A New Life

• I just wanted to let everyone know that I am doing fine. There are going to be days that it's going to be really tough but as I never gave up hope in this journey I also was mentally preparing myself for the worst. Ric fought so hard in this battle never giving up - seeing what he put into it over the last 11 months was so amazing. We thank God for every day that He allowed us to spend with Ric and there were many wonderful days.
• We have been so overwhelmed by the love and support during this Rollercoaster Ride but also these days after he left us. His passing was the most incredibly peaceful transistion and his face was so at peace when he left. The steroids had him sorta puffy the last few weeks but once his soul left his body, his face looked like the old Ric before all of this battle. It was a very reassuring thing for me to see.
• Ric was an organ donor as many of you know he donated a kidney to his younger sister back in 2001. So we were approached to donate his corneas so that two people could have sight now and of course we agreed. Ric was the ultimate giver both in his life and his death.
• Ric's wishes were that he be cremated as he did not want a gravesite for people to visit and mourn. He told me of 10 different locations that he wanted his ashes spread. Of course most of them are in warm or tropical places as he loved the sunshine! Holly says she thinks he told me that so that we would continue travelling as a family as he loved going places.
• We have set up a Memorial Fund. There is information in a previous post that Rocky put on the blog on the Memorial Fund. The Celebration of Ric's Life is Saturday March 10th at 1:30pm at the Bellevue Hilton. Information was also posted earlier.
• We know that Ric is in a better place and no longer suffering in any way. He has been renewed and reunited with his Dad, his buddies Dale Ambrosio, Rock Burns and Don Jerrick and our sweet baby Michelle. We know that we will all be reunited one day in heaven.
• Again thank you so much for all your love & support during this journey. We have so truly been blessed by you all and love you all so very much. May God Bless You!

Celebration of Life Service

I wanted to make sure that all of you are aware... The Celebration of Life Service will be on March 10th, 2012 at 1:30pm. It will be located at the Bellevue Hilton in Bellevue, WA. For out of town guests, you may be able to get a room there. Please RSVP through here, on Facebook (Search: Celebration of Life-Ric Martinez), or text/call Rocky (425-281-0444) or Holly (206-818-9829) so we can get an accurate count. We are so overjoyed at all the offers of assistance, prayers, love and support that we are receiving from everyone. Thank you for everything and we will see you at the service where we can Celebrate Ric's Wonderful Life. Bellevue Hilton 300 112th Ave SE Bellevue, WA 98004 (425)455-1300 http://bellevuehilton.com

In memory of....

Hey all, Rocky here... Ric ended his 11 month battle with cancer on 2/22/12 at 8am. He passed peacefully in his sleep. He is now with our heavenly father, his father, and his friends that have passed before him. He had the love of his life, Roxanne by his side during the whole time. The family is saddened by the loss of a great man but we know that he is not fighting anymore and he can now truly be at peace. The "Celebration of Life" service is not scheduled yet but we will post it so any and all can have an opportunity to attend. We will post it to the blog, Facebook, and will attempt to call all those that don't have access to either. Tentatively the service is scheduled for Saturday March 10th, but we will have confirmation soon. With the passing of Ric, the Family has set up a Memorial Fund: Ric Martinez Memorial Fund, where proceeds will go to Compassion in Action, a cause that both Ric and Roxanne are deeply involved with. Ric's passion over the past 5 years had been helping with Compassion in Action (CinA), where he and Roxanne have traveled many times to Nicaragua to help with building the Dario Christian Academy, teaching students and becoming mentors to the children and staff . In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make a donation to the "Ric Martinez Memorial Fund" where proceeds will go to Compassion in Action.

Compassion In Action Information: Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere, hit severely by recent national disasters and years of civil war and unrest. Many of the children in this country are undernourished and few have educational opportunities. Your decision to partner with Compassion In Action through a sponsorship committment will help provide a child with an education, nutritious food and access to medical attention. Most important, a sponsored child will be shown the love of Christ and will grow up learning how to serve Him and to serve others. (http://www.wearecompassion.org/)

2-21-12

Oh my gosh this is so very hard. Things are not good. Ric has pneumonia and bleeding in his brain. They gave him more steroid that may allow him to wake up (5-10% chance) but it doesn't change all the other issues he has going on. We are at a point of just keeping him comfortable but unless we get a miracle he's on his way to leaving us here on earth. My heart is breaking as I have been with Ric since I was 17 and I'm not too sure how life will be without him. I do know I will be okay as I have so many people (friends & family) who love me and will make sure I am okay. We were supposed to have a big celebration at our 50th wedding anniversary in 15 more yrs like his parents did. We had so many trips planned - he so wanted to go back to Nicaragua. Just isn't fair to have all of that taken away. I am too young to be a widow. But even though it is hard I am so very thankful to have been able to spend the last 11 months with Ric. We were not sure how long we would have - hoping & praying for as much time as possible. God has given us many miracles along this journey. But his problems were so very big and his body has been fighting so hard and could only take so much. We think it's time for him to rest. Right now he's resting comfortably - still in a very deep sleep but still breathing on his own. The Doc's say it's only a matter of time. Prayers for peace for our huge extended families (Ric has 6 siblings & I have 8 siblings) and for me & my kids. Prayers for comfort for Ric. Thanks for all the love & support - we are overwhelmed by all of you.

Update

We are in the hospital room... waiting to see the floor doctor. Dad has still not woken up at all, though we continue to talk to him occasionally to let him know we are here and that we love him - not sure if he can hear us, but we will continue to let him know we are here. The ER doctor said that he is septic (spelling?), so he has an infection in his lungs, as well as continued swelling in his brain, so the combination of the two could be what is making him "sleep" so deeply. No one has titled it a "coma" yet, but Rocky said essentially that is what it is. Dad is still breathing on his own, so no machines are controlling that. They have given him antibiotics to help with the infection - however, this is not guaranteed to help him wake up. The ER doctor said that even if he does wake up, he will still have all the other issues he's been fighting. No other real news besides that. We don't know what the immediate future holds and/or what to expect. We are truly just trusting that God will keep him out of pain and suffering, and keep us peaceful and strong. We can't say thank you enough... the words don't feel like they express enough gratitude, we truly feel so amazed by the outpour of love and compassion for my Dad and our family. -Holly

Sleep

Hey everyone - Holly here.. I wanted to send a quick and brief (frustrating for you all - I know) message. Today my Dad has been in a deep sleep all day, and we've been unable to wake him, He's breathing very deeply, and even snoring... but no matter what we've tried he will not wake up. We are transporting him to the hospital per his Oncologists orders, to get him admitted and fully diagnosed. However, the Dr was very blunt in saying that the radiation we had scheduled maybe would have bought him a couple more weeks or maybe a couple more months. We are not sure what this all means, but we are at peace with whatever God decides to do. I just want my Dad's suffering and pain to end, and I'm trusting that God will answer our prayers. Please pray for guidance, strength and peace, as we might have to face the toughest moment in our lives. Thank you. I will update when we are able and have more information.

Not good

Doc is not happy with where Ric is right now. He's gotten worse over the last couple days - weaker and still having issues with strength. He is getting his treatment right now but Doc says with where he's at the only thing that may help is radiation. Ric's not sure he wants to go down that path. Right now he's napping so I am doing this update to ask for your prayers right now that God will make it clear to Ric whether he should do the radiation or not. There are no guarantees that it will help but doing nothing means the brain tumor will continue to grow and affect him even more. As it grows that means it will be putting pressure on the brain stem and more functions will shut down and you know what that means. So please pray for us.