RFL 2015 is here! AKA- Chad writes the best "Why I Relay" pages EVER.

Our Relay For Life Of Custer County 2015 website went live last week (HAPPY DANCE!) Even though we Relay all year at my house, we always get excited when the website goes up, because we can see who all is returning to our team, all of the new teams... and of course we get to size up our competition ;) Just kidding Maria and Krisha. 

Anyway, Chad (my husband) always writes the most amazing "Why I Relay" story every year for his page.  It's kind of a tradition for him- each year he sits down in his big ol brown recliner and writes a post explaining what Relay means to him at the moment.  After losing his mom this year- I am sure it was harder than ever. 

So, not to put him on front street or anything, but you guys should totally read this.  You can see his actual relay page here (and that's also where you can donate to him- hint hint)  ENJOY!

XO
Cassi

Why I Relay!!!

Time once again for the relay excitement to begin. Well officially that is. My family does Relay For Life all year, because we have been touched by this group more than the words that I am going to us in this message to you will ever be able to tell you. Every year I sit in my chair and write out why we do what we do at the Selby Household. So here we go- this is why we RELAY

R-------Represents
E-------Extreme
L-------Love
A-------All
Y-------Year

Six years ago my father was diagnosed with stomach cancer. It was at this time my life changed. At the time I was a young man running around without a since of reality what so ever. When I got the phone call from my mother letting me know that my father was in the hospital, I knew that there was something wrong. My father would never go to the doctor- let alone the hospital. So with no details I left OKC to travel back home to Arkansas to be with my family so we could find out what was going on. When I arrived they had discovered that my father had a tumor in his stomach that had grown to where it had 90% blockage of his esophagus. The moment I heard this was the only time I can remember feeling beaten. The man that was my family’s rock was sick, and none of us knew how to handle it.
        
Once we got our bearing, we all decided we were going to fight. We are Selby’s that is what we do. We may not win every time, but we never give up. I returned to Oklahoma, because my father said there was nothing I could do for him in Arkansas. This was a challenge for me. I felt helpless, and couldn’t concentrate on things.  I couldn’t believe what kind of control my father illness had on me. Three weeks later I got a phone call from my father.  It was a call that I will never forget. He was telling about what was going on with him, and that they had just put a feeding tube into his stomach, because he wasn’t able to swallow food. He had done his first round of chemo that was an in-patient week long ordeal. He was down and sounded like a man that had been through hell. He said, “Son I don’t know if I am going to be able to do this. I may need your help later down the road.”
         
I hate to admit this, but this was not an easy decision. I had recently started a relationship at the time with a wonderful woman. My heart wouldn’t let me abandon the man who had given me so much in my life. So I called my girlfriend to try to explain to her why I had to leave her in Oklahoma while I moved back to Arkansas to help my family. She didn’t even hesitate.  She told me if I stayed in Oklahoma, I wouldn’t be the man she wanted to date. With that, I put my career on hold by taking a step down so that I could be with my family.
         
With that the worst year of my life started. There are so many details that I could put here that honestly I still to this day don’t believe I can really think about. Things that I watched, things that I wished I could close my eyes and forget, but when I do close my eyes they still to this day flash at me in a horrible nightmare that doesn’t seem to stop.  So, I will not go into them. I will say that the saying “You are stronger because you lived through it” is the most untrue thing I have ever heard.  I watched cancer destroy the strongest man I have ever known in a blink of an eye. When he started treatment he was at least 180lbs, and towards the end he was lucky if he was 90lbs. After a year of battling this horrible disease my father passed away.
         
There was a glimmer of good that came out of this situation.  The woman that I was dating in Oklahoma decided that she didn’t want me to fight this battle alone.   She moved to Arkansas and brought her 2 year old son with her.  She was truly amazing at helping with the caregiving that my father required. We had to do things in shifts when my mother and I were at work she would care for him, and then we would take up when we got off work.
         
