Quick Update

This week has been very bittersweet for us. Wednesday was the start of another treatment for Tim but it was also the 2 year anniversary of his original diagnosis. We're incredibly grateful that Tim is still here fighting and doing as well as he is although I'll be the first to admit that we both really wish the cancer was gone already.

We did find out that a friend Tim made through chemo passed away last night. Its so hard to hear when someone loses the fight but the fact that she was so young and had 3 kids makes the news even harder to stomach.

We also found out that one of Tim's numbers jumped a bit (and not in a good way). Its not enough for us to worry about yet but enough for us to keep a pretty close eye on. For our part it means we will be getting strict about lowering our sugar, meat & dairy intake and upping the exercise. We tend to get slack every so often so we might as well get back into everything. Tim is even starting to learn to like mushrooms due to our lifestyle changes! :)

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying this nice weather we've had lately!

Beginning of a New Year

I feel like I am starting every new blog post with the sentence: "I am sorry for not updating this in a long time", but it is true. Things have been pretty quiet around the Bright household here recently. We were here in Greenville for Christmas and then went to San Francisco with Jenny's family on Christmas day and got back on New Years day at 2:00 am. It was my first trip to San Fran and it was an amazing place to visit. I have to say that I am now obsessed with wine more than I have ever been. We layed low on New Years day trying to recover from the early morning arrival back in town and to rest up for the big Carolina win and even BIGGER Clemson loss. (Sorry I had to put that jab in there)

Since we went to San Fran at that time I was able to have a 2 week break in treatment. The longest break since July 4th this past year. We are hoping that my numbers can stay where they are to give me more breaks like this in the future.


We've also been getting some awesome comments & I got to read some great letters from the class of a friend of ours. She's a middle school teacher and is using the blog as an example of overcoming adversity so some of her kids have visited. Well the first day we got the best comment ever, Jenny called me to tell me about it but was laughing too hard at first. The comment said: "You're life is so sad :(" we both got a great laugh out of that one but its been really cool to read some of their essays. They are all really thoughtful & I'm glad to know that my story is helping to inspire some of them.

I also wanted to let everyone know that we are in the process of putting together another golf tournament for this year. We have a date in mind but nothing is set in stone yet, so stay tuned and for all of the information. BrightLife is in a good place right now and this year we have decided to have all of the money raised at the golf tournament go towards a study being done by my Oncologist Dr. Jeff Edenfield to help find a cure for Colon Cancer. We're really excited to be able to get to do this & hope everyone has just as much fun as they did last year. If anyone has any suggestions about things we can improve on from last year or ideas of things we can put into this year or wants to help out with everything just let us know.

Overdue Thanks

It may be a few days after Thanksgiving but today is still a pretty big day for us as it has now officially been 365 days since Tim was rediagnosed & our world was sent spinning yet again. This time it seemed like the spinning was even more out of control than the first and we were feeling pretty lost for awhile. Today, though, we get to celebrate that Tim is still here, still strong & still fighting. It has not been an easy year for us in a multitude of ways but we've managed to make it through thanks to so many wonderful people.

I realized this past week that although we've mentioned some of incredible acts of kindness we've seen over the past year, I don't think we've really stepped back to thank everyone as we should. There have been so many people that have helped in so many different ways, some without even realizing just how much their actions meant to us. From both of our companies & the employees of each stepping out way above & beyond anything we could've imagined to our friends, family & neighbors who have made sure we are well cared for in every imaginable way to the strangers who have provided random acts of kindness through a thoughtful word or gesture and finally all of the caregivers who have become like a second family to us over these past 2 years.

There really are no words to tell you all how much we appreciate everything, I guess that's why its taken us so long to even try, we've been searching for the words to let you know how much it all means & just how blown away we've been but there really are none that do any justice. So please just know that you have changed us & our lives for the better.

We still have an incredibly long way to go, and we know there will be lots of ups & downs ahead but please know just how incredibly grateful we are each day to know how strong of a support system we have behind us.

Number 32

Let me first start this blog off by saying sorry that I havent written anything in a while. Things have been pretty quiet around my household so there really hasnt been much to talk about. But I am here currently at the Cancer Center getting a treatment and got a bit of good news here today so I thought that I would pass it along. My CEA has been dropping over the past 6 - 7 treatments and we found out today that it has gone from 4 to 3.4. Which means that I am almost normal again. We still have a ways to go but it was nice to hear such a big drop when I got here today.

