Kevin

He didn't make it through the night. My uncle got a call at six this morning (an hour ago) telling him this.My brother had answered and they thought he was my uncle. They told him what happened but it didn't sink in until after he passed the phone on. I keep crying in spurts and then I try to think about what I can do to help. Uncle David left for town as soon as he got off the phone. He has the only vehicle. I am feeling trapped right now. I feel like I should be helping with something right now, but I have no clue as to what I can do. I'm frustrated and lost right now.

We had pretty much everyday planned. We had planeed to go be with him all morning and then some. I called Cam and my parents to let them know. I have no idea what's going on (which is to be expected) for tomorrow or today anymore. I just want to know what to do!! I've never been in the situation to be at someone's house after their son or any family dies. Now I find myself just sitting here waiting for the next phone call. I just keep praying for strength but I'm not sure how much I have left. I know there'll be more time for me to cry later, but for now I just need to be strong for them. Today is also the day that they buried Kevin's nephew (my cousin Darren's son). It should be pouring rain right now.

Going On A Trip

It's official!! I'm going to BC!!! What a pain in the butt though. It took me over eight hours to finally get flight and bus booked that worked out. We are now leaving at 6:20am tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, a day earier than planned. Turns out that this is the only flight available through air miles until next week. My brother had to take an extra day off of work, but it'll be nice to be out there a day earlier since we're leaving a day early in order to catch the bus.

We are also hoping to go see Kevin in the hospital, but that'll depend on how he's feeling since he starts chemo tomorrow. I guess he was having a really bad day yesterday. Jamie went to go visit him and I guess he barely said two words. So hopefully he's ready for this and knows that his family is there for him.

Falling Into Place

So this last week my brother and I have been scrambling to find a way to be able to attend the fundraiser for Kevin this weekend. So far we managed to talk my Dad into letting us use his airmiles for us to fly out for the weekend. Justin's boss also changed his schedule for him to have the time off. Everything was falling into place so quickly for us. Until today.

I had phoned airmiles this morning to book our flights and found out that we can't get a flight back home until late next week at the earliest. Crap. So then we started scrambling to see how else we could get home. We could take the train from Vancouver home for $210, but then we still have to take the ferry and a cab to get to the train staion which is even more money. Then we couldtake the bus. That'll be a day and a half travel and means leaving a day earlier. The price I was told was again $210. So I ended up looking on their web site and found that there was a companion rate. With this when you purchase an adult ticket you can purchase a second one for only $20!! $190 savings!! I'll take it!! But now I just have to wait and talk to my Dad since he wants us to put everything on his card. But he won't be home for another hour, which means I have to wait another hour before we can actually book anything!! I'm finding that I don't have as much patience as I once thought I had.

Next I had to find a car rental place in Duncan, BC where my family is. I was scared to find out how much it would cost to rent a car. So I found a phone number for Budget out there and found out that there is a special for people that rent the car for three days over a weekend which is only $20 a day!! I was shocked. I thought it would be a lot more than that. Also with having airmiles you get a discount on top of that. So now I'm excited!! I just need to talk to my brother and Dad to get everything confirmed and then booked!!

I'm So Happy!!!

Today was a good day. Incase you didn't notice it when you came in, my new masthead is done!!! Yay!! Unfortunately I can't take the credit for it. My wonderful sister in law, Laura, did it for me!! It turned out much better than I could have imagined!! It was well worth the wait.

Now the story behind my picture. When I was first looking for a new pic for my masthead I came across this site. I had really liked his work and had sent him an e-mail asking permission to use it. He was glad to let me and actually made the photo without the copywrite thing on it and cropped it to a better size for Laura. He was very kind about it all and I really appreciate it.

Drained.

I really wanted to come back and start blogging again on a happy feel good note, but I just can't do that right now. I just heard some news about my cousin that has shocked me so bad that I'm having trouble getting past the shock of it.

My cousin Kevin has recently been diagnosed with cancer. My family has only heard bits and pieces until yesterday, but here's the story. Back in September he was diagnosed with Chrones disease and skin cancer. He had undergone a couple of surgeries (one removing a mole on his face and the other removing two feet of intestine). Since having the mole removed the cancer has spread. It is in the back of his neck, ribs, spine, liver, pelvis, shoulder blade and can now feel it in his legs. As of three days ago he can no longer walk. He's been doing radiation and starts chemo on the 23rd. He's 32 years old.

I have been praying and crying so much lately that I am drained. My Grandma is now in a bit of a remission (her cancer is currently not spreading which we are all very thankful for) and th the news of this. Kevin is on my Mom's side and neither of his parents families have had a history of cancer.

My cousin Jamie's fiance (Kevin's brother) is putting on a big fundraiser at her work to help them out with the financial part. I just feel very blessed that we have a family that's willing to do this type of thing for him. It really makes you appreciate the family you have a lot more.