Ingram Strong

In February of this year my dad noticed a pain in his throat. He went to countless doctors only to be told that nothing was wrong with him. This continued for 5 months until July when he was diagnosed with stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma. Treatment started immediately and then abruptly stopped right after his first chemo treatment which landed him a week in ICU. He was allergic to the chemo! They placed a trachea in his throat and he was switched to a different chemo. He went through 32 rounds of radiation and 8 chemo treatments and barely made it. We were very optimistic about his results because his doctors were adamant about having a 99% success rate with this type of cancer. But I guess he was the 1%. When his scans came back we were told that his tumor had in fact grown and that there was nothing more they could do for him so they referred him to UAB. He went to UAB and was told that he had to make a choice between having surgery to have the tumor removed or he needed to plan for death. Even though, surgery would involve removing his tongue and his voice box as well as taking his ability to eat and speak he still chose surgery. Because why wouldn't he? He has a wife and two young boys that needed him. That's the price he was willing to pay to be cancer free! Not to mention, he just turned 49. He is young and has a lot more life to live! Once again, we were optimistic about surgery and then again it was like the wind was knocked out of us when the surgeon came out and told us that he was unable to remove all of the cancer. This nasty tumor had wrapped itself around the major arteries in my sweet daddy's throat.
After a grueling 12 hour surgery my dad woke up only to be told that he still had cancer. Devastating. At that point he wanted more than anything to be brought home to a hospital in pensacola which wasn't possible right before the christmas holiday. He was on a breathing machine and with everything else medically he had going on there just wasn't a hospital that could take him. He had a couple good days and then things took a turn for the worse. My daddy took his last breath on Christmas eve around 5 o'clock. His wife is now forced to pick up all the wreckage that is left in cancers wake and the left over medical bills are almost unthinkable. My dad also leaves two young boys who are 9 and 7 years old. Anything that you can give to help with expenses is greatly appreciated and if you can't give, please just share. We hope that your family has had a wonderful Christmas. God bless.

Update: From my boyfriend: Please share. My extended family has lost a very dear person and way too soon. I will donate 10 percent ( up to 2000$ ) of what is raised to the Jimmy V foundation. With my own money not the money that is donated. Any little bit helps and if you aren't able to donate I ask you to please share with your friends and family. God bless and happy new years.