This was not our only battle with cancer in my life. When I was five my mother also had cancer. Back than we were nowhere near the advance medicine that we have today (thanks in a big part to American Cancer Society’s funding of research to develop new drugs and treatments). She went through countless treatments of radiation and other things that I was honestly too young to remember. I can say that my earliest memories as a child is of walking down St. Edwards Hospitals to see my mother in a hospital room countless times.
        

 My mother won her battle with cancer that time, but not without her battle scars. She ended up with major heart issues from the radiation that was used to battle the disease. We didn’t find out until 10 years later about the damage that was caused. When we were told that the walls of her heart were paper thin, the doctor said that is why you probably struggle with things around the house such as vacuuming and anything that requires physical activity. My whole family laughs at this. At that time in my mother was mowing the 4 acres of land that we owned every weekend, throwing bags of grass over the fence to the cows, and many other amazing things. Truly the strongest women on earth.
        

 A year ago they found cancer in my mothers leg. Her outlook on it was about the same as my dad’s- well time to start fighting. She went to the Mayo Clinic, and started getting doctors opinions on how to treat her cancer. They found that the only real way to get rid of the cancer was to do a full knee replacement including some of her thigh bone.  She went through the procedure and the healing of the complete knee replacement. She went through this at the age of 60 which is amazing to me- I don’t believe I could do it now. After only 3 weeks post op, she went back to work. Something that the doctors told her would take her at least two months.
         

One week before our Relay For Life last year I got another phone call from my mother saying that she wasn’t feeling good, and was going to go ahead and go to the doctor. She said that it had been a struggle to get to and from work all week and wanted to feel better before she had to return to work on Monday. I said, “Well I am going to go to be on vacation. I’ll drive down and see you.”  On the way down they admitted my mother into the hospital because of her heart. She passed away at 4:00 am that morning. The doctors say that her heart just finally gave out. I would also like to say as a testament to my mother resolve the week before my mothers passing she missed one day of work. Can you imagine doing that?  Your heart and liver failing and you are at work because that is what you do.  Such an amazing woman. As a matter of fact the love that my mother had in her heart was amazing. An hour before she passed away, she was lecturing me (something she did very well I may add) about getting some sleep, because I had been up for 24 hours, and she didn’t want me to be too tired. What an amazing women she was.  The loss of this great woman is a tragic loss to the world. Cancer may not have been the bullet that killed my mother, but it was the gun that fired the bullet.
         
This is why we Relay.  To give people hope.  Fighting the good fight can make a difference. You may say that my story doesn’t sound as if there is a chance to win against cancer. Well, to that I say you are wrong. This is how my family thinks of CANCER.


C------Create
A------A

N------New

C------Change
E-------Every
R-------Relay

         
The way we have won is because we have grown. The woman that moved to Arkansas to help me is now my wife. We have a son that is named Wes- some of you may know him as Cancer Man. The super hero that has dedicated his life to winning the fight against cancer through Relay For Life.  Last year he raised over $7,000 dollars on his own towards winning the fight against cancer. My favorite saying that he has is “I’m eight, what’s your excuse?” With that being said, I don’t think any of us can have anything to say about that except your right I better get started. Every day I watch what he does, and it warms my heart to think I have had a hand in raising this amazing boy, soon to be a man. It reminds me of the great things about my parents, because through him he helps me forget the last couple of years filled with bad memories.
         
With that being said Relay For Life is all about hope. Hope for a cure, hope that there is an end in sight, and hope that one day peoples lives will not dramatically change because of cancer. So what do you say?   Lets help other people have HOPE!!

H-------Hope
O-------Offers
P--------People
E--------Everything!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank You,
Chad

Relay For Life - Fundraising for kids, and why you should never underestimate them!

Wes, my son, tells this story time and again when people ask him how he got involved with Relay For Life.

