Relay for Life/Weekend

Greatest Friends in the World
Opening Presents
Bonfire!!!
Happy Birthday to Me
Survivors
Luminaries
Get Better Devon
Auburn Mountainview Kids doing a Prayer Circle at Relay
Two words that mean a lot
My Family
One of my best friends Steve who had leukemia at 3, My Aunt Martha who has now gone 9 years breast cancer free, and I.

This Weekend with the Relay and my 18th birthday involved a lot of emotion that'd involved some crying, a lot of laughing, smiling, and getting a surprise birthday party!!!! I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing friends and family. It is one weekend I will never forget.

GOOD NEWS

The results from Garrett's PET scan came back today and it shows that his tumor has responded well to the chemo. Praise the Lord and thanks for all the prayers! His tumor within his bone was reduced from 10 to 2.2 and within the soft tissue it went from 7.3 to all gone. We continue as a family to feel blessed by all the wonderful support we have received from friends and family. Hang in there with us as we take one hurdle at a time. We love you all!
Garrett's Mom, Robin

Golf

You really can't know how much something means to you until it is taken away from you. Today I played golf and played the best in months. I do not really understand how I played at the top of my game under the condition I am. Then I thought well I deserve to have this happen to me. I love golf a lot. Its my sport its what I do. It always makes me happy and I never get sick of it. I set high goals for me with golf. In October I missed going to state by a few strokes and our team missed winning league by 2 strokes. I told myself that Junior golf season was over and time to get ready for Senior year because nothing was going to keep me from going to state and our team winning league. I had just got a job at the golf course and was going to golf free all spring and summer long and train like heck to get a lot better. I also applied for a scholarship to play at Meridian Valley Country Club which I got. I also got nominated to be team co captain with my friends brendan. Everything was set up perfect and I had everything I wanted in Golf. As I get closer to having surgery next month and still not knowing yet what they are going to do to my leg I have to realize unless there are miracles and I still have a lot of hope, but most likely I wont be playing my senior year for golf or play golf at all for another year. I will be still doing chemo and have a brace on my leg and if im not having a brace my leg will not be able to bend enough to golf. I have spent the last month or so getting my golf in and doing everything I can before my surgery. It has made me super happy every time I get a chance to go out and enjoy golf and not think about school or the hospital. It is going to be super hard to not have that in my life while I recover from my surgery. I know lots of things can happen and like I said I still hope if there is any way that I can play my senior year of golf because it is my last year of high school golf and ill never get that back. Everything happens for a reason and God has control while I wont have golf I will have other things keeping me going and strong. I will be riding that golf cart around either way cheering on my team and giving them hope and making sure they still win league.

Garrett

Random things I See and think about

- What is life going to be like once im cancer free?

-The chemo doesn't give me pain while it gets infused and I don't feel it

-I no longer get to take the showers with the water rushing down my face I have to wear a water protecter so water doesn't get in my port and I have to be very careful while shower...no swimming.

-What are my friend going to be like once I go back to school?

-I'm I going to get to play my senior year of golf? I had such big goals for it.

-Why is this boy in the hospital sitting there struggling in pain and he has no one there with him(m0m,dad,guardian).

-This boy had to stay another night at the hospital because no one came to pick him up to go home

-My roomate has a tumor thats 12 inches in his intestines and it doesn't look good

-What are my capabilities going to be with my leg once I have surgery and will I be able to do the same things I use to do.

-I miss my social life

-I hate not being apart of my friends and family's life's and not being able to be there for them and support them the way I use too

-I wonder what my hair is going to look like when it grows back

-I want to graduate with my friends senior year and go to college

- I want to go back to United Methodist Church and get more invovled and i miss Younglife and Church soooo much.

-I miss school and Auburn Mountainview a lot

-How does my mom do it...it is far from amazing

-I think it would be harder to watch someone who you love so very much fight cancer then have it

-God never put this burden on me but he is the only one who can take it away

-I get excited more and more thinking about life without cancer

-I have cancer and I still feel sorrow and much worse for all the kids around me at Childen's

- I have never cried for myself so far only thinking about all the people especially at Childerns who are suffering ever day

-One day I could go eating sooo much, the next hating food.