This past weekend Steven got invited to play Sage Valley on Saturday and was able to take a guest with him. I was the lucky guest that got to go. This was my second trip down there and it was just as much fun as the first. It is such a great golf course and it is really fun to play with a caddy. I didnt put the ball very well but it was still a great trip. We stayed overnight Saturday after the golf in one of the cottages that they have on site and it was really nice. We were able to watch Carolina lose and then watch the Bama vs LSU game also. We got to meet some great people and had a lot of fun.

I am hopefully going to finish this treatment with ease and then will be able to head down to Columbia to watch USC vs Florida on Saturday. I hope that everyone has a great week.

Tim

New Addition

Before I even start to talk about myself and my treatments this past week I want to congratulate my brother and Haley for the newest Bright that was brought into this world. Mr. Harlan Thomas Bright was born two Saturdays ago and I might be bias but he extremely cute and Miss Lillian is very sweet to him.

Now on to me, treatment two weeks ago was pretty easy but I still felt pretty run down on Friday night.  Over the past couple of treatments I have found that I am now able to eat toast those days.  This makes the treatments much more manageable for me, I think that it is the fact that I am not letting my stomach get empty and as much as it pains me to say this, Jenny was right. This week's treatment has started out well as I received good news today when I found out that my CEA has dropped from 7.1 to 4.9.  I am hoping to get it back down below the 3's and that if I do Dr. Edenfield will give me a little bit of extra time between treatments.

We were also told that at some point I'll need to have a lung biopsy performed which is pretty scary because that will require a two night stay in the hospital and a chest-tube. It's actually a pretty standard procedure, it just makes me a little nervous because of everything involved with it. Luckily that is still awhile away.

This past weekend Jenny and I went down to Columbia for the USC vs. Vandy football game. I went down early in the morning to play golf with a family friend, Brad at Columbia Country Club in their Saturday dog-fight. We did not win but had a really good time playing. After the golf was over I went back to the hotel got a quick shower and headed right out the door for the football game. Mom and Dad's good friend Rusty got us a parking pass with him over at Carolina Walk and had a great time hanging out there with them. We then went and saw Matt and Charlotte over at Charlotte's parents condo right there at the stadium. It was good to get back down to Columbia for a game (even though we didnt play well).

Other than what is listed above we've been pretty boring, just getting good use out of the DVR Jenny's Dad made for us and doing the work thing. Jenny has come up with what she is calling a "brilliant" plan for our Christmas cards so I'm sure that will involve me at some point, I never know what she will think of next.

I hope that everyone has a good rest of the week.

Number.....Too Many To Count

I have lost track now of how many treatments I have gone through. (HaHa) This past week's treatment was much easier than the past 2 that I have been through. I still haven't found the trick as to why some are easier than others. The weekend before this past treatment I went with Steven to Crossville, TN. to play in a little golf tournament with some of his friends from Vandy. We were on Team Green and got smoked by Team Red. It was a lot of fun and I met some really cool guys.

Finally college football season has started again. Carolina didnt look too hot in the 1st quarter, and I actually remember telling Jenny that if Carolina lost that I wouldn't go or watch any more Carolina games the rest of the year. (That wouldnt have lasted too long) Thankfully they turned things around and played decently the rest of the game. Michael came over for the 2nd quarter and then we ended up at he and Megan's house for the 2nd half.

Sunday night we went over to Michael and Megan's house for dinner along with Jason and Jessica Palmer. Chef Michael made his lamb burgers again and they were just as good as the first time that he made them. Jason and Jessica brought their cute daughter Emery over to play with Michael & Megan's son Eli and it was a lot of fun to watch those two play together. (Kids are still a ways off for this guy)

On Monday we went over to Jenny's grandma's house with her family and some of her grandma's friends for lunch. She had Bucky's BBQ catered in for lunch and it hit the spot. Jenny then went with her cousin Jessica shopping the rest of the afternoon and I just laid around the house for a bit before I went over to my parents for our Fantasy Football draft. I picked up Cutler and he is going to lead "The Boyband Stalkers" to the promised land this year.

I have my colonoscopy (or technically sigmoidoscopy or something like that) tomorrow morning. Hope everyone else has started to sign up for their check-ups.

I hope that everyone had a great Labor Day and great rest of the week.

Tim

Greenville Victim

Some of you may have heard of the man who was beaten in downtown Greenville this past week and is now in a coma. If not, here is a link to the story so you can get a little more background on his situation: http://www.wyff4.com/news/28949066/detail.html.

Today we received an email from one of our Sunday school teachers telling us of the amazing background of the victim. He really is inspiring & thought more people may want to know his story, so here it is!

