Squamous Cell Carcinoma_Jim
Donation protected
Other than family and friends of mine I haven't really been able to express myself on what my father and myself had to endure for the past 8 months.
I deployed for Afghanistan in January of 2015 and a month later my dad back in the states was diagnosed with cancer, Squamous cell carcinoma to be exact. He had a growth on his neck that went from the size of a bb to the size of a baseball during the first two months. I can say that being 9,000+ miles away in Afghanistan that this was the hardest thing that I have had to go through. My father and I were always the closest and best of friends. He is retired military and I am 5 years into my career so we share a lot of the same traits as well. Everyone that knows me knows how close my dad and me are.
There have been many times out here that I have broken down over all of this and am lucky to have the co-workers here that I do. The day I found out he started to lose his hair from chemo, our whole section went down to the barber shop that day and all shaved their heads to show their support for him. I can't even describe what that meant to me and how it helped me cope with the situation being so far away. Many nights here in AFG were spent on facetime with my dad just to keep him in good spirits.
One day at work I was talking to my mom and she had told me that my dad could no longer nor eat and had to have a feeding tube put into his stomach. Before all of this my dad was a ripped 180lbs 52 year old man and all of this has really taken its toll, bringing him down to around 146lbs now. After this facetime was just spent looking at my dad but talking to my mom and it really got the best of me most nights crying before I was able to fall asleep. Around week 4-5 in his chemo he had no energy whatsoever left in him, and let me tell you prior to this he could never sit still and had to always be doing something. This then turned into him no longer being able to work due to his condition. At this time he is still on the feeding tube, his last chemo/radiation appointments were in the beginning of June and he is still unable to fully taste or fully eat orally.
During his treatment and his recovery this far he has enjoyed taking my 750hp R33 GT-R out for a drive a few times a week and my mom tells me that it makes him the happiest she's seen him throughout this whole ordeal. He's been looking to purchase a Skyline of his own but the job ordeal has greatly set him back in this endeavor. I will be returning to the states in the next 2 months or so and I want to do something big for him when i return so any and all help is greatly appreciated.
I deployed for Afghanistan in January of 2015 and a month later my dad back in the states was diagnosed with cancer, Squamous cell carcinoma to be exact. He had a growth on his neck that went from the size of a bb to the size of a baseball during the first two months. I can say that being 9,000+ miles away in Afghanistan that this was the hardest thing that I have had to go through. My father and I were always the closest and best of friends. He is retired military and I am 5 years into my career so we share a lot of the same traits as well. Everyone that knows me knows how close my dad and me are.
There have been many times out here that I have broken down over all of this and am lucky to have the co-workers here that I do. The day I found out he started to lose his hair from chemo, our whole section went down to the barber shop that day and all shaved their heads to show their support for him. I can't even describe what that meant to me and how it helped me cope with the situation being so far away. Many nights here in AFG were spent on facetime with my dad just to keep him in good spirits.
One day at work I was talking to my mom and she had told me that my dad could no longer nor eat and had to have a feeding tube put into his stomach. Before all of this my dad was a ripped 180lbs 52 year old man and all of this has really taken its toll, bringing him down to around 146lbs now. After this facetime was just spent looking at my dad but talking to my mom and it really got the best of me most nights crying before I was able to fall asleep. Around week 4-5 in his chemo he had no energy whatsoever left in him, and let me tell you prior to this he could never sit still and had to always be doing something. This then turned into him no longer being able to work due to his condition. At this time he is still on the feeding tube, his last chemo/radiation appointments were in the beginning of June and he is still unable to fully taste or fully eat orally.
During his treatment and his recovery this far he has enjoyed taking my 750hp R33 GT-R out for a drive a few times a week and my mom tells me that it makes him the happiest she's seen him throughout this whole ordeal. He's been looking to purchase a Skyline of his own but the job ordeal has greatly set him back in this endeavor. I will be returning to the states in the next 2 months or so and I want to do something big for him when i return so any and all help is greatly appreciated.
Organizer
Christopher Ziolkowski
Organizer
Virginia Beach, VA