-My favorite world is IDC

-I love when my friends and family just come hangout with me just because they want to not because they feel like they need too

-I also put a smile on when I see people

-I have God to answer all of those and take all those worries aways I just have to trust him and to pray about them with him but I though I would let know what goes through my head since people always ask

God is Good

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile. My 5 day chemo went well but I was ready to get out of there Sunday Morning when Jim and I left at 3 am. We now have the routine down where on 5 day chemo's my Mom stays Wednesday and Thursday night then my oldest sister Megan stays Friday then Jim stays Saturday and we leave right when I get unhooked. Things have been going good though as I went golfing once last week been doing school work and staying away from the Hospital as much as possible. The doctors thought I would have to get a transfusion yesterday so I went into for blood tests and my counts had once again gone way up so I 'm still without my 1st transfusion. After starting treatment 2 months ago it really is unbelievable how well I have done. God is taking such good care of me and I feel very lucky. I know things can change quickly and my treatment is going to wear me down over time but as of right now I'm fighting this cancer very well. I have a huge month ahead for me and I am really hoping for a great month that keeps me out of the hospital as much as possible. I will keep posting but these next two weeks are going to be pretty crazy with 3 day chemo on Wednesday, Mothers Day Sunday then the following week a PET scan to see what my tumor has done, then a blood transfusion in the works, then the Relay for Life and my birthday. I am so happy I am doing well. Keep praying and thank you for all the support.

Love,

Garrett

Kids that Love Gary

Cancer sucks!!! We are all affected by cancer in some way. My dad Gary Light passed away from Colon Cancer in 2001. Since then I have been involved with the Relay For Life to fight Cancer. I have been a team leader the past two years with great support. I once again this year have the team "Kids that Love Gary" in honor of my dad. I have not been able to raise money and be a leader this year being affected by cancer myself. Everyone around me has been supporting the Relay For Life and we have several teams this year to fight Cancer.

If you are interested in donating to "Kids that Love Gary" here is the link:

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/kidsthatlovegary.com

Update

It has been a week or so since I have updated you guys with how things are going. I went into the weekend feeling great. I spent Friday night visiting my Younglife kids at the middle school I am a leader at. It was great and a blessing to be able to see them and for them to see me. I got to talk to them about what I have been going through and my faith and they loved it and I could see God working in there hearts. I ended Friday thanking God for an amazing week feeling great and getting a chance to do things like Younglife, hangout with friends, and even go to my high school soccer game. Saturday found me in the ER at the hospital because It looked like I had an infection in my port. I didn't feel sick or have a fever but I had to spend the night in the hospital and they had to give me antibiotics. At about 11 pm sitting in my hospital room with my mom guess who showed up? Devon showed up with his mom. Sadly he was there because he has got a fever and was having problems too. He was a lot worse then me though. It was pretty amazing that of all the hospital rooms in the hospital Devon and I ended up in the same room again. We stayed until about 1am celebrating Devon's 16th birthday singing him happy birthday with the nurses. I felt sooo bad that he had to spend his 16th birthday in the hospital. Devon and I have really enjoyed each other and are becoming better friends and so are our moms. I believe God has given me this friendship for a reason. Devon and I were planning are getting rooms together for the next round of chemo but it kills me to say Devon is still in the hospital and when I visited him today (because I was at the hospital for appointments) I found out he has to be in the hospital until thursday and maybe longer. Devon really needs our prays as he is struggling and going through a rough time right now. We still might get rooms together though since I go in for Chemo tomorrow for 5 days. I spend Monday and Today practicing my golf game and it was great to be out on the course. It was the first time I has been on the course since my treatment. Like I said I go in for chemo tomorrow until Sunday and I am feeling ready but I have come to find from this chemo that it really wears me down being in the hospital for a longer period of time. Over and over again I find myself thinking when things are not going well why cant I just feel better but then I feel selfish asking God for that because there are so many more kids out there suffering so much more. I am glad things are going good but I know there will be times where am like Devon with fevers and having to spend days in the hospital not just for treatment. Hoping and praying for a good round of chemo.

Love,

Garrett