Update [06.28]
Surgery Achieved.
"I spent much of today at a cancer center at Long Island Jewish Hospital here in New York, and am happy to report that I'm scheduled for surgery there tomorrow.
This is only possible because of the overwhelming support I've received after sharing my story.
This is only possible because of the overwhelming support I've received after sharing my story.
There are already 230 contributors who have donated money on my behalf. With these funds I will be able to pay for my operation tomorrow, and can use the remainder to help with further tests as well as my possible radiation treatment. You have my deepest gratitude; the impact your gift has had (and will have) on my life is immeasurable. The more I write here, the fewer words I can find to really express the gratitude I feel in the face of such generosity. It is immense. Merely using the word "gratitude" feels almost petty. Though it sounds dramatic, there is a chance you may have helped to save my life - and that certainly carries more weight than the word "gratitude" could ever convey.
Cancer sneaks into the lives of individuals and sometimes carries them away into quiet tragedy. Because of all of your help, this is no tragedy at all; it has instead become a celebration of my ties to the world, and to all of you. Support has exploded from all over the country, and running down the list of well-wishers is like taking a tour of the best parts of my life. I feel incredibly "fortunate" - yet another word that is not quite potent enough - because I'm going to survive solely on the merits of you, an army of past and future friends. Great ones at that. Once again I wish I had the right words, or at least more of them.
One day I hope to find the means to thank each of you properly. But for now:
Thank you. You may have saved my life."
- Austin Jennings
Cancer sneaks into the lives of individuals and sometimes carries them away into quiet tragedy. Because of all of your help, this is no tragedy at all; it has instead become a celebration of my ties to the world, and to all of you. Support has exploded from all over the country, and running down the list of well-wishers is like taking a tour of the best parts of my life. I feel incredibly "fortunate" - yet another word that is not quite potent enough - because I'm going to survive solely on the merits of you, an army of past and future friends. Great ones at that. Once again I wish I had the right words, or at least more of them.
One day I hope to find the means to thank each of you properly. But for now:
Thank you. You may have saved my life."
- Austin Jennings