Keeping Ron's Dream Alive

The Dream that Kept Ron Fighting 

As many of you know my brother-in-law, Ron passed away after a hard 10-month battle with cancer.  Ron was such a fighter and he never complained. Last September however he finally admitted that something may be wrong.  After some tests they found he had cancer that had metastasized; already in his brain, colon, and lungs, and then more recently it had made its way into his bones.  

My experience with people with cancer is that they often reach a place of resignation... but not Ron.  Ron fought until the very end.  In fact, just a few days before he passed, when the hospice nurse asked if there was anything more that she could do before leaving for the day, Ron's reply was, "Yes, help me to live."  

You see, despite the pain, Ron didn't want to leave his family.  He wanted to continue loving them day-to-day and he wanted to enjoy life.  Ron wanted to LIVE and he fought hard.

When he became ill, Ron would talk about what he wanted to do when he beat cancer.   His wish, the thing that kept him going, was his wish to take his wife, Pam, his kids, granddaughters, and son-in-law to the US because it had been 5 years since he had been able to do so.  More than anything, Ron wanted to rent a houseboat on Lake Cumberland where he could have a reunion with his family and celebrate the fact that he had BEAT CANCER.  He had his son, Nick print out a photo of the exact houseboat he wanted to rent, and on it, he wrote, "I will be standing on this boat in August 2021 with my family beside me and I will be cancer-free."

Up until the very end, Ron hung onto that dream of being on that houseboat, and despite the pain, he even had one last outing... to a sporting-goods store.  On June 9th, Ron was wheeled through the store where he carefully picked out fishing poles and lures, and he also bought fishing poles and tackle boxes for his two little granddaughters, excitedly promising them that he was going to get well and that when he did, he was going to rent that houseboat on Lake Cumberland and that he was going to teach them how to fish.  

Upon returning home, Ron had his son, Nick, hang the fishing poles on the wall next to his bed so that he could look at them every day and he would go to sleep with my sister telling him of the fun they would all have on that boat and how they were going to celebrate together.  

Unfortunately, no matter how hard Ron fought, cancer proved to be stronger and we lost him on June 28th.  In Ron's last couple of days, however, he made my sister, Pam, promise that she would find a way to go on that trip without him and that he wanted them to be happy as they stand on that boat and celebrate his life and their love.  His promise to her was that his soul would be there with them.

As quickly as we can upon the lifting of the restrictions, we want Pam, Ashley, Nick, Phil, Aaliyah, and Izzabella to celebrate Ron the way he wanted.  It is my belief that Ron will keep his promise and be there in spirit right along with them.  

Several people have asked if they could send flowers or help.  Because of Covid19, a gathering was not permitted, so we wanted to create this page for the people that wanted to pay tribute to Ron by helping to keep his dream alive.

Our love and thanks to you all.  

You will be forever in our hearts, Ron.