momo.75
Registered User
I am not one to preach to other people about what they should or shouldn't do but as you guys are considered my friends I feel I need to share something that has happened to me.
As some of you know, I do the ads, collateral, outdoor boards, etc for Talladega Superspeedway. I have been working with them since '98. In 2000 a guy by the name of Ken Patterson came on board as the Director of Public Relations & Media Relations. He and I hit it off from the very first day. In 2002, I was laid off from the agency I was working at and started my own company. Six months later they released that agency and I became the primary creative source for their materials, due to Ken's persistance and confidence.
Back in the fall he started not feeling very well, and started going through various treatments. In January he was diagnosed with myelo dysplasia syndrome, which is where your bone marrow is not producing enough red blood cells. They tried several blod tranfusions and steroids, as well as some other stuff but none of them worked. At this time they decided he would need a bone marrow transplant. The first person they tested was his sister and she was a direct match, which was a miracle.
His last day at work was March 12th. He was to go through orientation the next week for what all would be taking place. On that Tuesday they admitted him and started a low dosage chemo therapy to get him ready for the high level chemo. He woudl go through 10 days of it and then wait a week for them to test certain levels of his blood. If everything was looking ok he would be able to go home for a week before the heavy treament. He had done great through that treatment and we were geting ready to get him home for a couple of days when he started running a fever. He had a 102-103 fever for about 5 or 6 days. He also was having trouble breathing and his heart was racing.
A week ago this past Thursday they took him to the ICU unit to treat him for low blood pressure. One in the ICU they discovered his liver was malfunctioning and releasing toxins into his bloodstream, his lungs had fluid around them and his heart had some ireversable damage. Since he had no immune system at this point I knew it did not look good, but was holding onto the hope he was going to make it through it. At 5:05 am my cell phone rang and I immediately knew it couldn't be good news, especially when I saw it was his wife's cell phone number. When I answered, my worst fears were confirmed, that he had passed away.
This guy was one of the greatest guys I have ever known. He would have done anything for anybody. He was my best friend. He was a great father to his 4 year old and would have been a great father to his 10 week old little boy. He would have been 39 next month.
This is not to make you feel down and not to get sympathy, but it is more just to show how you never know what can happen, so enjoy your life, family and friends because you never know what could happen at any moment.
As some of you know, I do the ads, collateral, outdoor boards, etc for Talladega Superspeedway. I have been working with them since '98. In 2000 a guy by the name of Ken Patterson came on board as the Director of Public Relations & Media Relations. He and I hit it off from the very first day. In 2002, I was laid off from the agency I was working at and started my own company. Six months later they released that agency and I became the primary creative source for their materials, due to Ken's persistance and confidence.
Back in the fall he started not feeling very well, and started going through various treatments. In January he was diagnosed with myelo dysplasia syndrome, which is where your bone marrow is not producing enough red blood cells. They tried several blod tranfusions and steroids, as well as some other stuff but none of them worked. At this time they decided he would need a bone marrow transplant. The first person they tested was his sister and she was a direct match, which was a miracle.
His last day at work was March 12th. He was to go through orientation the next week for what all would be taking place. On that Tuesday they admitted him and started a low dosage chemo therapy to get him ready for the high level chemo. He woudl go through 10 days of it and then wait a week for them to test certain levels of his blood. If everything was looking ok he would be able to go home for a week before the heavy treament. He had done great through that treatment and we were geting ready to get him home for a couple of days when he started running a fever. He had a 102-103 fever for about 5 or 6 days. He also was having trouble breathing and his heart was racing.
A week ago this past Thursday they took him to the ICU unit to treat him for low blood pressure. One in the ICU they discovered his liver was malfunctioning and releasing toxins into his bloodstream, his lungs had fluid around them and his heart had some ireversable damage. Since he had no immune system at this point I knew it did not look good, but was holding onto the hope he was going to make it through it. At 5:05 am my cell phone rang and I immediately knew it couldn't be good news, especially when I saw it was his wife's cell phone number. When I answered, my worst fears were confirmed, that he had passed away.
This guy was one of the greatest guys I have ever known. He would have done anything for anybody. He was my best friend. He was a great father to his 4 year old and would have been a great father to his 10 week old little boy. He would have been 39 next month.
This is not to make you feel down and not to get sympathy, but it is more just to show how you never know what can happen, so enjoy your life, family and friends because you never know what could happen at any moment.
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