"When I was 5, I was going with my mom to all of the Relay meetings and events ALL.  THE.  TIME.  One day, I asked her- how come there are never any kids doing Relay?  And she said, I don't know.  So I told my mom I wanted to start doing Relay on my own, and I was going to be the top fundraiser."

Guess what?  That next year- he was.  And, he continues to each year.  His fundraising total for this year is currently at $7,681.43.  He is 8 years old.

EIGHT.  YEARS. OLD.

But the truth is, when he originally asked me why aren't other kids Relaying, I really didn't know.  In fact, I had never even considered it.  Sure I included him in my plans, and he helped me all of the time with fundraising projects, but never in a million years would I have expected him to do what he has done!  So why is that?  Why are we forgetting about our future researchers, doctors, volunteers, and advocates?  I learned something very important.  KIDS CAN make a huge impact on your event, and can make a big difference.  Here is the other thing I learned.  If a 5, 6, 7, or 8 year old can do it- what the heck is my excuse?

I spend a lot of time writing about fundraiser that are great for kids.  You can read those here, and here.   Today I am going to share a few new ones we added this year that worked really well for us. 

All Fired Up!  For Relay For Life.

 Wes loves making stuff to sell to people.  From warm fuzzies to cookies, he is all over it.  But this year, Wes really wanted to do something that everyone could do together, and have fun at the same time.  While at a local paint your own pottery shop All Fired Up! I got to talking to the owner about any ideas she had (she regularly holds kids creativity camps at her store.) And then the most amazing thing happened, she offered to let the kids come paint pottery at her shop. I was so excited that day when I picked Wes up from school, that I couldn't even wait until we got to the car to tell him what Kelly had offered.  His eyes lit up, "EVERYONE can come?"  we went straight home and Wes went to work planning the event. 

Then something crazy happened.  So crazy that I still can't believe it!  Wes saw a commercial for Disney Friends For Change one afternoon, and came into the office. "We should be Friends For Change mom.  Those kids are doing good stuff like we are."  After a quick little Google search, I found a Disney Friends For Change grant program ran by Youth Service America that happened to coincide with our event- during Global Youth Service Day.  I told Wes he could apply for it, but it was very unlikely we would get picked, because SO many people apply for them.  Guess what?  He was awarded the grant to use for his project!

The cost to attend the creativity camp was only $5 per person, thanks to Kelly's generosity.  She provided everything from the pottery to the paint.  She also offered to make up the bid sheets, and let us start the auction at her location so we could get bids before Relay For Life.  Literally, all we had to do was show up the day of, and invite other kids to do the same! Kelly took the time to explain to the kids how to make their art come out extra special, and also asked each child why they Relayed.  She used that information for the bid sheets!

 

You know that Picasso quote that says, "Every child is an artist." - well, it's true.  What they made was amazing, and they had a blast!

 

We were very pleasantly surprised how well the auction went Relay night!  We were a bit worried only the parents would be bidding on their child's art, but that was not the case at all!

 Did I mention the we grown ups couldn't resist and painted items to?  You can see my husbands Cancer Man raccoon, and my tie dye plate below :)

 

I hope this is sparking some ideas for you.  You don't have to do pottery, you could do paintings on canvas, bird houses, ribbons, you name it!  In fact, if you have ever been to my house you know that one of my most prized possessions (and actually, it belongs to Wes not me) is a painting one of Wesley's best friends made of Cancer Man (forgive this picture- this was a picture of the Relay wall while I was getting ready to put up new awards!)

 

Speaking of painting.  In the fall we did something really cool and different.  We painted and sold pink pumpkins for breast cancer awareness!  A local farmer donated the pumpkins after he had pulled all of the ones he could sell- he had plenty of extras that would have just been plowed back into the field :)  Wes and I went to a local Sherwin Williams, and they donated the pink paint!

