HEATH WILLIAM SAMMONS
02/25/88 TO 12/24/08
Palmetto, Florida

Heath William Sammons (20) passed from here into Heaven on the morning of Christmas Eve to be with Jesus. He battled a rare type of childhood bone cancer for three years with amazing courage and strength. Heath touched many lives with his outgoing personality and musical talent. His music will live on as he is now a Rock Star for Jesus.
Heath is survived by: His parents, Father: Gary Ryals Sammons and Stepmother Peggy, Mother: Karis (Eckley) Meier and Stepfather Jim Meier, brother and sister Colt and Karissa Sammons, Stepsisters Morgan Mitchell and Aubrey Lioce.
Maternal Grandparents, *Bill and Bonnie Eckley, Arthilla (Snooks) & Ed Lucier, Warren & Lorraine Sweetman, Paternal Grandparents, *Bob and Annette Moore, Step Grandparent Ted and Bonnie Meier, Aunts and Uncles: *Carl Ryals, Gary & Linda Sweetman, Rod & Barb Eckley, Denver & Laura Moore, Bruce & Chris Ryals, Melody Sweetman Carpenter & Ralph, Rich & Angie Lashaway, Eric & Teresa Sweetman and Mike & Diane Wilder.
*preceded in death
For those of you who would like to get to know Heath you can visit the attached sites:
His three year battle, http://www.heathsupdate.blogspot.com/ please visit the archives,
His faith, http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/heathsammons Condolences may be left on this site on the guestbook.
His music and fun times,
Heath singing: Sweet Child O Mine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzEhI4SHof4
Videos: Pretty Woman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSv3aGkDBxo
The Wild Wiener
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6WGCf1GP9A
Born to Be Wild
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVtWUxSsAH8
The Killing Killer That Kills
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZWHnr79jvU
Ol’ Memories
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-NvFK5FVOQ
The Magnificing Magnificents
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruDWwQkkxhc
Maginificing Magnificents and UnMagnificing Unmagnificents
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaqvzS8m3zk
Quiet Time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aybxQwpTjw0
Fox 13 news (Jam with Slash in LA)
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=25887E7F2EF0788B7EF9DA14AD08E759?contentId=7154603&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1

Heath’s celebration of Life will be held Thursday, January 1, 2009 at First Baptist Church in Palmetto at 11:00 am.

In Lieu of flowers, Memorials may be made to: THE JOY FM 88.1 http://www.thejoyfm.com/

Sweet Child of Mine

Heath went to be with the Lord at 2:25AM this morning. His birthday is 2/25. He was very peaceful at the time. He had his mom and stepdad, Karis and Jim, and his dad and stepmom, Gary and Peggy, on each side of his bed. His brother Colt and other family members were also in the room. The last thing that Heath said, which was earlier, was "I need to change my tunes". Karis believes he is now playing for Jesus and we all known Jesus is enjoying Heath's music.

We are all doing well. Besides not having much sleep, Karis is doing well. She has shed a lot of tears and will shed more. She is a very strong, amazing woman with a big heart. She fought for her son's life as hard as anyone could imagine. She is at peace knowing where Heath is now. Vera Jo is making sure we have plenty to eat tonight. We have some amazing friends that we know we can call at anytime if we need something.

He was surrounded by people that loved him very, very much. He and our family have been so blessed to receive the support and love from our family and friends. Our churches and employers have been tremendous with their support and understanding.

At this time we do not know the details of the service but we are planning the Celebration Party now and we want it to be a party that Heath would have wanted.

Thank you all and God bless,
Jim

Special Prayer Request from Karis for Heath

I do want to post this request here also because of the importance. This is a journal entry that Karis asked me to put on the Caring Bridge site this morning, http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/heathsammons.

This is Karis's husband. Karis wanted me to post a request that she wants to happen at 4PM today. She is on her way to church right now because she felt an overwhelming need to be there this morning.

Last night she had an inspiration or vision, she wasn't quite sure how to explain it. At 4 PM today she wants our house surrounded by people in prayer for Heath. She said it could be 5 people or 500 people as long as the house was surrounded. If you see this request and can't be here then she wants you to be in prayer for Heath at 4PM from where ever you are. She is very emotional this morning but I could see that this inspiration lifted her.

Heath has an amazing amount of faith that he will be healed. On several occasions he has asked people to pray for him but at this time he is not aware of this request. I'm not sure but I believe Karis may just want to fill this entire house with that kind of faith. So spread the word and join us all in prayer for Heath at 4PM today.

