight just to get treatment started. It is a battle that has allowed so many of our family, friends, and even strangers to join together in prayer, faith, love, and support. Many small miracles have lead up to being able to start treatment today; it is only the beginning of many more miracles that we will see through this process.

I talked to Dad tonight to hear about the day and how it went. I thought I would give a little report here for all of you. He had the surgery this morning to have the port put in so that he could receive chemo. After he came out of anesthesia he went to begin his first treatment-- 3 1/2 hour process. Mom was a trooper and was able to spend the day with him and it literally was an all day process. This marks the first in the series. He will need another treatment every 3 weeks for 18 weeks. He says he feels o.k overall--just like he is coming down with the flu. In his words, "I feel the aches and pains all the way in my bones and my muscles feel like the lactic acid you get built when you exercise really hard after you haven't exercised for a while." The doctors have warned him that he will loose all of his hair within two weeks and that he has to stay away from people completely for a full week after every treatment and be cautious for the other two weeks before the next treatment because his immune system is now compromised.

When it came time to leave the treatment center, Dad pulled a fast one on Mom. While Mom was busy finishing up with paperwork, he said he needed to go to the restroom and needed the keys because he wanted to sit in the truck and wait until she was done. She unwittingly gave him the keys only to find him pulled up in front of the building waiting for her with all doors locked except the passenger's door. Yes, he drove home!

At the end of our conversation he said, "the auction is about so much more than the money!" He is right. This auction will result in helping to get the cash needed for the medical care he needs to fight this disease, but it also is giving him so much more in love and support than can ever be shown in dollars and cents!