 

Next up is an oldie but a goodie.  What kid doesn't LOVE to sell lemonade?  I mean, you would think it would have been the first thing that popped into my mind for a fundraiser, but it wasn't!  We had the honor of getting to go help out a new Relay friend with one this year.  The kids had a blast! This stand was set up at a craft show (which also benefited Relay For Life) but the boys are planning on taking this act on the road this summer to 4th of July festivals, and Main Street, Weatherford :)

Not to get too off track, but there is another benefit to having your kids join Relay For Life, ESPECIALLY if they have lost someone they love to cancer.  Kids who have been there are really really good about supporting other kids who have been through the same thing.

 

Now, when all else fails, and your kiddo wakes up one Saturday morning and declares, "I'm going to hit my $6,000 somehow today."  You can always pull this trick out of the bag (let's face it- it's hard to say no to an adorable kid!)

 

The moral of the story?  While you are making plans for your next Relay, don't leave out your littlest Relayers!  They can make a huge impact on your event, and may even be able to teach you a thing or two, or $22,015.

Coming up next- I didn't forget about your tweens and teens!  I know of an ENTIRE Relay ran by youth-subscribe to get notified so I can tell you all about it!

I Relay For Them.

Today is National Relay Kick Off Day.  In that spirit, I would like to start sharing some AMAZING examples of personalized Relay pages.  You have heard it over and over- personalize your page.  Why?  Well, it's simple really.  If someone clicks your fundraising link, and is captivated or inspired by what you are writing about, they are more likely to give you a donation.  I know it can seem scary, but you don't have to be an amazing author; just speak from your heart. 

You know, one of the biggest joys that comes with being an avid Relayer is the community of Relayers you meet along your journey.  I'm not just talking about people at your local event- but people you get to know from all over the country.  You have got to love modern technology- it is connecting those of us that bleed purple from all over the globe.  Whether it be through Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube, or blogs like this one.  We are sharing our stories, ideas, and passion like never before. The Relay story below comes from Denise Mortimore's Relay Page  Denise is the Event Chair for American Canyon's Relay For Life in California.  Denise and I got to know each other last year when I made some Relay tank tops for her and her girls.  I have to say I think American Canyon is pretty darn lucky to have her as a chair.  She brings fresh ideas, a fierce spirit, and has so much PASSION for Relay.  I see a lot of myself in her- no wonder I like her so much! 

Without further ado - one of my favorite Relay stories. 

My Reason to Relay
The first time my best friend asked me to participate in Relay For Life I didn't feel like it would be a good idea.  I did not know anyone that had cancer at the time.  It sounded fun and it sounded interesting, but I felt I had no right to be there, because I didn't know anyone with cancer.  My best friend told me she didn't know anyone that had cancer (mind you- she is a survivor) at the time either, but we both ended up signing up together.

Little did I know that my life was about to be drastically touched- drastically changed.  I learned that I wasn't just walking for those fighting cancer right then, but those that have fought and won, and those that have fought but lost their battle.  My heart was touched, and I knew I was going to walk with everything in me for my Grandmother.

In 2007 my Grandmother was diagnosed with Leukemia.  It was late on-set leukemia and it was a devastating diagnosis.  I was very close with my Grandma.  Watching her health decline to this disease was heart-wrenching.  She passed right before my oldest daughter turned one.  I miss her every single day and know she is by my side.  I just wish she was still with us.  I walk and walk and walk in her honor.

Last year I found out that not only will I be walking for my Grandma, Uncle, friends, and children of friends, but I was now going to be walking for my Dad.  He was the one that heard those awful words "you have cancer" and I remember the phone call like it was yesterday from my step-mom telling me "it is malignant".  I immediately started bawling.  You see, my dad is my world and the thought of watching his health decline was so scary. He was diagnosed with Stage 2 Prostate Cancer.  But, prostate cancer is slow growing and many (not all) men will die of other health related issues before they will of prostate cancer.   So okay.  I can be okay with this.  Make sure he does all his follow-ups, etc.  He is a stubborn man and I knew he was not going to let this cancer win.  Ever.

