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Hello, my name is Bonnie Morrissette and I am the daughter of Raymond Morrissette. I am sorry this story is so long, but I couldn’t find a way to shorten this up.
Two of the hardest things for me to do is one, ask for help and two accept money from other people. It's time that I step out of my comfort zone, because this is what is best for my father and I am realizing I can't do this 100% on my own like I want to.
Four and a half years ago my dad Raymond Morrissette was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer. Colon cancer is a silent killer, you have no symptoms until it is too late. Thankfully my dad had been in a lot of pain for a few weeks and finally decided to go to the hospital. What they found was just a small ulcer in his stomach, they said it was probably from drinking mountain dew like it was going out of style in his 20s and it just built up. They could have sent him home, but I am so thankful one doctor realized he hadn't had his colonoscopy yet and told him he should do it just because of his age. The tests came a little off so they sent him for more. To their surprise, they found a very large stage 3 tumor in his colon, only weeks away from dropping into his liver. They immediately took action and removed the tumor and started him on chemo.
Things started to get hectic, my son was a only weeks old, I was in high school, my dad was getting treatments and still being stubborn and going to work. He worked two weeks after surgery to remove the tumor and kept going even when he knew they would just send him home.
Chemo was horrid, yet he still stayed strong. Painful shocks through his feet if the temperature on the ground changed in any way, the metal taste that coated his mouth no matter what he did, tunnel vision episodes, and many more uncomfortable things came along with it. Since his tumor was so large and they removed so much of his colon, and then the chemo destroyed everything left it left him with severe IBS. Although we had been declared cancer free in 2012 and they removed his port, complications still came about.
IBS alone has been the most torturous, agonising result from the chemo and cancer. He has been in and out of the bathroom at least 10 times a day for 4 years now. Waking up every 2 hours in pain, heading into the bathroom, then waking up at 5am for work till 3pm.
That had became his regular routine for the years to follow.
August 2014 the colon cancer returned but luckily the doctors caught it before it became active cancer and were able to remove the small tumor from his liver.
In February 2015 his IBS seemed to start to calm down, and we thought he was finally seeing the light at the end of this dark dark tunnel. But we were mistaken, pain in his back grew to be unbearable. He started to drop weight like crazy. We had many trips to the ER with no answers. The insurance companies started to refuse to work with his hospital and the hospital couldn't do tests on him without insurance. Finally in July after another ER trip, we got some answers. They told us he had a herniated disk in his back. What a relief we felt, considering we really thought the cancer was back.
In August he went in for his colonoscopy follow up, but to the doctor's surprise he couldn't get it, his bowel was blocked. The did more tests and soon realized the colon cancer had returned. Stage 3 once again, but this time it was worse. This time the tumor had grown so big, it sunk into his colon. (Which explained why we thought his IBS had gotten better.) The cancer was then colon-bowel cancer and they started him on radiation in September to shrink the tumor out of his bowel. The hospital gave him a hard time about chemo so he ended up starting chemo later than planned. The radiation started to work, and it finally shrunk the tumor out of the bowel! In this, it is very bittersweet because although he is no longer blocked his IBS has came back stronger than ever. We are still waiting for the doctors to set a date for surgery to remove the tumor, and we have not been told if he will continue with chemotherapy after.
Although my dad may be stubborn, he was finally convinced he needed to leave his job and get on unemployment. He was devastated but knew it was his only option. So he quit his job, and applied for assistance. He was recently accepted last week, the papers stated he did qualify. However, for some reason in the state of New Hampshire you have to wait 5 full months before they give you any money. As of right now, we are only going to survive off my paycheck until May when the state starts to help him. He has to give up his car, because he can't afford it, and he has really handled this well. I don't know how he does it, I don't know how he stays strong and handles everything so well. He is such an inspiration to me.
It is a terrible heartbreaking thing to watch your parent go through so much pain, so much unbearable pain every day for almost 5 years. Especially when they have the biggest heart. He won't even kill a spider in the house, he lets them go outside. He has ALWAYS handled everything he was given with an “I CAN” attitude even when it seemed impossible. He’s my best friend, my rock. It's been just me and him since I was 3 and I couldn't be more thankful. He has taught me to give, without expecting to receive. He has taught me that everyone makes mistakes and that people can't help their faults. He teaches me on a regular basis about patience, and how to hold my ground. He has taught me that I do not need to rely on anyone but myself, and that being a single parent is possible. We have never had much, but he made it seem like we had to world.
So I am asking for help, to help a man who has helped many, many people throughout his life. I know that we will get through this, with or without help but for his sake I am asking for a hand in this. From now till May we will be living off my paycheck only, for food, rent , bills etc. He will be giving up his car, and we will be making ends meet in any way possible. Anything at all will help us, even if all you have to offer is a prayer. I am so thankful for how many people have prepared him meals, or have just came by to pray for him. We have so many people in our lives that are here to support us, and I really truly appreciate that. Thank you to those who have taken the time to read this, and thank you for sharing this page.