God bless you all,
Jim (Heath's stepdad)

Visit the Caring Bridge site that Karis setup

Please visit the Caring Bridge site that Karis recently setup. It is much more user friendly for her and has some nice added features. You can sign the guestbook as well as register to receive journal update notifications, which is something I wanted to do here but can't. I've been trying to get her to post on this site but the Caring Bridge is a much better place for her to keep everyone updated. I will also keep this blog going but may just post links back to the Caring Bridge site. Thanks Jill for getting Karis on that site.

Here is a link to the site, http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/heathsammons.

Congratulations and Thank You

We want to congratulate Patsy Skinner. Her ticket was drawn on September 20th. I believe she was out of town but Melody contacted her later that night.

We want to thank everyone that contributed from those that bought tickets to Melody and Ralph for organizing the event. Melody sent me this flier that was sent out to those that bought tickets and I wanted to post it here.

Car Drawing Update: we still need to sell 50 tickets

The drawing for the car is this Saturday and we still have approximately 50 more tickets to sell. We have to cover the cost of the car so it's important that we sell the rest of the tickets before the drawing. I voted to delay the drawing but that's not going to happen. If you know someone that wants a ticket but hasn't got one then have them give Melody a call at 941-756-2847. You don't have to be present to win. Thanks to all those that have bought tickets.

Surgery Update 9/10/08

Some of you may not be aware of this but Heath's been having a lot more pain and has lost mobility of his legs. Last night he was admitted at Moffitt so they could do an MRI and try to get his pain under control. The MRI showed that the tumors are growing into or around the spine which seems to be what has been causing the intense pain and problems with his legs.

Karis and Gary talked with Heath about his options and they decided to allow the doctors to operate on Heath's back to remove the part of the tumor that is encroaching on the spine. The doctors said that the surgery went well but he is in a lot of pain. He will be in ICU overnight and hopefully be comfortable enough to be moved to a room tomorrow. He will have a couple weeks of recovery time from the surgery. The doctors said that he was definitely strong enough to endure the surgery which is no doubt due to the alternative treatments he has been getting as well as his diet. They made it clear that this is just to make him more comfortable and to help minimize his pain. This may also help him get mobility back in his legs. We are still praying for a total cure and total healing of Heath's body. So please join us in praying for these things.

Tampa Bay Quarter Midget Racing Association is sponsering a charity race for Heath

On Saturday September 6, the Tampa Bay Quarter Midget Racing Association is sponsoring a charity race for Heath. Proceeds from the race will go to the Heath Sammons Medical Fund. The Tampa Bay Quarter Midget Racing Association is affiliated with Quarter Midgets of America, a youth racing organization for kids 5 to 16 years old. Here is a link to there website, http://www.tampabayqmra.com/tampabay/default.html.

The following is posted on their website:

"Charity Race...
The Charity Race is coming soon! Saturday September, 6 our quarter midget drivers will be racing for a young man named Heath Sammons. Heath is the son of Manatee County Sheriff's Lieutenant/Bomb Commander Gary Sammons. Heath has osteosarcoma and it has now spread to his lungs. Heath's condition has been deemed inoperable and he has become chemo resistant. Heath's parents are doing all they can to keep their son alive and have turned to alternative medications which are not covered by insurance and as we all know is very expensive. You can visit http://www.heathsupdate.blogspot.com/ to learn more on Heath's condition. There is a fund called Heath Sammons Medical Fund at Manatee River Community Bank which is where the proceeds will go. We are hoping that Heath will feel up to coming to the event and meeting the kids and dropping the first green flag of the day! Registration fees for the event will be $30 per car and don't forget this is a double points race! I will let you know if we are going to still do the covered dish soon. This will be an awards race! Let's make this an awesome race and raise some money for Heath."

Chad Geary works with Gary on the bomb squad and he has a son that will be racing. His name is Seth. So we would like to invite everyone to come out to the race to help support Heath and to cheer for Seth.

For track information and directions, you can visit there website at http://www.tampabayqmra.com/tampabay/Track.htm

We Believe

Heath and family would like to thank everyone who has been supportive through his battle. So many of you have been in prayer for Heath as well as for the rest of us and daily we are seeing God’s miracles. We are also very grateful for the financial support that we have received in Heath’s fight with cancer.