Then came another scary diagnosis.  He was having some health issues and kept going into the doctor trying to feel better.  Feeling that the problem was probably his gallbladder, they did an ultrasound.  I am so thankful they did.  There, inside his body, was a tumor the size of a grapefruit.  It appeared to have attached to the Vena Cava and things did NOT look good.  He was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor.  An extremely rare tumor (Steve Jobs died from the same tumor) in that only .05% of malignancies will be this type of tumor.  That is only 1-2 people in 100,000.  The fact it appeared to be attached to the Vena Cava also made surgery scary and very difficult and we were warned that if it was attached, there would be nothing they could.  So the day of the surgery came.  We all sat in the waiting room on pins and needles.  Many many hours later they came out to tell us they got it all.  Even the part that was *just starting* to attach to the vena cava.  They said it was one of the most difficult surgeries of their entire career.  But they got it!  I walk with everything in me in his honor- he is a Survivor!!

I walk for an extremely courageous and beautiful little boy named Jared.  He is battling leukemia right now and is kicking some major cancer butt!  He has been through so much in his 3 short years on this planet but through it all?his infectious smile warms hearts and gives EVERYONE hope.  He is a Survivor!!

I walk for a friend of mine, someone with whom I was very close with that passed away from breast cancer.  Not only was she a friend, but she was my mentor to me.  I will never forget the phone call I received to tell me she had passed.  I can still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing.  I am walk in her honor.

My Uncle, the man I am named after, fought prostate cancer as well and won!  It was a long road for him but HE IS SURVIVING!  He is an inspiration to me, always has been.  I am walking for him.

One of my dearest friends, who is on my team with me, and the friend I talked about at the beginning is also a survivor.  Thyroid cancer.  I did not know her when she had cancer but I know her now and am honored to call her my best friend.  I walk with pride for her.  I walk with thankfulness that she fought this battle and I was able to meet her and have her in my life.

I am walking for one brave little girl, Rylie Cruz.  Her life ended way too soon from neuroblastoma.  Her courageous battle with this disease was an inspiration to many.  She touched my heart in so many ways.  NO child should ever have to deal with this disease!!!  Absolutely NO 3 year old should ever have to know what cancer is.  She is now one of Heaven's beautiful little angels.  I walk for her.

I walk for my two beautiful daughters ages 5 and 3 in the absolute hope that they NEVER have to know cancer on a personal level.  I pray they never have to know what it feels like to lose someone they love to it, and I pray they NEVER EVER have to deal with it in their own bodies.

I walk for my husband who I love more than words could ever express.  I pray and I walk in hopes that he NEVER has to deal with it in his own body.  Just the mere thought of him having to deal with it is terrifying.  In his career (firefighter), many men and women are diagnosed with and die from cancer.  I pray and I hope that he will never ever have to battle this.

I walk for my mom.

I walk for my step-dad.

I walk for my step-mom.

I walk for every single person in my life.

I walk for every single child.

I have various other family members and friends that have battled this disease and lost while others are surviving.  I am walking for every one of them.

For each person who has lost a loved one or who has been affected by this disease in some way...I am walking for you.

I am walking for all of our children.  I am walking for their future.

PLEASE support my efforts by making a donation or by joining my Relay For Life team. Together, we have the power to help create a world with less cancer and more birthdays!

Wouldn't it be wonderful for our children, grandchildren or great grandchildren to grow up in a world where there IS a cure for cancer?  I'm hoping to make that happen!  Are you?

_________________________________________________________

Powerful words, right?  Straight from the heart.  Denise is walking for you.

Moved, inspired?  Throw a little donation Denise's way.  and for goodness sakes, go personalize that page!

Have an awesome Relay story?  Post a link to your Relay page below!

