Update
Donation protected
Hello everyone:
After being approached from a few people asking about a GoFundMe I decided it's time to listen and go ahead and create one.
My name is Cody Ricks. I began my apprenticeship with Northwest Line JATC in August 2020. Once I turned hot, I went to my local utility to be with family and keep the lights on at home.
In September 2022, I was diagnosed with late-stage testicular cancer. Initially, I was scheduled for 12 weeks of chemotherapy in Hood River, Oregon with a good prognosis.
We began the long battle and completed chemo in January. Soon, we found out that the chemo wasn't enough, and I ended up needing to have a major surgery to remove what was left of my tumor. I had this surgery performed at Indiana University which is a major center for testicular cancer.
After surgery, I was cleared of cancer. Pathology and blood work all came back clean. My family thought the worst was behind us, and we were on our way to healing. Then, on May 22, 2023, we learned that my cancer had returned, but doctors weren't sure where it was coming from. So, I went back to Indiana University for emergency chemotherapy to stop the spread. My doctor, Dr. Einhorn, recommended one round of treatment followed by two rounds of high dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplant in Indiana to cure myself of the disease. My world was rocked. In such a short time the cancer had returned.
On top of that, the thought of completing the stem cell transplant in Indiana away from home and without the support of my family made me nervous.
Thankfully, through lots of prayer, I was able to schedule the high dose chemo locally at OHSU.
That's where I'm at now. I've already completed one round of stem cell transplant and, after spending 18 days in the hospital, I was released for 5 days to rest at home. Now, I'm back in to complete the second round of transplant.
My wife Yasmin has been driving up and down the Gorge from our home in The Dalles almost every day to be with me in the hospital. She's been incredible. Spreading herself thin to take care of me and our two-year-old son, Jordan. Her drive amazes me.
As you can imagine, life keeps coming. So do the medical expenses as well as others. Anything helps and we so appreciate the community that's surrounding us in getting through this. Family is everything and has shown to be so crucial during this time.
If you can't donate, no worries. Prayers and good thoughts are greatly appreciated.
When it comes down to it, every day is a battle worth fighting to continue to be here for my wife and son. Chemotherapy is rough but the thought of not being here is worse.
UPDATE:
As of last night, I went on IV nutrition to get through the mouth sore stage. It's expected that with Anti biotic and the return of my white blood cells that the mouth sores will heal very quickly.
With the dose of chemo I was given mouth sores are going to happen. So, in reality, I'm Par for the course.
Physical pain is pretty minimum. Thankfull for that, because having cancer can be quite painful.
My cancer responds well to chemo, and after the 2 rounds, my back feels like a million bucks.
This is the bottom that I crawl out of a changed man, with new stem cells. And God willing cancer free cells. I'm almost there. I love you! Thanks for rooting for us. Stay tuned and I'll keep you posted. We are hoping to get out by Wednesday but thinking after the kind of hiccups we had yesterday that I'll possibly be looking at Thursday/Friday. Just depends on what my body does.
Organizer
Cody Ricks
Organizer
The Dalles, OR