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Bob Loken Family GoFundMe Page
charity.gofundme.com/lokenstrong
Bob Loken : On Wednesday, October 21, at 7:37 a.m. I received a phone call from my family doctor. She shared I have cancer and at that moment I knew my life would be forever changed. After a CT scan of my stomach the previous day, they discovered I had a tumor in my Pancreas and spots on my Liver. My wife Meagan and I met with our Oncologist later that afternoon and the battle planning began!
The result was Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Next steps included scheduling an appointment to have a port put in my chest and over the next week and a half or so I’ll start very aggressive chemotherapy. For my chemotherapy, I will spend 4 plus hours at my Oncologists office then the next two days at home with a med pump continuing the chemotherapy. I will do this every other week for three months. After each three-month period, I will have another CT scan and my blood levels will be analyzed to check on my progress and then we will adapt from there. I literally watched my beautiful wife’s heart break as the reality of our situation hit her while we talked with our Oncologist.
So, what now…. the heck if I know…Ha! Since the day we received the news I have prepared for war! I have been working out and eating the best I can possibly can in preparation of potential treatment routes. I’ve loved and appreciated my family and friends deeply everyday and pray throughout the day to God for me and others battling cancer. I strive to continue to live my normal life. I have shared tears with many of you and have received so much love, prayers, and support! I learned from day one that it takes an army to battle cancer and preparations are being made to help support my family and I as this battle continues!
But, with this news I hate that it brings sadness to my family, friends, co-workers, and strangers I don’t even know. From day one it was especially hard to tell Stephen “Strong’s” mom, Marianna. Because I knew Stephen would eventually know. I was supposed to be there to support him and never in a million years would I have imagined he would be there to walk by my side as I battle cancer. He has sent me so many touching messages and videos to help me so far! This little warrior has taught me how to be strong for this battle!
Cancer, On day one you knocked me to the ground. But you messed up, because you knocked me on my back and when I looked up, I saw God, family, friends, co-workers, strangers, doctors, and nurses extending their hands to help me up. I’m up now and prepared for this fight, with all of you behind my family and me!
“-Warriors like me, we’re strategically designed for the struggle!
I am now a cancer Warrior!”
#lokenstrong
Love and thank you Bob Loken & Family
Thomas Richards Charity (TRC) is humbled to serve a close member of our family, Officer Bob Loken and his lovely family. Bob is husband and father to Meagan, Kyle 19, Caden 17 and Madison 14. We need your help! Now, more than ever, is the time to help others in need. 100% off your donation to TRC will goto help the Loken family during their time of need. The Go Fund Me fees are generously paid for by some of our amazing sponsors Buffalo Wild Wings, Mike Bashore State Farm, & Hammerschmidt Stickradt & Assoc. PC
Thomas Richards Charity is a 501(c)3 non-profit charity, and exempt organization “helping those in need in our community” as described in Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Please contact us if you have any questions and visit our website.
Tim Ciotti President
Thomas Richards Charity
charity.gofundme.com/lokenstrong
Please like and follow Bob’s Journey on FB and his website
Help Caitlin and Patrick Adopt a Child
Life doesn’t always go as planned. For my husband Patrick and me, this has never been more true. What started as trying to get pregnant left us with two surgeries and the dream of ever getting pregnant diminished. My name is Caitlin Lyons and I was 26 when I was diagnosed with a rare form of Ovarian Cancer called Serous Borderline Ovarian Tumors – Stage 3B.
After over a year of trying and tests coming back normal, we decided to give Clomid, a hormone inducer, a shot to get pregnant. Two rounds of Clomid later, I was having terrible pains that turned out to be four cysts on my ovaries. While my OB/GYN wasn’t super concerned, she wanted to keep an eye on them with ultrasounds every month. By September, I was down to two persistent cysts that were getting bigger. My doctor explained to us that she believed what I was dealing with was a bad case of Endometriosis. She laid out our options, and we decided surgery was the best choice to clear it up, make the pain go away, and hopefully increase our chances of getting pregnant naturally. Before we could schedule it though, she had to test my CA125 hormone, a marker for inflammation and cancer.
The Thursday after my appointment, I finally got the call that my CA125 test came back at 160 U/mL, almost 5 times the average level is 0-35 U/mL, too high to perform the surgery. Therefore, I was referred to a gynecologic oncologist at Northside Atlanta. In the span of just a few days, surgery went from optional to absolutely necessary.
We scheduled the surgery for October 14th. After the oncologist confirmed the OB/GYN’s findings, we walked out of the office scared and overwhelmed, but felt this would get us on the right path to not only heal my pain, but to also start our family.
When I woke up from surgery, Patrick told me things didn’t exactly go as planned. The cysts turned out to be Serous Borderline Ovarian Tumors. My right ovary was fully encased in a tumor and had to be removed. They were able to remove just the tumor from my left ovary, but it still remained covered in disease, along with all of my other reproductive organs. He also found countless smaller tumors sitting on top of my abdomen. He removed many of them, but there were too many and too small for him to be able to remove all of them. Needless to say, we were both in shock and nervous about what was to come next.