<3 Cassi

Chad's Story

This blog post is a very special, and personal one.  My husband sat down and worked on his Relay For Life page tonight, and to my surprise, he shared his story on WHY Relay for Life is important to him.  It was so inspiring to me, that I had to share it with you here. 
As always- for the cure!
Cassi

Hello Everyone,

I have decided after two years to join another Relay for Life Team.  I have been active in Relay helping my wife and son’s teams, but I haven’t joined.   Honestly, the memories are still very hard for me deal with. What I have enjoyed over the years is sitting back, and watching everyone fight to end cancer.  Everyone always had a common goal.  Last year at Relay they had a fight back activity where you made a pledge for the year of how you were going to fight for the cause. This took me back, because I have always been hiding while my family fights.  So, my pledge for the year was that I would share my story of my family’s battle with cancer, and be more involved.  I would hopefully let people who are out there that feel the same way know that is ok to hurt for the ones they have lost.  Also, hopefully it will show them that it is right to fight for the cause, and stand with all the people that are willing to do it.

At age 7 I had my first experience with cancer.  My mother had stage 4 ovarian cancer. This was a time when Chemo wasn’t really around. Through my mother’s strong will and stubbornness, she became one of a very few that survived this disease.  She didn’t make it out of the fight without scars, to this day she has a wide list of health problems that she has been fighting with for the past 25 years of her life.  At seven, I was very unsure of what would happen.  I can remember walking down a lot of hospital hall ways, and being in the hospital room with a lot of families in them. Still having my mother here to this day is amazing.

 My mom today.

The next experience with cancer was with my father five years ago.  My father was the rock for my family. He was the one that we all turned to whenever there was a problem.  One day, while working In Oklahoma City, I received a phone call from my mother saying that my father was in the hospital.  My heart dropped to floor.  I got to Arkansas as soon as I could.  Once there I found that many test had been ran on my father, and they had found that he had stomach cancer that had grown to a 90% blockage of his esophagus.

This struck me very hard.  I was torn, because my father was in pain, and my life was in a completely different state over five hours away.   Once we got the plan from the same doctor that had treated my mother seventeen years before, I returned home. Over the course of a month I spoke to my family every day for updates, and tried to return to my life. One day, I called and talked to my father.  He was very down, and told me his one fear was that if it did come time for his fight to be over, he would be in a strange place that he didn’t call home.  This caused me to hurt for my father, so I made a decision that was difficult for me to make, even though I knew that I had go and be with him.  My wife and I had just really started dating, and it is amazing that she stuck with me during this time, because I was so distant from everything in my life.  I had to have a conversation with Cassi, and tell her I had to leave Oklahoma and return home.  She was so supportive, and said that she understood. So a week later I left Oklahoma to help my mother take care of my father. 

 Cassi and I when we first started dating.

Once returning home we began our battle.  By then chemo had completely broke my once strong father.  He had gone from 195ibs to 90 lbs, and I think he lost weight every day after that. He was on a feeding tube because he couldn’t swallow any food.  Just thinking about that is enough to kill me.  My father didn’t taste food for the last year of his life. We tried a wide variety of treatments, he had chemo while hospitalized, chemo from home, radiation, and surgeries. None of these were successful. The time I knew that the outlook wasn’t going to be good we were at the doctor’s office getting him a chemo treatment , and he got up to go to the bathroom.  After five steps,  he went straight down into my arms. It was a downward spiral after that. 

 The family after dad started chemo.

My hope was gone, and I was a beaten man.  The only thing that kept me going was that Cassi had decided that I shouldn’t go through this alone.  She decided to make a huge leap in her and her two year old son’s life.  She left her job, and moved to Arkansas.  She helped give me strength, and became another care giver for my father during his last year.  My mother, Cassi , and I worked in shifts taking care of my father .  

                           Wes and I in a rare moment of play time after moving to Arkansas.

