Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Three simple words...

Family and Friends,
"I love you."  Three words most of us want to hear.  Three most of us least want to hear?  "You have cancer."

On October 1, 2009, at Huntsman Cancer Institute I heard those latter three words.  Lisa and I knew that cancer would be the diagnosis, we just didn’t know what kind of cancer it would be.  And for me, more than what kind it was, I wanted to know "what do we do next?"  

I went into fighter mode- “ok, let’s hear the plan on how we’re going to beat this.”  

Then I went into Dad mode- “I need to beat this thing because I want to be there when my daughters get married.  I want to dance with them at their weddings.”  Cancer survivors will tell you that immediately upon receiving the cancer diagnosis, their outlook on life changes.  Things that mattered before don’t matter at all.  Things that didn’t matter suddenly begin to matter.  My family, which was always the most important thing to me, became much more important- and I wanted to maximize my time with them because I wasn’t sure how much time I would have left.

The good news- in May of last year my two oldest daughters were married, and I danced with both of them (we won't talk about the tears.  Oh so many tears!).  But, I have three daughters, and my youngest just started her senior year at Layton High School today, so we have many more years before she gets married (right, Kodi!?!?)

For 8 years we've lived with cancer.  We’ve battled.  We've prayed. We've given thanks. We've learned and grown. My life has been preserved and extended, and we've thanked the Lord over and over during this time.

Since my diagnosis, the amazing staff at Huntsman Cancer Hospital have taken care of me.  I’m convinced they and their treatment are the reason for my life being extended.  And I’m counting on them to continue to help me battle- and to help extend my life.  Not just so I can dance with Kodi at her wedding, but so I can be there to see my grandchildren be born, and hopefully to see them married also.

Why am I telling you this?  I COULD USE YOUR HELP.  Actually, to be honest I could really use your money.  And your generosity.

Each year I fundraise for Huntsman Hometown Heroes in conjunction with the most epic cycling race on my annual calendar-  the 206-mile LOTOJA Classic from Logan, UT to Jackson Hole, WY.  I'll be on the road with over 1,000 racers, but also with 74 other Hometown Heroes who have signed up to raise funds for Huntsman Cancer Foundation.  Last year the generosity of my friends and family allowed me to raise nearly $8K.  I’d love to top that this year, but my goal is to simply raise $5K.

Each year for the last 10 years I’ve been blessed to raise funds for Huntsman Cancer Foundation.  My family is my life, cycling is my passion, and raising funds to battle cancer has become a driving factor for me in my life.  So, I still have cancer.  It's incurable, and pretty much untreatable (at least for now).  

If you feel you can donate any amount (that's up to you), you can click the link below and go directly to my LOTOJA Hometown Heroes donation page.  You can donate via credit card right on the page.  Or, if you'd like to donate via check or cash, you can send them to me and I'll get them to Huntsman.  My home address is:

1597 E. Ridge Rd.
Layton, UT 84040

Please click here if you'd like to donate.

A HUGE THANK YOU to those of you who’ve donated in the past.  A HUGE THANK YOU to those who feel they can donate this year.

In closing, let me thank you for reading to this point.  Even if you choose not to donate, or can't at this time, know how much I appreciate your love, support, and interest.

I thank you all in advance for anything you feel you can do. I’ll continue to post updates of fundraising progress on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/toddjhandy), my blog (http://www.toddhandy.blogspot.com/), and via Twitter (http://twitter.com/toddhandy).

Thank you for your relationship with me, and for your love and support!
Much love,

- T

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