Hey everyone, I want to introduce or reintroduce you to Scott Fadden. Not only is he an amazing husband, dad, grandpa, uncle, friend, son, son-in-law, brother, and brother-in-law, but Scott is a PHENOMENAL chef. Many people know him as the latter. Many of you may have enjoyed his food without even knowing it was created and prepared by Scott. You see, he has owned and/or operated prosperous restaurant businesses in the Albert Lea community and has fed many of us and our loved ones a meal or four over the past 35 years. He has catered for countless weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, and graduations that we have all attended. Scott even creates and packages homemade soup for fundraisers for fellow community members and local schools. He is an amazingly talented man and chef whose part in a celebration is behind the tablecloth, so to speak. He humbly, quietly, and professionally provides the amazing dishes that bring us together, nourish our souls, and fuel the celebration! Behind that tablecloth is a generous man with a huge heart, an intense passion for cooking, and a guy that fiercely adores his family and would help anyone in need (as long as you are good to his family, haha). That is a drop in the bucket of the good that Scott does for us all.

The purpose of this message is to tell you that Scott is in need of some help. As his family, we feel the pull of this situation's gravity. Earlier this year, Papa Scott, as his grandkids call him, started having difficulty swallowing and keeping down any food that he could eat, which is quite ironic considering he is a professional chef. After initial doctor’s visits, imaging, and tests at the local clinic/hospital, the doctor diagnosed Scott with esophageal stenosis (narrowing), which is not terribly uncommon or hard to treat. Treatment usually entails reopening the esophagus with a balloon under sedation, and that would get him right as rain. Yes!!! There seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel! In the meantime, his daughter-in-law started making him organic vitamin and mineral-packed smoothies for Scott to enjoy, and he started planning some hearty meals he was going to make after his procedure.

On the day of his balloon procedure, the doctor reassessed Scott’s esophagus and decided it was too risky to do at the local hospital, so they referred him to a specialist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. They took some biopsies and sent him home, so no solid food for Scott. I cannot imagine the disappointment! A couple of weeks later, Scott received some pretty shocking results from the biopsies. It starts with the letter “c” and ends with “ancer”. Damn cancer. Even typing the word makes me feel nauseous. So here we are. Scott has stomach cancer, still cannot eat solid food, and, on a good day, is able to keep down the delicious shakes made by his daughter-in-law. So far, he has lost about 60 lbs as a result. He was scheduled for chemo and radiation to start on his birthday…in September. The doctors are hopeful for a positive outcome for Scott, but, as I am sure many cancer survivors and their loved ones know, to get to that positive outcome can be a grueling marathon of feeling awful, oncology appointments, needle pokes, etc. For now, it is daily chemo and/or radiation treatments where Scott has to commute an hour each way and, as all of us would, it is difficult to balance your own health, enjoying your family, and having a career to fund it all. After he is finished with chemo and radiation, he needs to undergo heart surgery to fix a valve that is not working correctly and then, finally, have another surgery to remove the tumor from his stomach.

I am asking for your help. Scott would never ask for a damn thing, so let’s surprise him with a financial gift! I think this would bring a little peace to his mind and a lot of love to his heart!