From the beginning, we have tried to help spread awareness so that we may help others that are battling similar cancers. Moffitt and Mass General have been so wonderful and without them we don’t think we could have saved Heath’s life. Now we have been forced down another path as Heath’s body has become chemo resistant. Currently, we are building up Heath’s immune systems to allow his body to fight the cancer. Therefore we have sought out several different alternative medicines/treatments and would like to spread awareness of what we have learned to help others.

We have always been open to where God would lead us to save Heath’s life. One Sunday morning, Bayside Community Church had a special quest speaker. Dr. Guy daSilva was speaking on Anti-aging and Wellness, how to prevent cancer and other diseases. Jim and I both looked at each other and knew that Heath needed to listen to what this doctor had to say. Then several months later when the chemo was no longer an option we took Heath to see Dr. daSilva. We all agreed that in order for Heath to have any chance at survival we would need to immediately change his diet as well as put him on vitamins and supplements. In addition, Dr. daSilva has offered Heath well documented intravenous therapies that are proven to effectively support the body’s ability to fight cancer. Currently Heath is seeing the doctor daily and the tumor is stable, which is a miracle. The type of cancer that Heath has is extremely aggressive since it can spread as well as double in size within 90 days. In the last ninety days the tumor has not grown and we are praying that his strengthened immune system is killing the tumor. Heath is getting stronger everyday.

We want to especially thank Dr. daSilva for praying over Heath along with his dedicated hours of research. Dr. daSilva has donated many additional hours, therapies, and supplements to help defray some of the cost of Heath’s treatments. Heath and Karis have developed a special bond with Dr. daSilva, Tina his wife as well as the Office Liaison Jessica. As you pray for Heath would you also pray for the doctor as we all work together build Heath up.

Also a special thanks to Dr. Christian Thompson DC – Christian Chiropractic for praying for Heath and donating treatments to adjust Heath’s body.

For the information regarding Heath’s treatments here are the links:

http://www.dasilvainstitute.com/ (941) 388-0940

http://themikeycenter.net/ HYPERBARIC (oxygen treatment chamber)

Thompson, Christian DC - Christian Chiropractic (941) 761-3919

Link to Fox 13 showing interview with Heath

Here's the link to Fox 13 interview with Heath and Karis that aired at 11PM on 8-6-08, http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=7154603

I'm not sure how long this link will work so watch it now while you can. We want to thank Lloyd Sowers and Fox 13 of Tampa Bay for doing a great job.

Watch Fox News 13 at 11PM tonight

Fox News will be airing a segment about Heath tonight at 11PM. Lloyd Sowers, co-anchor for the FOX 13 News, was at our house last week and interviewed Heath and Karis about his fight with cancer and how Slash has reached out to him.

I will update the blog with a link if they put it on their website.

Good scan results on June 25

Heath had scans done at Moffitt on June 25. They told us that his tumor could double in size within a 90 day period because it is such an aggressive type of cancer. He has been having a lot of pain in that area but Dr. Dasilva told him that the treatments should be killing the tumor which would cause the pain. The scan results basically showed that the tumor has not grown. It's even possible that it had grown some from the time of his previous scan and to when he started the alternative treatments then shrunk a little bit. Also, he is not showing any other symptoms of the cancer. All of his other organs and lymph nodes appear basically normal.

This was very good news and is a good indication that the treatments that Dr. Dasilva is giving Heath as well as all the vitamins, supplements, juicing (or pond water as Heath calls it) and organic diet that Karis is giving Heath are working to build up his immune system so his body can fight the cancer the way it was met to.

Karis will be scheduling him to have scans in about two weeks. We thank everyone for all the prayers and good thoughts. Please continue to pray for further healing.

Fish On

We had a very good time fishing last Saturday. I purchased this fishing trip several months ago at Buck and Vera Jo's Grace Class auction. It's a yearly auction where members of the class donate and/or find friends of theirs to donate items or services. The proceeds go to missions and other things that the class agrees to sponsor. Every dime is used for a great cause and always to help spread God's word.

I'd like to thank June Bug for donating this fishing trip to the Grace Class auction. I can't remember exactly what price I finally paid for the trip but I remember Buck bidding me up to almost the full value of the trip. He knew I wanted it and he has a knack for knowing how high he can take you and then back off. It's always a lot of fun watching and bidding.

We had a great time and plenty of "Fish On" battle cries were heard. We caught our limit of Trout, one Flounder, about six Silver Trout, several undersized trout, plus hooked into a couple Spanish Mackerel and a Snook. Thanks again to June Bug for donating the trip. I will be using him again. For more information about fishing with June Bug, visit http://www.SnookQueenCharters.com/.

