Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Non-Petro Discussions Non-petro Discussion and Showcase Friday finally

Good Morning everyone,
On my way at 6am to a Shell station here in town where I belong to a coffee fund with a bunch of mechanics. Driving my original 33 Pontiac Sports Coupe down there with 26,000 miles. Never been out of the family. Just don't drive it in the dark because of course it is black. 50 degrees here suppose to be a killer super day. Hope you all have a good one too and stay safe, Rob

I'm not Superstitious,but I am a littlestitious.
Happy Friday the 13th all.

Good morning gang!

Finishing up a Dodge truck, winterizing a boat, repacking wheel bearings on a pontoon trailer, and painting a rear bumper cover off of a Subaru.

Tomorrow my wife and I are taking out my old ford truck on the annual cruise for cancer. My shop sponsored this, it should be a great day! Here is who the donation $$ is going to this year, it is written by the boys mother.



Hello. Once again, thank you for your compassion & generosity.
In December 2011- Ricky started having pains in his leg. I brought him in multiple times & they treated him for a pulled muscle, possible hernia, then infection. By this time he had already had 3 X-rays. We were referred to Duluth where yet another X-ray was done & that's when a spot was seen in his femur. Dr. Trombino was hopeful it was the infection & the plan was to surgically treat the area. When she went in she didn't find an infection but large hallow area with abnormal tissues. She broke us the news. We waited 3 days praying it was something else but on February 7 2012 Ricky was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Further testing also showed it to be in his bone marrow changing the diagnosis to metastatic. He underwent 12 weeks of chemotherapy in Duluth. His marrow then tested negative & they were able to harvest some peripheral stem cells for future use. In May 2012, the removed the majority of his left femur & replaced it with a titanium implant. The next step was the bone marrow transplant at U of M- Amplatz children's hospital. He underwent the most potent chemo to man for 8 days straight (the goal to shut down his marrow completely) they then transfused him with a small amount of the stem cells & we waited for his body to start producing healthy cells. He blew the doctors away by how fast he bounced back. We were in Minneapolis until early September, then allowed to come back home. Ricky was enjoying life but in October his implant dislodged from his hip, & he underwent another 4 hour major surgery to put the hip back into place. We then focused hard on physical therapy in the next months & limited Ricky's activity on his own. In January 2013 Ricky had his first clear pet scan & was considered to be Cancer Free!!!! we were so beyond relieved & thankful. we had a period of pure bliss but In February his physical therapist was concerned of the pain Ricky was having & asked we have it looked at by his surgeon where they discovered the cement at the base if the implant cracking. Meaning another surgery. This time he had grown enough to use a more solid piece that would allow his own bone to fuse rather cement but he was zero weight baring for 6 weeks. He's never walked without crutches since. He started deteriorating in so many ways. The doctors blamed it on post traumatic stress disorder & we started to see a councilor but I had a gut feeling something was wrong. He had more & more pain as the months went on. We had his leg looked at & thought it was from his off balance walk but in June 2013 he started having terrible headaches. It was blamed on many things but June 26th tumor popped out o his forehead. I immediately brought him in & on June 28th 2013 they broke the news to me that his Ewing's was back & this time in multiple places in his skull, spine & marrow. The prognosis not good. He started chemotherapy immediately & we watched the tumor in the forehead shrink before our eyes, his mood stabilized & I got my son back. He then underwent 5 rounds of radiation & continuing with the chemotherapy. He has a pet scan next week. I've consulted with the mayo & they agree with the protocol being used under the guidance of the U of M.
There is small % that he can beat this from this treatment alone but the goal is to keep it under control & pray for a better treatment to arise A Cure for Ewing's. I was told it was one they haven't figured out but I will never lose hope!!!! I'm talking with a facility in Texas that has a team that deals primarily with Ewing's. He is such a strong little warrior! He will beat this!

Wow--when a person is having a bad day, they should have that letter to read! Really makes a person stop and think!
Thank you for posting that Ryan!
Where would I send a donation??
Have a great day on me!!--KEVIN

Kevin, if you want to send a donation that would be great! Last time we did this we raised over 10K!!

Send me a donation VIA paypal and I will pull the money and donate it in cash on Saturday morning. I can donate it in your name or put it in as a donation from the Oldgas membership??

paypal ryan@thepumpdump.com

He is going to ride with various cars tomorrow throughout the day.

Good Morning everyone,

What a heart breaking story, Ryan. I pray that the young man can hang in there as long as it take to figure out a way to beat the thing.

I helped setup the women's group rummage sale at church yesterday and this morning. Now they are on their own, until Saturday afternoon when I help cleanup. Doing a good business so far.

Have a great Friday the 13th out there in Oldgasland!

Ryan--PM sent!

Donation sent via papal

You guys are awesome! I did not post this on here to try and get donations. I just thought it was a neat story and figured many of you would like to hear about it.

It is a true sign of our membership here, people hundreds of miles away donating their hard earned money to something that is not at all local to them. I just dont know what to say...

Ryan, it's you that deserves the pat on the back. It's a great cause that you have sponsored. I am a firm believer that there is such a thing as divine intervention. It is through the great self-less actions of men like you that Gods work gets done!

Donation sent...I appreciate you affording me with the opportunity to be able to do a bit of good today!

Best regards,

It is a great thing you are doing, Ryan!

I hope the Cruise-In goes without a "hitch" and everyone has the best of times!

Sent paypal. Small amount wish I could do more.

Great thing you are doing.