 He didn’t do a lot of walking the final three months of his life. I remember him falling, and my mother calling me at work, and me coming home to check on him. Once I got there I knew he was really bad, and close to the end. I told him that I was going to call an ambulance and I remember him being so mad at me- like I had betrayed him, because his wish was to pass away at home. I was crying when I told him these words, “I am not willing to give up on you yet , dad,  and I am not willing to let you give up either.  I give you my word, once they tell us it’s over; I will break you out of the hospital if I have to, and bring you home.  I am just not willing stop fighting.” His response to this was, “Well fine at least shave me,  I am not going to go anywhere looking like a mountain man that can’t even take care of himself.” He was always worried about being proper, and how he didn’t want people to see him as weak.  So, I shaved his face, combed his hair, and we took him to the hospital.

Once at the hospital, the doctors didn’t want us to lose hope, so they kept up with the treatments and the other things for quality of life that they could do. We were in the hospital for almost a month until they finally said he would be lucky to survive a couple more days.  I was the one that had to lean over while he was in the hospital bed, and inform him of what we had been told.  In the edited words of my father he said “Stuff happens.” Than he looked me dead in my eyes, and said, “Son, I know I said I never wanted you to put life on hold for me, but I am glad you are here.”  At that moment,  I knew what we had to do, which was grant his wish and take him home.

Getting him home was not an easy task. We had hospice (which is a life saver please don’t miss read what I am writing- they help so many families, and I can’t thank them enough) but, hospice can only be there so much.  There are so many people that need them throughout the city they work in, they came in for around an hour a day, and the rest of the time it is up to caregiver’s.   I will spare you the details of all of the health care that my mother, Cassi and I had to do, but I would like to say that as a father myself,  I will do anything that I can never to have my son do the things for me that I had to do for my father.  Every day I close my eyes, and I can only remember the bad times while my father was sick.  I struggle to remember all of the great things he had done. Every once in a while when I get ready for work,  I hear my father’s voice saying “Make sure your shirt lines up with your zipper boy.” Or, “Slow down while you are shaving your missing to many spots.” and I smile.

My father survived for three weeks which was a lot longer than the two days they thought while he was in the hospital. During that time Cassi did a lot of reading for me about how to cope and deal with losing a loved one.   She also researched things we could do to help make things easier for my father.  The main thing she found was you always needed to make sure you said goodbyes, and let them know you loved them. This was hard for me and my father, because we were both non affectionate type people.  But, two days before he passed I took the opportunity to tell him how much I loved him and that I promised I would watch over the family. He looked at me and said “I love you to, now stop this.  I am having enough trouble right now without all this boo hooing.” I know this sounds harsh, but no sweeter of words could have been said by Jack Selby.

The last night was horrible.  We had to hold my father down, and it was like watching World War Three was going on in his body.  The only thing I really remember was telling Cassi to take Wes out of the house, because he shouldn’t see this.  Then, I remember sitting next to the bed and feeling peace go through the house.   I looked up, and my father, after a year of fighting, had passed.

My father passing away was not a total loss to me.  First, it gave me my wife, Cassi.  We got married on October 10^th, 2010 (or 10-10-10, so I can always remember it.) She took the experience, and channeled her love for my father to Relay for Life.  And, if I do say for myself, she is one of the biggest fighters for the cause I have ever met in my life.  Her passion in turn, has rubbed off on our now seven year old son. His name is Wes, but you might know him as “Cancer Man.”  Last year my son decided he didn’t want to just tag along with Cassi, and do Relay stuff.   He wanted to do things to make money for himself.  He came out of the end of the year as the top fundraiser in our area- at the age of seven.  I will tell you, he could be a high school quarter back and throw the winning touchdown in the championship game, and I wouldn’t be as proud of him as I am for his fight against cancer.

 I hope this encourages you all to donate to the great cause, and stand with us.  Whether it to me, or someone you know, a dollar can help save someone’s life.

A balloon release at our wedding reception to honor my dad.  Cassi and Wes wanted to send him a message to heaven.