Sunday, June 28, 2009

KCPQ 13 Video

We had a wonderful evening on Friday at the Pasta Feed that Spencer Hawes put on, in honor of Andrew. I will add photos from the evening later.

For now I want to share a video clip with you. Channel 13 here in Seattle did a wonderful story on the marathon that Andrew's friend Daniel participated in on behalf of Andrew. Here is the link.

Hope it's been a wonderful weekend and check back for my updates later in the week!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Volunteers needed for Pasta Feed

Hi everyone-

The Pasta Feed is coming up in a couple of days, and I got the word that we are in need of 11 or 12 volunteers for the event. This is what he said, "If we could get 10 volunteers at the event itself that would be great...I will need them there at the Conibear Shellhouse at 2:30pm...We also need a volunteer at Best Western Rivers Edge in Tukwila to assist runners leaving on the shuttle from the hotel to UW...The volunteer needs to be at the Hotel at 2:30pm..."

For those of you out there who are wanting to help out, but cannot donate financially, this is a really important way to help support Andrew in his journey. It sounds like these volunteers will be crucial in helping the event run as smoothly as possible. If you are interested, please drop me a note. (moritzms@gmail.com)

Thank you,
Martha

Monday, June 22, 2009

Friday Night Pasta Feed

Hi all-

There is a super fun event coming up this Friday the 26th hosted by Spencer Hawes (former UW basketball player and current Sacramento Kings player). Please come out and support Andrew- it will be a really great time with live music, food and of course Nate Robinson and Brandon Roy serving up the pizza and pasta! Andrew will be making the journey out from St Louis to join in on the event! A HUGE thank you to Spencer Hawes for making this event happen! Read below for more information:

HAWES HOSTING PASTA FEED BENEFIT FOR EX-HUSKY MORITZ

Former UW basketball player Spencer Hawes isn't a distance runner, but the 7-foot Sacramento Kings center is holding a pasta feed for a good cause prior to next Saturday's Rock 'n Roll Seattle Marathon.

Hawes is hosting the charity fundraiser for Andrew Moritz, another ex-Husky hoopster who is battling a rare form of cancer. Moritz, a Franklin High grad, played at Washington from 1996-2000.

Picture
Andrew Moritz

Two dinners will be offered at 4 and 6 p.m. on Friday at the Conibear Shellhouse on the UW campus near Husky Stadium.

Table sponsorships for the pre-race dinner are $200 for a 10-person table. Runners registered for the Saturday marathon or half-marathon can sign up dinner for $10. Non-runners are also welcome for a $20 charge.

"I'm not a marathoner, but I have several friends who are running for a cause and a person who is in a similar situation as Drew," said Hawes. "The camaraderie among marathoners is the same as critically-ill patients. We are all in this together."

Moritz, 30, is battling desmoplastic small round cell tumor, a rare type of cancer that has affected less than 100 people worldwide. Here's a great column on Moritz by seattlepi.com's Jim Moore from March.

The event will be sponsored by Spiro's Pizza & Pasta and the Big W Club and will include music and the chance to mingle with past and present Husky athletes like Lorenzo Romar, Jon Brockman, Nate Robinson and Brandon Roy.

Tables and individual tickets for the dinner can be arranged by logging onto www.yearofthecomeback.blogspot.com or via e-mail at moritzms@gmail.com. Seats will be available at the door as well and donations can also be made to the Andrew Moritz Medical Fund at Bank of America and US Bank branches.

Posted by Greg Johns at June 14, 2009 10:39 a.m.
Categories: ,

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Our trip to St Louis

Hi all- Henry and I made a trip out to St Louis last week to visit Andrew. Henry did awesome on the plane- his first big plane ride! We had a great time hanging out with Andrew- we were with him at the time when his counts and energy are at the lowest, so we did a lot of laying low at his house, making food, watching Henry learn to walk and of course cracking jokes! No fevers or hospital trips this round, so that was a huge blessing! Andrew was taking lots of time to just rest, recuperate, drink lots of fluids and eat really well- so all of that seemed to help him avoid another hospital trip.
By the end of the trip, I could say DREW! and Henry would respond DUUUU! It was priceless... we love you lots Uncle Drew!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Good Food is Priceless!


Hey!

I wanted to give everyone a quick update as I wound down Round 7 of treatment on Monday of this week. The round went by without any hitches, or minor issues, so that was really a blessing. I felt a lot better during this round than I have in many of the previous cycles so it went by pretty quickly. I think the round was easier for me by getting out and about and doing more interacting. It was really fun to catch up with a great friend of mine from middle/high school Brian Nemitz, and his wife Ivette. They were in town (Houston) for a family event, and we got to spend time with them over breakfast. Thanks guys we had a blast, you rock! Also, My good bud Micah was in Houston for a couple days with his work, and he swung by my hotel for breakfast and some good jokes to keep me cheered up. Thanks Micah for the drop off at the hospital too, you were a good luck charm! Had lots of laughs the night before my pet scan with Carl-great food at the Capital Grille definitely hit the spot!

