Weinlick Unexpected Inconveniences

It's Sunday, April 29, and Dave has moved into hospice. He is, as they say in the medical field, declining fast and we are all getting ready to say goodbye. Thank you everyone who has sent love, support and thoughts our way. At this point, Dave is not awake long enough to take visitors, but he would love your messages of support.

Thanks for letting us know Dave has touched your life in some way. There is a ton to figure out after (Bethy's words, not mine...) Dave "graduates" from hospice, but for now know that your love has made all of this easier and Dave loves you too.

The rest of this is the previous post, for those of you new to the worlds most amazing love story:

OK. So we have an update. I wish it was better news, but here's the edit by Fletch and Bethy. Those darn facts...

We’re heartbroken to share that our friend David Weinlick has been diagnosed with cancer. It appears to have started in his colon, and metastasized and spread to the liver, and the whole general area around his
abdomen. The doctor doesn’t think it took long to spread this much - it’s nothing that a regular screening or some preventative tactic would have caught. It’s just this awful thing that sometimes happens to human bodies that - unbelievably, unfairly - is happening to Dave.

Untreated, we’d be measuring his remaining time in months. With chemo, we hope to have three or four years left, and we hope that for a couple of those, he’ll be healthy enough to enjoy them and have a few new adventures.

To be clear: there’s not a recovery scenario in his prognosis. We’re talking about stopping the cancer from spreading, and extending Dave’s time with us. That’s the deal, and it’s a lousy deal.

When Dave came out of the meeting where he learned this news, he shrugged and said “We’ll make the best of it.” It’s very much Dave’s style to find optimism even in a moment like that. Dave’s always been someone who cares a lot about his family and friends, and the extended communities of which he’s been a part.

Even with relatively good health insurance, Dave, his wife Bethy, and their four children are going to face some real hardships in the coming months. We don’t want finances to add pressure to their decisions about his treatment or about how they spend their time together.

Dave’s given a lot of himself, sharing his time and energy and relentless optimism, and it’s time for us to give back. Please contribute what you can to ease the Weinlick family’s burden during this difficult time.