Dangennari.com – Writings on Cancer, Travel and Life

I don’t take myself very seriously and live what I believe is a pretty laid back lifestyle.  I suppose that is why I was a little bit apprehensive when our friend Sonya first offered to organize a fundraising event for me.   I mean, I am not a non-profit, I am not a research facility, I am just a regular guy who happened to get cancer.  But, I went along with it because I know I need the help, and if anything, this disease has taught me to be humble.  This is the most challenging thing I have ever done and if people who care are offering to help, then I have no business telling them not to.

With the big party only three days away now, I am more excited than ever.  And not because it appears that we will raise enough money to pay an hour of my Oncologist’s wage.  I am excited because I know the good people who come to my party are going to walk away with some truly incredible raffle prizes for their efforts.   During the party, which will happen at Champps Americana on North Point Parkway from 6PM – 10PM this Saturday, we will be hosting a raffle and silent auction in which the guests can either win, or bid for really valuable travel experiences and a variety of gift baskets.  Here is a sneak peak at the travel experiences that will be up for grabs this Saturday:

Hotel del Coronado

2 night stay in resort accommodations at the spectacular, world renowned, beachfront resort – The Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, California.  This silent auction item is courtesy of our friend and colleague Kathi Kelly of KSL Resorts.  If you golf, play tennis, ski or just enjoy fabulous resorts in idyllic settings you need to know about KSL Resorts.  The Hotel Del is located on Coronado Island, across the bay from San Diego and has been a southern California beachfront landmark since 1888.  This luxury resort has been the vacation choice of 11 U.S. Presidents, plus innumerable Hollywood celebrities from Humphrey Bogart and Charlie Chaplin to Brad Pitt and Madonna.  In recent years, the Hotel Del has been rated the #1 wedding destination in the country by The Travel Channel, and it’s sandy expanse out front has been rated the #1 beach in the United States by The Travel Channel.  You definitely want to bid aggresively on this one.

Set of 4, two-day, two-park admission tickets to visit Universal Studio’s in Orlando, Florida.  These tickets have been graciously donated by our friend Michelle at Universal Studio’s Resorts and Loew’s Hotels .  With these tickets, your family or you and your friends will have two days to explore your choice of Universal Studio’s and Islands of Adventure theme parks in Orlando.  These package of park tickets would sell at the gate for $580, but they will go home with someone on Saturday for a bargain.  You are probably going to Orlando for some kind of work conference in the next 12 months, so bid on these tickets and bring your kids down after the conference to explore the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter, plus some world class rides and shows.

Another Florida silent auction item offers a 2 week vacation rental in a private home located in a golf community near Tampa, Florida.  The Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club features two golf courses, a resort style pool, active clubhouse and pro shop, gated entry and is located minutes off of I-75.  Your private vacation home has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a complete kitchen and a deluxe screened lanai with views of a large marsh area where you can watch the wading birds, turtles and occassional deer enjoying their own tropical paradise.

The great prizes don’t stop with the silent auction though.  Sonya, Angela and my mom Barb have been busy gathering items for the raffle too.  Lucky winners will be drawn to win some great experiences including:

• 1 Weekend night stay at the Sheraton Atlanta Perimeter North hotel
• Doggie treats from the Green Dog Cookie Company
• 2 Lenox crystal votive candle holders
• 1 Weekend night stay and breakfast for 2 at the Marriott Gwinnet Place
• Dinner for 2 at the 755 Club at Turner Field
• 2 one hour private tennis lessons
• An authentic Steiff teddy bear

So, if you are in the Atlanta area, and you would like to come out to Champps on Saturday evening for some excellent food (compliments of our host), hanging out with some really genuinely good people, and supporting my cancer recovery by bidding on our silent auction items or buying raffle tickets, we would love to have you.  Anyone is welcome and tickets are $20 per adult and $5 for kids.  All guests will receive a Livestrong wristband from the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  And live entertainment will be provided by Lee Gamble who will play acoustic guitar and perform songs from the 70′s through today.  Please RSVP to Sonya at  simonsez11@msn.com.  Can’t wait to see you on Saturday.

In other news from my life…I am finally feeling well enough to live normal days.  Up until yesterday, I was still really weak from my last chemotherapy treatment.  Anyone who ever said Hodgkins Lymphoma is one of the “good” cancers to get, never heard of my stubborn case.  I went into Emory on Monday morning to get my daily shot of Neupogen and my bloodwork (which had not been run in over 5 days), showed critically low levels of all relevent measures, white blood cells, red blood cells, hematocrit, platelets, etc.  So, instead of the 30 minute appointment I had gone in for, I was detained literally all day at the hospital to receive blood and platelet transfusions.  It was a little alarming to be unexpectedly told I needed a blood transfusion right then and there, but the good news is that my excessive fatigue and weakness is a direct result of the low cell counts.  So, the new blood I received is working to make me a little stronger, a little faster.  I was just informed that I will get more transfusions on Wednesday morning, plus I am going in to have my central line placed in a short surgical procedure.   I still cannot taste anything.  All food tastes about the same, very bland and dry.  This is from the damage the chemo causes to nerves in my tongue and mouth.  Hopefully that will only last a few more days.