During my check-up a week later, we got the news we were the most afraid of – I was going to have to get a full hysterectomy in order to clear the remaining tumors and to stop the disease from spreading throughout my body. We were heart broken that at 26, I had cancer and our dream of getting pregnant was about to be gone forever.
On February 10, 2020, at 27 years old, I had my surgery – a full hysterectomy and they removed as many of the tumors as possible. I am now on a hormone therapy treatment called Letrozole for a year and I get my CA125 drawn every 6 weeks. After two tests, my numbers have dropped from 160 to 10 U/mL. During COVID-19, I was rushed to the hospital with what the doctors believed was a pelvic abscess that was at the beginning stages of turning sepsis. With pain killers and high doses of antibiotics, the abscess cleared up. Dealing with this and being in the hospital during COVID was the scariest night of my life.
While we grieved the dream of having our own children, we also look forward to me being pain free and dreaming about other ways we could grow our family. Throwing out my prenatal vitamins and pregnancy tests was one of the hardest, but most healing things I’ve done. It helped me process my new life and accept that our future has changed.
Patrick and I are now Cancer Free and have a different outlook on life. We also have the opportunity to look forward to what is to come: bringing a baby into our family through adoption! We are so excited to open our arms and hearts to the journey of adoption! However, we can’t do it alone. The average cost of adoption can be upwards of $40,000. Your donation will go directly towards any fees and bills that we acquire as we go through the adoption process. Anything you give to help us bring home our Little Lyons Cub is appreciated more than we can convey!
Please join all of us and Thomas Richards Charity in contributing to this rewarding cause; 100% goes to help with an adoption for the Lyons Family. From the bottom of our hearts and everything we have, thank you so much for all of your support! Our love always, Caitlin and Patrick Lyons
Thomas Richards Charity is a 501(c)3 non-profit charity, an exempt organization “helping those in need in our community” as described in Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Please contact us if you have any questionsTim CiottiPresident TRCThomas Richards Charity (FB)TRCares.com
Matt Moscato Charity Golf is Virtual This Year
Matt Moscato Charity Golf – Thursday June 25 till Monday August 31, 2020
Connor’s Corner
Connor Yamarino is a young thirteen-year-old, who has been sick since the day he came into this world. He spent the first six days of life in the hospital, where he was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia. Biliary Atresia is a condition found in infants, in which the bile ducts outside and inside the liver are scarred and blocked. Because bile is not able to flow into the intestine, it builds up in the liver and causes damage. This damage leads to more scarring, loss of liver tissue and function, as well as, cirrhosis of the liver. Connor’s liver disease is progressing faster than anticipated, as his tissue is currently considered to be severely damaged. Thus, they are making preparations to put him on the liver transplant list.
The Yamarino family is typically the family known to be reaching out to help others who are in need. Due to the unforeseen expenses of traveling, treatments, diet, surgeries and various other expenses, Connor’s family is now in need. It is now our opportunity, as a community, to support this family by giving them financial peace of mind. We want nothing more than to help ease the financial burden for this family, so that they will be able focus all of their energy on keeping Connor as healthy as possible now, during and after his surgery.
Please join all of us and Thomas Richards Charity in contributing to this rewarding cause. 100% of all proceeds will go to the Yamarino family. We are grateful and humbled by any and all donations.
Thomas Richards Charity is a 501(c)3 non-profit charity, and exempt organization “helping those in need in our community” as described in Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Please contact us if you have any questions.
Tim Ciotti
President TRC
Thomas Richards Charity (FB)
TRCares.com
Our Mission
Thomas Richards Charity’s purpose is to provide help and support to persons in need within our community. Our community is defined as a fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals, in service of helping others.
We deliver value through the design and execution of charitable acts in accordance with Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
About Thomas Richards Charity
A beloved member of our family, Matt Moscato, died on June 12, 2005. His untimely passing inspired the creation and name of our charity, “Thomas Richards,” from the once owned clothing line by Matt “Thomas” Moscato, and business partner, Brant “Richard” Wiwi. We believe using his business name for our charity is an honorable way to celebrate Matt’s life. The charity was created to help people in six degrees of separation. Six degrees of separation (also referred to as the “Human Web”) refers to the idea that everyone is at most six steps away from any other person on Earth, so that a chain of “a friend of a friend” statements can be made to connect any two people in six steps or less. Matt enjoyed life and took advantage of everything that life had to offer. Therefore, when Matt passed we were reminded how valuable life is and that we need to enjoy it more with the people around us. The goal of our charity events is not only to raise money for a worthy cause, but also to bring people together, in the spirit of enjoying life’s purpose. In hopes of being inclusive, we strive to keep these events affordable and entertaining. Consequently, we enrich our lives and hopefully inspire others to do the same as Matt did for us.