My sister Martha and her son Henry have been with me here in St.Louis since Tuesday helping me out. Its been so cool to have them, Martha has been a wonderful help, and she is an amazing cook! Its been fun to lay low with my sis and catch up, all while eating whatever yummy assortment she has thought up for the day! Marthy you are the bomb!! They are leaving in the morning back to Seattle. We will post pictures of the weekend in an upcoming post. I have been feeling a lot better (no side effects) this recovery week other then being really tired(sleeping a lot tue, wed, thu)and this weekend marks my low point on my blood counts. Hopefully we can avoid that fever that got me into the hospital last round! A special thanks to EBC old friends who continue to be very faithful with notes/emails (Patricia K, Sue L, Bob S) I appreciate the prayer and thoughtfulness....That's all for now, as you can see FOOD was my theme of this post, it seemed to tie a lot of good times together to make for a good round of chemo!

Andrew

Thursday, June 4, 2009

New phase New game New attitude!

To my tremendous support team,

Well as many of you know (thank you elizabeth for your unbelievable work keeping the blog up, you're the woman!) I am down in Houston now for my tests, scans, meetings with doctors, and now round 7 of chemo! I just got home from day 1- they had to squeeze me in late today because it wasn't scheduled, so its kind of fun to be reporting to you on a full day 1 of chemo (which i liken to drunk dialing a little bit!) haha. Back to business, I had my scans and tests all day yesterday which was a full day from 9 til 5 testing my heart, chest, lungs, blood, and the full body pet scan. Its becoming pretty routine now for me, so all those tests don't bother me at all. Today was the big day to meet with Dr. Araujo. We went over the exam results and all the news was once again positive and moving in the right direction! The spot in the liver isn't showing up on the scans which is great news, the spots in the abdomen and pelvic area are really shrinking down in size and are either very small, or are deemed "inactive". Not all the small spots are inactive yet in the abdomen, but we really have cut a huge chunk into the problem thru 6 rounds.

I think today was a good grounding time for me. I have been pretty anxious over the last month, and in part waiting for this day and what was going to happen, but also just trying to predict what was going to happen or plan out what was going to happen, etc. All very normal things to want to do. I realized today that this process of healing may take a little longer then I thought in my own mind, but that's ok with me. I truly feel great about the hospital I am at, and also the doctor that I have. Most importantly I really can feel the power of prayers/positive thoughts lifting me up from around the world. There is so many people praying daily, texting, calling, facebooking, emailing, writing hand written notes saying that they are thinking about me. I can't tell you how much each note lifts me up because I think of a time when me and that person have had a great time, great laugh, or great experience and it guides me forward in a positive way. I am truly touched with the outpour of help, and compassion from each and every person out there thinking about me. After we complete the next two rounds of chemo, hopefully the next step is more chemo, but at a lighter pace, and different regimen. We will get into that more as we get closer to that time. For now, very excited to be where I am at. One step at a time. Dr. Araujo is really excited with how I have done so far, and been able to handle the chemo just fine, thus doing the rounds 7, and 8 at this level. We want to stay as aggressive as possible on these lil suckers! I realize so much every day when I'm here at MD Anderson. I am walking around today with tumors that are shrinking, not invading my vital organs at this time, and I'm able to walk and talk just fine....all things such a blessing as I see people who are way worse off then me here struggling every day to be as normal as possible with bags in them, lost limbs, brain issues, etc. My heart goes out to those folks fighting as hard as they can. It just can keep you grounded in your own little cancer fight to be so thankful and grateful for how well you are doing, and for the tremendous family, and friends that I have running side by side with me! I will be done with round 7 of chemo on Monday! I hope everyone is doing awesome and has a sweet weekend!!!!

Andrew

ps. Dr. Araujo cleared me to run/play hoops again energy permitting.....I may have to ease into that after 5 months of inactivity!!! hahaha

Monday, June 1, 2009

Houston-Bound

Andrew flies to Houston tomorrow evening and will be there for at least a few days. On Thursday June 4th he meets with his doctor and we will have an idea as to what the next month will look like. We will share the news once we hear it!

I arrived home late last night from a quick-but-wonderful trip to St. Louis. I was able to meet a few of Andrew's friends, see where his office is and spend lots of time hanging with Andrew. His energy was still pretty low - so our fun schedule consisted of eating, sitting, laughing and talking. Here are a few pictures to enjoy:




Also, I spoke with Andrew this afternoon and he had another blood draw this morning. His counts had gone up even more and he said he was feeling a lot better than he did this weekend. He sounded like he had a lot more energy and he was even able to work the whole day. All good news!