Two of the hardest things for me to do is one, ask for help and two accept money from other people. It's time that I step out of my comfort zone, because this is what is best for my father and I am realizing I can't do this 100% on my own like I want to.
Four and a half years ago my dad Raymond Morrissette was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer. Colon cancer is a silent killer, you have no symptoms until it is too late. Thankfully my dad had been in a lot of pain for a few weeks and finally decided to go to the hospital. What they found was just a small ulcer in his stomach, they said it was probably from drinking mountain dew like it was going out of style in his 20s and it just built up. They could have sent him home, but I am so thankful one doctor realized he hadn't had his colonoscopy yet and told him he should do it just because of his age. The tests came a little off so they sent him for more. To their surprise, they found a very large stage 3 tumor in his colon, only weeks away from dropping into his liver. They immediately took action and removed the tumor and started him on chemo.
Things started to get hectic, my son was a only weeks old, I was in high school, my dad was getting treatments and still being stubborn and going to work. He worked two weeks after surgery to remove the tumor and kept going even when he knew they would just send him home.
Chemo was horrid, yet he still stayed strong. Painful shocks through his feet if the temperature on the ground changed in any way, the metal taste that coated his mouth no matter what he did, tunnel vision episodes, and many more uncomfortable things came along with it. Since his tumor was so large and they removed so much of his colon, and then the chemo destroyed everything left it left him with severe IBS. Although we had been declared cancer free in 2012 and they removed his port, complications still came about.
IBS alone has been the most torturous, agonising result from the chemo and cancer. He has been in and out of the bathroom at least 10 times a day for 4 years now. Waking up every 2 hours in pain, heading into the bathroom, then waking up at 5am for work till 3pm.
That had became his regular routine for the years to follow.
August 2014 the colon cancer returned but luckily the doctors caught it before it became active cancer and were able to remove the small tumor from his liver.
In February 2015 his IBS seemed to start to calm down, and we thought he was finally seeing the light at the end of this dark dark tunnel. But we were mistaken, pain in his back grew to be unbearable. He started to drop weight like crazy. We had many trips to the ER with no answers. The insurance companies started to refuse to work with his hospital and the hospital couldn't do tests on him without insurance. Finally in July after another ER trip, we got some answers. They told us he had a herniated disk in his back. What a relief we felt, considering we really thought the cancer was back.
In August he went in for his colonoscopy follow up, but to the doctor's surprise he couldn't get it, his bowel was blocked. The did more tests and soon realized the colon cancer had returned. Stage 3 once again, but this time it was worse. This time the tumor had grown so big, it sunk into his colon. (Which explained why we thought his IBS had gotten better.) The cancer was then colon-bowel cancer and they started him on radiation in September to shrink the tumor out of his bowel. The hospital gave him a hard time about chemo so he ended up starting chemo later than planned. The radiation started to work, and it finally shrunk the tumor out of the bowel! In this, it is very bittersweet because although he is no longer blocked his IBS has came back stronger than ever. We are still waiting for the doctors to set a date for surgery to remove the tumor, and we have not been told if he will continue with chemotherapy after.
Although my dad may be stubborn, he was finally convinced he needed to leave his job and get on unemployment. He was devastated but knew it was his only option. So he quit his job, and applied for assistance. He was recently accepted last week, the papers stated he did qualify. However, for some reason in the state of New Hampshire you have to wait 5 full months before they give you any money. As of right now, we are only going to survive off my paycheck until May when the state starts to help him. He has to give up his car, because he can't afford it, and he has really handled this well. I don't know how he does it, I don't know how he stays strong and handles everything so well. He is such an inspiration to me.
It is a terrible heartbreaking thing to watch your parent go through so much pain, so much unbearable pain every day for almost 5 years. Especially when they have the biggest heart. He won't even kill a spider in the house, he lets them go outside. He has ALWAYS handled everything he was given with an “I CAN” attitude even when it seemed impossible. He’s my best friend, my rock. It's been just me and him since I was 3 and I couldn't be more thankful. He has taught me to give, without expecting to receive. He has taught me that everyone makes mistakes and that people can't help their faults. He teaches me on a regular basis about patience, and how to hold my ground. He has taught me that I do not need to rely on anyone but myself, and that being a single parent is possible. We have never had much, but he made it seem like we had to world.
So I am asking for help, to help a man who has helped many, many people throughout his life. I know that we will get through this, with or without help but for his sake I am asking for a hand in this. From now till May we will be living off my paycheck only, for food, rent , bills etc. He will be giving up his car, and we will be making ends meet in any way possible. Anything at all will help us, even if all you have to offer is a prayer. I am so thankful for how many people have prepared him meals, or have just came by to pray for him. We have so many people in our lives that are here to support us, and I really truly appreciate that. Thank you to those who have taken the time to read this, and thank you for sharing this page.