August 23, 2011

RE:  Jorge Jimenez-Flores

Dear Friends of Bridges to a Brighter Future:

We are writing to make you aware of a horrible attack on an amazing young man and asking for your support to assist his special family.  Jorge Jimenez-Flores was the victim of an unprovoked attack in downtown Greenville on early Sunday morning, August 21.  He was hit in the head and is currently in the ICU at Greenville Memorial.  He has sustained injuries to the front and back of his head.   Today he had surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain from swelling and bleeding.  They removed a portion of his skull to allow his brain to expand.  The police are currently working to find the attacker.  They have recently released video to the media to try to find the attacker.

Jorge Jimenez-Flores is the epitome of a young man living the American Dream.  He came to America in middle school and worked on a peach farm for a couple of years before entering school.  He and his family are here legally.  He entered in ninth grade knowing very little English.  He was accepted into the Bridges to a Brighter Future program at Furman University during his ninth grade year and began attending Blue Ridge High School his sophomore year.  He was a beloved student at Bridges to a Brighter Future and Blue Ridge High School.  He flourished in the Bridges program, being elected to the student leadership team and receiving many academic awards.  Many of us have never known a student more hard working than Jorge.  He worked full-time (40 hours per week) all through high school to support his family.  In addition, he spent several summers in high school and college going to Nicaragua on mission trips with his high school Spanish Teacher.  Jorge is a beloved part of the mission team and always connected with the Nicaraguan children.

It was a very special day and especially meaningful when we surprised Jorge at Blue Ridge High to present him his admission letter to Furman University and the news that he would also be given a full financial aid package (see attached picture)!  Jorge's college dreams were coming true!  He was the first in his family to graduate from high school and enroll in college!  Jorge had a very successful four years at Furman.  He flourished and grew into a confident young man.  It wasn't always easy, he had to work very hard as English was his second language and he continued to work through college to support his family.  During his Junior and Senior years, he started an internship with ACCH, Alliance for Collaboration with the Hispanic Community, an organization whose mission is to enrich the quality of life in Greenville by coordinating initiatives for our Hispanic community.   Jorge also studied abroad in Chile his last semester of college, getting the experience of a lifetime.

As result of his hard work and determination, Jorge graduated from Furman in May!  This was a very proud day for his mother, father, and siblings.  Perhaps one of Jorge's greatest accomplishments has been being a positive role model in his family.  His younger sister, Maria is now a sophomore at Clemson, having a very successful freshman year.  Because of Jorge's trailblazing, Maria is succeeding in college!

Currently, Jorge continues to volunteer with ACCH and work in the community to enhance the lives and opportunities for Hispanic people while looking for full-time opportunities.  He was featured in a Greenville News article in June about successful immigrants.

Those of us close to Jorge were shocked to hear of the news of the attack.  In the words of an Academic Dean at Furman, “I feel angry and deeply sad that something like this would happen to such a wonderful human being.”  Jorge is indeed one of the most exceptional human beings to walk this earth.

We say all of this to request your support.  Jorge does not have health insurance.  In addition, he was the sole source of income for his family.  His father suffers from glaucoma and is not able to work.  Jorge has always selflessly assisted his family.  

We are currently working with various State and private agencies to manage what are sure to be very high medical bills.  We are requesting your support to assist his family with living expenses. We have set up a fund through Furman University’s Chaplains Office to accept donations for his family.  The donations are not tax-deductible since they will in turn be given to the family.  Checks must be made to Furman University and in the memo:  Jorge Jimenez

Please send contributions to:

Furman University

Chaplains Office

C/O Susan Bennett

3300 Poinsett Highway

Greenville, SC  29613

Or drop them off at the Chaplain's Office (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., M-F), located in the basement of the Furman Chapel on the left side of the Chapel if you are facing it.

Make checks payable to:  Furman University

Memo:  Jorge Jimenez

In addition to contributions, we ask for your prayers and positive thoughts.  We expect Jorge to make a full recovery.  At this time, what he needs most is for all of us to pray for his healing.

Jorge has worked hard for his family, I hope you will join us as we all come together and work selflessly for him, he deserves it!  

With a grateful and humble heart,

Tobi Swartz

Tobi K. Swartz

Director

Bridges to a Brighter Future

Furman University

Office:  864.294.3135

Cell:  864.313.6941

Visit our website at:  http://www.furman.edu/bridges

Visit our blog at:  http://furmanbridges.blogspot.com

Visit our YouTube page at:  http://www.youtube.com/user/FurmanBridgestoaBF

Changing the world, one young person at a time.