Where do we begin?

Picture the best kid with the biggest heart you’ve ever known, multiply that by a trillion and you’ll have our daughter, Torri. As we look back at her “take charge” traits since age three, it’s quite possible that she was the parent and we were the kids, we just weren’t in on the secret. It was so easy being her parents, by the 8th grade she had mapped out her high school college-bound curriculum and we knew we were along for the ride of our lives. (And just to be clear for those of you who may have wondered over the years...no, Torri is not adopted, and no, she was not switched at birth.)

Now picture the guy you hope your princess is going to marry … and along comes John who far surpasses those expectations. We could not have hand-picked a more perfect guy for our little girl. We love John like a son and have trusted him from early in their relationship to take good care of our most precious songbird. We were really blessed with an amazing son-in-law.

We were blessed yet again with two awesome grandkids, who love the beach as much as we do!

Any parent can attest to that awful feeling you get when your child’s heart is breaking… and this past February, Torri’s heart was broken. That is when she and John learned he had Hodgkins Lymphoma…CANCER. There are no words that can even hint at the feeling of despair and helplessness you feel as a parent, knowing there is nothing you can say or do to ease their pain. There just is NOT a damn thing you can do about it.

You run through all the negative emotional feelings that rip your heart and your entire being apart. You finally come to grips with this terrible thing, this hated word that is whispered in conversations – cancer…CANCER. Then just when you get your feet under you, you are introduced to words like lymphoma, PET scan, chemo-port and other foreign terms that you may have heard OTHER people discussing but had no meaning in your 60-year life span. Now those words are all too familiar to those you hold closest. Do you let it destroy your life or fight back? FIGHT BACK! So, then you get MAD and start making a plan.

And boy oh boy what a plan John & Torri have! They have been working non-stop to raise money for their team, so they can Stick it 2 Cancer. As parents we think they both should be resting, but nooooooo, they have to raise money, they have to make people aware about LLS’s life-saving research so that others won’t have to go through what they have been through. Honestly, we don’t know how they do it, raising two great kids, running a successful business, campaigning so creatively for a cure.

We are so proud of John & Torri. They have kept such a positive attitude through this whole ordeal…and it ain’t over yet.

Please help with a donation if you can. We know times are tough right now, but we are trying very hard to make it easier on future families that have to go through this CANCER CRAP. If a donation is not something you can do right now, please visit the facebook page Stick It 2 Cancer and click “like”…then send it to your friends. OR, buy one of their cool t-shirts. OR, ask if your workplace would like to sponsor the team or match a donation. They’re getting great publicity! You just never know what can happen when we work together.

THANK YOU!

Neil & Cindy

Parrothead Approved

Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's evening walk and fundraising event. It is the nation's night to pay tribute and bring hope to thousands of people battling blood cancers and to commemorate loved ones lost.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) funds lifesaving research that has contributed to major advances in the treatment of blood cancers and treatments for other types of cancer, such as chemotherapy and stem cell transplants. New targeted therapies that kill cancer cells without harming normal tissue are providing drugs and procedures that are improving quality of life.

In fact, in 2009 alone, LLS researchers were conducting more than 90 clinical trials, a critical step in the development of new treatments and cures that will help patients live better, longer lives.