Todd Kamps Memorial
https://www.facebook.com/todd.kamps.7
As many of you know by now, this world lost an amazing man on May 21st. Todd was self employed and the sole provider for the family. Juli’s full time job was taking care of her daughter and Todd during his cancer fight.
Your help will be much appreciated in this
difficult time of transition.
Written by Juli
Yesterday, Thursday the 21st of May at 12:15 pm, I lost the true love of my life and best friend Todd Von Kamps to cancer. Todd was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma in his right tonsil the summer of 2015, just months after we began dating. After treatment he was cancer free until May of 2019 where it resurfaced as a tumor at the base of his tongue. In June of 2019 we traveled to the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City where he had radical surgery to remove the tumor, 40 lymph nodes in his neck and reconstruct the base of his tongue using muscle, tissue and arteries from his forearm. He spent months doing physical therapy to regain his speech and ability to swallow though he was never able to really eat solid foods after that. Todd was feeling great, back to work at the business he worked so hard to build, Todd Kamps Marketing, where he represented several large furniture manufacturers selling all over Oregon and Western Washington. He absolutely loved the furniture business and owned several furniture stores before he sold them to start his Rep firm. In late January of 2020 he began having severe pain again in his throat, and although we (me especially)tried to tell ourselves that it was something else, he knew it was f-ing cancer once again. A biopsy confirmed this but it also left him with a tracheostomy, which devastated him. After 2 previous rounds of radiation (72 treatments) there was so much damage and scar tissue in the back of his throat the surgeon couldn’t get enough of an airway to properly intubate for the biopsy, hence the need for a tracheostomy. There wasn’t a ton of treatment options and the type of tumor and it’s location caused him excruciating, nonstop pain which we were never able to get ahold of. We landed on Immunotherapy which is a drug therapy that helps your body’s own immune system detect and attack the cancer. it was only a few days ago that he told me he really felt it was working and he’d turned a corner. His passing was sudden, completely unexpected and he quietly slipped away. I’m sharing this entire story because I want everyone to know what a brave warrior my husband was and through all the pain he worked his ass off to beat this cancer. He never once spoke about dying or giving up.
Todd was the kind of person that everyone wanted to be around, they were just drawn to him. So was I. It’s impossible for me to explain how much I loved him. He was absolutely selfless and would much rather give than receive. He treated me like a queen and I never had to wonder how he felt about me. He wore his heart on his sleeve and he SHOWED me every single day how much he loved me. All the little things mean so much right now. I could go on and on but anyone who’s ever met Todd knows what I’m talking about.
Although we never gave up on beating the cancer we did have conversations regarding his final wishes, especially during this pandemic. There will be no funeral. I will be planning a celebration of life at a date yet to be determined.
This is the first post I’ve made regarding Todd’s death, but after his daughter Brittney Byrne and son ParkerJames Kamps posted tributes to their dad yesterday I have been flooded with friends and family offering their sympathy and support. You all can’t imagine how much that means to me. Having said that, please don’t be hurt if I don’t immediately respond. I’m overwhelmed, in shock and just trying to hold it all together.
Baby, your suffering is over now. Till we meet again, I love you with all my heart and soul.