The First Post - A Letter to Family and Friends

Below is the letter that we sent to family and friends on December 28th updating everyone on the status of Derek's health.


Dear Family and Friends,

Happy almost New Year. As we close out 2015, I wish I was writing to share news of a miraculous fourth pregnancy or a winning Lotto ticket, but I am afraid that this news is a little less uplifting. Derek has been experiencing belly pain since around his birthday in mid-November.

On December 19, Derek landed in the emergency room with extreme abdominal pain. A CT scan revealed a spot on the tail of his pancreas, and an MRI later confirmed a lesion in the same location. Derek underwent an endoscopic ultrasound and biopsy on Thursday morning, which showed a mass measuring close to one inch by one inch in size. Roughly 12 hours later, Derek began experiencing extreme pain, which sent him back to the hospital where he was admitted for pain management of pancreatitis. On Saturday afternoon, Derek was sent home to rest and await the pathology report. This morning, we received word that the pathology report came back as inconclusive. We were informed that the biopsy showed some malignant cells, but the pathologist did not gather enough information to determine exactly what those cells are. At this time, we do not have a diagnosis or any additional information.

Tomorrow, Derek, my dad, and I will go down to the University of Chicago to meet with an oncologist to learn about next steps. I vowed to Derek that I would use my stellar communication skills to keep our family and friends informed every step of the way.

Thank you for every email, voicemail, and text message sent to us over the past week. Phone calls are a little more difficult for us to take right now, but we cannot thank you all enough for the love and support you have shown our family.

Special thanks to my dad, my brother, Jeff, my Uncle Neal and our dear friends Bill and Matt, for going above and beyond in getting in touch with the very best doctors in this field.

My brother, Jeff, continues to remind us, "You have every reason to be hopeful," and so we ask that you share in our hope as we move forward on this journey together.

With so much love and gratitude,

Marcie and Derek