Grandpa Ben. In loving memory...

On the Loser Newsfront

Friday, September 25, Day 337, week 48, month 11 since diagnosis-

Hello loved ones. News of note to pass on:

• Benjamin Louis Dickison, Michelle's wonderful father, passed away quietly on Friday. The viewing will be Monday evening and the funeral Tuesday mid-morning. Ben fought a terrible battle with multiple potentially deadly diseases (Congestive Heart Failure, Flesh Eating Bacteria, Skin and Prostate cancer) over the past eleven years, but he has finally conquered all and finished the race. Heavenly Father has welcomed him home. His last words to me were "I'll see you in heaven!" I look forward to a poignant reunion with Father Ben in the future.


• I have digressed to a liquid diet. Almost every time I attempt to eat solids they come back up in a very fierce way. This indicates that my intestines are basically all tumor-ridden and that the cancer has progressed extensively in my digestive tract. I have tried just chewing, tasting, then spitting out . . . it's not very satisfying! I am sure glad, in retrospect, that Michelle had me make a favorite food list and then made sure I got to have each and every one of the menu items. I miss those days of feasting on delicious recipes and many old familiar favorite flavors.


• Currently I am dealing with pain, nausea, lack of energy, and an overall blahness. The pictures don't lie- my weight has fallen to 145 pounds. The palliative care doc has created a new medication regimen to address my issues, and though these are hard things to deal with, they sure could be much worse. (As a note, in the last few days, dad has been experiencing a large amount of pain, and is currently on heavy medication and thus somewhat incoherent).


• We are facing the challenges as best we can. I am sleeping more, but still am trying to get out and see and do. Michelle and I went on a Mountain Trike Ride up the Alpine Loop to view the amazing fall colors. Thanks to Stephen Story (AGAIN!) for the amazing Trike he has parked at our house the past three weeks!


• I am having fun, still! Life is great! I love, I love hugs, I love kisses, I love all my families, I LOVE! Thank you for your love and support!

- Richard

P.S. Ben Dickison's obituary is located on the right side of the blog...

September 2009

The month of September has been full of several memorable experiences for our family. Over Labor Day weekend, we had our annual Ricks College Family Reunion in Wallsburg at the Story's Ranch. As seen in the pictures, running the river is always a big hit with the group. Dad had a great time taking Isaac on gator rides.
Last weekend, we had a family reunion with the Loser side of the family again at the Story's Ranch. They have been so generous in allowing us to use it. Thank you Steve and Jan! Grandpa, Cindy, and Bill & Debbie traveled from California to be here with us. We were also joined by Catherine & Jared Wood and DeeDee & Kerry Evans and their families. Friday morning several of us went fishing with Karl to Strawberry Reservoir. Dad allowed Isaac to help drive the boat and he was thrilled! Saturday morning most of the group took a four-wheeler ride up the mountain and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The rest of the weekend was full of more gator rides, games, and visiting.

We've been grateful Dad has had the energy to do so many things recently despite the fact that the cancer is indeed progressing. A medical update will follow soon.

Washington Lake, Uinta National Forest

We had the fun opportunity to go to Washington Lake in the Uinta Mountains this past weekend. It has been a favorite family camping spot for the last 12 years or so. We've been going there since before the campground was even there!

We had fantastic weather which has not always been the case. We reminisced about all the fun adventures we had from salamander hunting, to hiking, fishing, biking, tree cutting, bear calling, and many more.

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Loser for their use of the motorhome. It made for comfortable accomodations and even Isaac finally had a great nights sleep in it. We played really hard to wear him out so he would sleep. Dad, Alex, Isaac and Adam went canoeing and fishing and caught some fish on Friday. We had a great fireside that night and talked to Dad about some important things we've been meaning to do for a while. On Sat., Rachel and Nicole went out in the canoe and caught some fish too. We did some hiking around the provo river falls and really just enjoyed the beauty of the mountains.
What a beautiful place we live in!

Grasshoppers and Apples on Top

As promised, here are two clips of some of the activities Isaac and Grandpa love to do together.