Rallying for Ron

Anyone who knows my father, Ronald Lawrence, knows that he is an extremely hardworking and driven man who makes it his priority to take care of his family and those around him. He did everything he can to send both of his daughters to college and raised us the best he could for us to be successful in life. He is compassionate about anything that has to do with sports, especially the Georgia Bulldogs and the Atlanta Falcons. And, of course, he always enjoys spending time with his family every chance he gets.
            On March 6, 2018, my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after suffering from symptoms of pancreatitis. I remember getting the phone call from him. I could tell he was holding back tears and trying to remain strong for me. “I got the test results back…and I have a little bit of cancer on my pancreas.” I couldn’t help but start to break down crying. Even though he has stage one cancer, the doctors said that stage one for pancreatic cancer is equivalent to stage three of any other kind of cancer. That shows how damaging and fast-spreading pancreatic cancer is.
            He instantly started chemotherapy and radiation to try to make the tumor smaller so surgery could become an option. The chemo continued to make him become weaker and weaker, but he still went to work everyday and still gave it his best effort. Instead of staying home and resting from the chemicals making his body weak, he still got up at 4:00 every morning to go to work, which isn’t light duty work since he is a mechanic.
            When it came to the end of his first round of chemo and radiation, the doctors did a biopsy to see if the tumor has decreased in size. However, the doctors discovered that the tumor was actually wrapped around a major artery, which prevented the possibility of surgery.
            With surgery not being an option anymore, the only thing that was left to do was even more chemo. Another round of chemo and radiation caused him to become more drained and weaker, but he still continued to go to work.
            In November of 2018, my dad got a horrendous infection on his side from the incision of his tube. It only caused him even more pain and discomfort. In January of this year, he was admitted into the hospital since his infection was not being cured by the oral antibiotics he was on. It took almost three months for the infection to be treated. Due to this, his chemo got delayed and he could not continue it until after Christmas.
            On February 8th, 2019, we found out from a biopsy that a tumor on his liver was malignant, meaning it is cancerous and it is spreading. Because the cancer has spread, he now has stage four pancreatic cancer. He is on his third round of chemo now, which started on February 25, 2019.
            My dad has been battling cancer for almost a year now and is only getting sicker. My dad will never admit it, but our family needs help. Being on his third round of chemo, my dad is getting to the point where he cannot go to work anymore. The doctor bills are piling up and it is becoming overwhelming for my family. With me being away from college, it already hurts me that I can’t be there to be a support system for both my mom and dad. It’s been heavy on my heart to create this page to help my dad is some shape or form.
            100% of the funds will go straight to my father’s medical bills, which includes his chemotherapy and his regular check-up’s with his oncologists and other medical doctors.
            Even if you’re not able to give a lot, my family will still be beyond grateful for every single penny. If you’re not able to give anything, all we ask is for you to keep my family in your thoughts and prayers, and for you to share it on social media to spread the word.
            Thank you for taking the time to read this and for being supportive.