Fred Vesey in the Battle of His Life for His Life
You may already be aware that a veteran MDI alumnus Fred Vesey has been diagnosed with cancer. Fred is also being tested for suspected additional medical issues. Fred is being public about his illness so confidentiality is not being broken in his requests for help. Fred lives on a limited budget and is now incurring large expenses for his medical tests and treatment along with transportation costs for doctors and hospital visits. Fred has established a Go-Fund-Me campaign to allow others to make financial contributions to assist him during these challenging times.
The Go-Fund-Me link is: https://www.gofundme.com/ek6hkhp8
From Fred:
My name is Fred Vesey and I am in the starting stages of fighting cancer. This is just something I want to share, as it makes me feel better to talk about these issues, and I am sure some men out their can relate.
I check my e-mails every couple of hours to see if anyone has something to share with me. I read the love from my friends, and I see them giving me donations on the site my daughters put together. I hear my friends love and see their kind words and I feel my heart fill with a missing for them and a gratitude that is hard to express. My eyes fill, and I cannot breathe for a few seconds as I slump over my laptop and fill my glasses with tears.
This is the hardest thing I have ever done, and it is not the cancer. It is having the courage to ask for help when in my heart I feel like I do not deserve it, for some reason. I know what everyone tells me … that I have given so much and now it is time for men and women who care to give back.
My childhood was a lot like other men who had a father that, while doing what he thought was best, still wounded the child. I was driven in my life to support fathers to be the example to their families and to show it with love, respect and guidance. I did my best to help men on each of their journeys, to be all the man they can be, and I did it because I did not have a choice. This battle for another man’s family went on for years and still goes on. Men all over the world have stepped up to save our families from the pain of abandonment and cruelty and to make a difference for all of our futures.
I have learned to trust in my friends and allow them to support me and to feel the pain of a lost and confused childhood. The pain of a mother crying, alone while trying to raise their sons. The pain of all the great men and women in my life as they make a difference for families and children. My heart is full, and I feel the shift from pain to acceptance knowing we are making a difference not just for me but for families, fathers, mothers and communities all over the bay area.
Thank you to all the men and women who give so much to help out less fortunate and give them a happy holiday as it comes upon us. God bless us all and thanks for your support.
Love and Respect.