Remembering Gary Upson
Donation protected
On October 25th, 2017 Debbie Upson and her sons Brian and Cam had to face the hardest day of their lives by saying good bye to a wonderful, amazing, great man – Deb’s husband and Brian and Cam’s dad Gary.
Gary fought his battle for 10 years, and for the first 5, after his first diagnosis he was able to get back to work and enjoy his life with some challenges. Gary was an amazing Father and the stories Deb told me about the hunting and fishing trips with his boys were always so entertaining. Gary knew how to make people laugh; he had many friends, touched many hearts and was always there to help his friends when they needed a hand. Gary’s love for hanging out in his garage and having friends over for a fire and drinks was somewhat of a ritual in the neighbourhood.
When Gary found out that he was going to have to battle round 2 approximately 5 years ago, I knew that from Deb’s reaction it was devastating news, but he was willing to fight the fight and that’s what he did. When he had to change chemo because of his reaction to the first, he just kept going, when he had to go through his liver ablations that were so painful he kept fighting. Chemo every 3-4 weeks – kept going. Even though he was fighting this terrible disease he brought a sense of humor to the chemo clinic and continued to crack his funny jokes. This disease gave Debbie a new title, she was not just a wife and mother but she became Gary’s caregiver and did that while working and raising their sons. The boys have spent almost half their lives with their Dad battling cancer.
Gary was able to hit a milestone and celebrated his 50th Birthday last November, then shortly after that he starting have serious issues with his liver - where the cancer had spread. Gary fought right to the end and was even able to go on an Alaskian Cruise with his family and close friends. He truly had a love for the outdoors!
With Gary battling this ugly disease for so long there has been and impact on the family and I’m hoping that this GoFundMe page can help with financial aid. Gary was the families main provider, Debbie was working as much as she could in order to help out but she also had to be at home to help with Gary as well. Their new normal was something no family would ever want to live, now they have to adjust to another new normal and that’s the most difficult normal they will have to get used to. Assisting in some financial aid is hopefully a start in getting Debbie and her son’s back to a place where they can feel that they can move forward, but always keeping Gary close in their hearts.
Gary fought his battle for 10 years, and for the first 5, after his first diagnosis he was able to get back to work and enjoy his life with some challenges. Gary was an amazing Father and the stories Deb told me about the hunting and fishing trips with his boys were always so entertaining. Gary knew how to make people laugh; he had many friends, touched many hearts and was always there to help his friends when they needed a hand. Gary’s love for hanging out in his garage and having friends over for a fire and drinks was somewhat of a ritual in the neighbourhood.
When Gary found out that he was going to have to battle round 2 approximately 5 years ago, I knew that from Deb’s reaction it was devastating news, but he was willing to fight the fight and that’s what he did. When he had to change chemo because of his reaction to the first, he just kept going, when he had to go through his liver ablations that were so painful he kept fighting. Chemo every 3-4 weeks – kept going. Even though he was fighting this terrible disease he brought a sense of humor to the chemo clinic and continued to crack his funny jokes. This disease gave Debbie a new title, she was not just a wife and mother but she became Gary’s caregiver and did that while working and raising their sons. The boys have spent almost half their lives with their Dad battling cancer.
Gary was able to hit a milestone and celebrated his 50th Birthday last November, then shortly after that he starting have serious issues with his liver - where the cancer had spread. Gary fought right to the end and was even able to go on an Alaskian Cruise with his family and close friends. He truly had a love for the outdoors!
With Gary battling this ugly disease for so long there has been and impact on the family and I’m hoping that this GoFundMe page can help with financial aid. Gary was the families main provider, Debbie was working as much as she could in order to help out but she also had to be at home to help with Gary as well. Their new normal was something no family would ever want to live, now they have to adjust to another new normal and that’s the most difficult normal they will have to get used to. Assisting in some financial aid is hopefully a start in getting Debbie and her son’s back to a place where they can feel that they can move forward, but always keeping Gary close in their hearts.
Organizer and beneficiary
Jamie McIntyre
Organizer
North Vancouver, BC
Debbie Upson
Beneficiary
