I have some of the best coworkers and friends around. I was diagnosed with terminal, stage 4 colon cancer in December 2021…shortly after I left Barron County Sheriff’s Department. I used to take vacations at least twice a year to get away from work and all of the things I do for people but with chemo every other week and cancer expenses…I haven’t had a vacation since May 2021. I’ve been fighting cancer hard and working on the days I haven’t been sick. In June 2023, I had to take off of work for a minimum of 30 days for two reasons. The first, I’ve been having increased abdominal pain since Januaryish and it keeps getting worse. Some days are great, others….I can’t get out of bed, walk upstairs, etc. We’ve been working on addressing the cancer pain as best as possible but there are good days and bad. The second reason is I am out of sick time at the County I work for. I qualify for Income Continuation Insurance but have to be off work for awhile to qualify for it. Between the pain and that, I stopped working in June…which includes not only the Sheriff’s Department but the fire department, and all of the other “side jobs” I do. I’ve been pretty bummed out facing sitting around and doing NOTHING. If you know me, you know I like to work and do things and this has been very hard on me.
My former coworkers at Barron (in conjunction with WBSO coworkers, fire dept members, and a variety of awesome people) threw together a little getaway for me to my favorite place: Florida. I am still in shock and awe of the generosity of people. Today, I arrived in Orlando with my beautiful girlfriend (who, has been by my side since from when I was normal and through all of the diagnosis stuff and doctors appointments) Ky.
Our flight went good! We ended up staying at the MSP Intercontinental Hotel the night before on a whim and was a much better choice than driving at 0200AM from Shell Lake. We made it to Orlando around 1030AM local time and we are able to check in to the hotel right away! I am driving a fancy BMW car (although I’ve been fighting with the advanced controls like lane assist and the trunk button…it’s not like my squad!). We spent the afternoon just relaxing (although I, pretty much, accidentally slept through almost the entire afternoon). We did eat at a good burger spot called Beth’s Burger, it was great! This evening, we went to the resort pool and got some food/drinks and swam for awhile! It’s been so long since I’ve been able to swim! We also made use of the big tub in our bedroom!!
The main plan on this trip is to relax…we don’t really have anything planned at this point, were just going with the flow…but Ky and I will both keep you updated along the way!
Tucker
