golf tournament

Today’s number is the number 5

David Emerson, FLHW, golf tournament -

Friday was the 5th Annual FLHW Golf Tournament. After a complete day of relaxation on Saturday, yesterday it was time to further relax, reflect and enjoy time with Mary and Brad.

Mary and I spent a few hours at the Plaza Art Fair. We walked out a little lighter in the wallet after finding a photographer that had beautiful shots of Anna Maria Island. The Rod & Reel and The City Pier are two of our favorite places to eat when visiting, I can’t wait to return.

Back to Friday. I knew it was going to be a good day when Mary and I woke up well rested after sleeping through the night. As you can imagine, the night before is usually filled with last minute tasks and stress. This year things were different, easier. It’s like we had done this before! When I let Buck out at 6:30 the sky was an absolute remarkable shade of blue. The best way to describe it is the shade of the Prostate Cancer ribbon. The temperature was crisp and in the high 50’s. I stood on the back porch looking at this:



The day went off without a hitch. We once again had a full field of 144 golfers. I started the round with comments but this year it was a little different, quite a bit more emotional. I got choked up a few times but made it through my little speech without blubbering. Talking about my case in front of crowds has always been hard and the mere mention of Mary’s name almost brought me to tears. After that though we had a fantastic time. We had a number of people come up and tell us that this was by far the best golf tournament that they had ever played in! Quite a compliment that touches me deeply.

I’ll follow this post tomorrow with a link to all the pictures I have so far, For now, I thank God for the weather and the blessings of our generous and compassionate family, friends and supporters that continue to give us strength and hope. Without them, it would have been just another golf tournament, with them, it was far, far more!

Sunny day, keeping the clouds away….

charity, David Emerson, FLHW, golf tournament -

For the fourth straight year we were blessed with ideal weather for our golf tournament! There was not a cloud to be found, a very mild breeze and the temperature was in the low eighties. Someone up there is watching over us!
The events of the day have left me somewhat at a loss for words…did you ever think that was possible?
We don’t have a final tally, but things are looking good for making our goal. I should have a better estimate after a few more payments come in over the next week and I receive the final bill from the golf course.
After two holes-in-one last year, no one was able to win the car or cash this year. All three flights resulted in scorecard playoffs and last year’s overall winners were able to defend their crown. The final scores and winners can be found at:
I’ll upload all the pictures tonight and provide a link in a blog post tomorrow.
I really cannot thank everyone enough, including those who volunteered, played, sponsored and supported us through donations. Each year this event seems to be more successful. Once again I am reminded not to underestimate the kindness and generosity of others!
This morning I find myself feeling really blessed!

‘Faith’, a different kind

Advanced Prostate Cancer, David Emerson, Faith, FLHW, golf tournament -

I didn’t mean to let 8 days slip by, but I’ve been a little busy. We are wrapping up the plans for our fourth annual golf tournament and that has been consuming my spare time.

The event is once again sold out! Thanks to a number of generous individuals and companies, we have great player’s packs, many, many raffle items and a list of exceptional live auction items. It is sure to be a great day!

The second and third week after my last chemo treatment have been somewhat ‘normal’. The metallic taste disappeared after about eight days, the fatigue was gone after the first weekend and life resumed, as much as that is possible. My upcoming treatment number on Monday, which will be #6 will mark the halfway point. Already?

On another note, I received the attached story from my friend Tom and thought it was worth sharing. At times God tests us all.
~~~~~~~~~~~
This dog was born on Christmas Eve in the year 2002. He was born with 3 legs – 2 healthy hind legs and 1 abnormal front leg which need to be amputated. He of course could not walk when he was born. Even his mother did not want him.

His first owner also did not think that he could survive. Therefore, he was thinking of ‘putting him to sleep’. By this time, his present owner, Jude Stringfellow, met him and wanted to take care of him. She was determined to teach and train this dog to walk by himself. Therefore she named him ‘Faith’.

In the beginning, she put Faith on a surfing board to let him feel the movements. Later she used peanut butter on a spoon as a lure and to reward for him to stand up and jump around. Even the other dog at home also helped to encourage him to walk. Amazingly, after only 6 months, like a miracle, Faith learned to balance on his 2 hind legs, and jumped to move forward. After further training in the snow, he now can walk like a human being. Faith loves to walk around now. No matter where he goes, he just attracts all the people around him.

He is now becoming famous on the international scene. He has appeared in various newspapers and on TV shows. There is even a book entitled ‘With a Little Faith’ being published about him. He was also considered to appear in one of Harry Potter movies.

His present owner Jude Stringfellow has given up her teaching post and plans to take him around the world to preach that even without a perfect body, one can have a perfect soul.
In life there are always undesirable things that occur. Perhaps one will feel better if one changes the point of view from another direction.

Belated Milestones

Advanced Prostate Cancer, David Emerson, Faith-Love-Hope-WIn, FLHW, golf tournament, milestones -

This completely slipped my mind as I wrote my last post.
I actually spent a lot of time on the airplane Monday thinking about this, but forgot to include anything….

August 18th, 2008

This date might not mean much to most people. To me it marked 42 months, or three and a half years post diagnosis. So much has changed, yet so much remains the same.

First and foremost, we, Mary and I have settled into a somewhat comfortable way of dealing with having cancer on a daily basis. I am not suggesting that it’s easy, I’m just saying that it does not feel like this all encompassing burden. We have learned to deal with it, and we continue to live our lives, and maintain as much ‘normalcy’ as possible.

Next, I have met so many fellow Prostate Cancer survivors, it’s incredible. From all over the US, from all over the world! I really cherish their friendships, advice and feedback. However, there are a number of good people that we have lost; Ric, Wes, Rick, Aubrey and more. This is the sad part, merely typing their names makes me cry. God bless them, God bless their families.

Finally I come to our foundation; Faith, Love, Hope, Win. As the planning for our fourth annual golf tournament continues, I stop and think about what we have done in such a short time, with such limited resources. By the time our tournament is completed on September 26th we are hopeful that will be able to have raised over $100,000 for advanced prostate cancer research. Wow!

If you feel like reminiscing with me, this is a link to all the references of the word ‘milestones‘ in my blog. Pretty interesting, at least it was to me.

I’ll finish with a list from my blog entry dated July 21, 2005:
So these are my milestones, these are the things I roll out of bed each morning and work for, these are the things I live for and fight for:
– We will celebrate our 15 year wedding anniversary (Aug 2006, no doubt! ~ at a minimum 25 in 2016!!!)
– I will celebrate my Grandmother’s 100th Birthday in November
– I will see my niece graduate from college (May 2008, for sure ~ as long as she doesn’t begin a 5 year plan, no pressure Meg’s!!)
– I will see my nephew graduate from high school (May 2009)
– I will see my son get his drivers license (September 2012)
– I will see my son graduate from high school (May 2014)
– I will live to see him graduate from college
– I will live to see him get married
– I will live to be a grandfather
– I will live to be cured………

The first two are completed. The third…looks like I’ll see her married before graduation, but that’s OK. No doubt about number four. As for the others, I still have a few years, but each is getting closer and certainly more attainable as the days fly by! The final one is what I fall asleep praying for each night.