Thanks Aunt Melody for making one of Heath's dreams come true

Heath will get to spend some time with his favorite musician. Heath’s Aunt Melody has been in contact with Slash of Velvet Revolver and helped arrange something very special. Slash has booked a recording studio in L.A. where Heath and Slash are going to jam and record one maybe two songs together. You can only imagine how much this means to Heath. I can’t say enough about how wonderful we all think Slash is for reaching out to Heath like he has. I’m also sure that Slash will be impressed with Heath’s talent and they will have a great time.

Moffitt appointment with doctors 5/1/08

Karis and Heath met with the doctors at Moffitt on Thursday. The doctors do not think that the Chemo is working. They have ruled out any kind of radiation or surgery or further chemo at this time. The doctors at Moffitt and Boston, as well as Dr. Agresta in California and Dr. D’Amato in Georgia are all looking for a new Clinical Trial for him. The Sarcoma Annual Meeting is May 30th thru June 5th. We are praying that they all put their heads together and come up with a protocol for Heath. Karis is looking at alternative medicine at this time and is in touch with MD Anderson for a Clinical Trial with Whey Protein also known as Glutathione. She spoke with the Clinical Nurse today. Heath is on a strong vitamin regimen as well as an organic diet and organic juicing. He will be meeting with two different natural doctors this week. The chemo has been hard on his body and this vitamin protocol should boost his immune system and bring his antioxidant levels up.

We are asking for your prayers as we are praying for a miracle. The doctors have been amazing and we are not giving up.

Scan results

Heath had CT scans with contrast this morning. He had to drink 3 big bottles of barium sulfate: one last night, one early this morning and one on the way to Moffitt this morning. He's been feeling nauseous from the chemo he had on Thursday and he was running a fever all weekend so drinking that stuff was not easy for him.

They were able to get a good look at what is going on now. The scans from March didn't show much because there was so much fluid in the right lung. Now we have a good scan to compare against in six weeks after he gets two more cycles (four rounds) of chemo. That should tell us if this protocol is working.

Today's scans showed two tumors. One on them was in the area that they spotted back in January and thought it could be scar tissue or a tumor. It was too small to do anything with at that time but it has grown to 3-4 cm. It is in the back part of the right lung. The second tumor is much larger and is located at the bottom of the right lung. They said that it is in the pleural lining and that it had grown inside by the bottom of the right lung and outside around the liver. The good thing is that this tumor is showing signs of necrosis (cell death) which could mean that the chemo is working. This is the tumor that caused the Pleural effusion.

Thanks for all the prayers. Keep praying that this chemo is working.

Links showing Heath playing with The U.C. Band

Heath has been playing with a great group of guys. The name of their band is The Under Construction Band or U.C. Band. These guys are all older (my age and up) and they have been playing together for a long time. They are also known as F-Troop.

Heath plays lead guitar. They have told me how amazed they are at Heath's talent and Heath loves playing with them because they really have a good time.

Here is a link showing Heath playing the National Anthem on April 11th at the Palmetto Relay For Life Cancer Walk. I filmed this on my little camera so the video is a little choppy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtuHT0FgswM

Here's a link showing video from later in the evening. The U.C. Band was playing Satisfaction. I started running out of memory so I was only able to catch part of some of the songs. I believe they played for a little over one hour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI7puyvC_Mg

2nd round of chemo has been completed

I discovered a new setting for this blog and now Karis can post here as well. I've gotten a little behind again so that should help me keep this blog up to date.


Here's the update:
On April 10th, Heath was given another round of the Gemcitabine chemo. That night he played a gig with his band, The U.C. Band, so he seemed to take it fairly ok. The next night he and his band played at the Palmetto Relay For Life Cancer Walk. I'll post more on that later.

One week later on April 17th he was supposed to get a round of Gemcitabine and Taxotere but his blood counts were too low so they delayed it for one week. Today he was given the Gemcitabine and Taxotere chemo. He had a reaction to the Taxotere which was also very scary because he thought he was having a stroke. They stopped the infusion for about 15 minutes and then continued it more slowly. They said it wasn't common but that it does happen sometimes. Next time they will start with a slower rate and then increase it as they go.

Next Thursday he will be getting more scans. This should give us some idea if the protocol is working or not. Please pray that the tumors are shrinking.

3-30-08 Update

Heath had another round of chemo on Thursday. Last week he got Gemcitabine. This week he got Gemcitabine and Taxotere. This round completed the first of six cycles. He will start the second cycle in two weeks.

He went and played with his band Thursday night after getting the chemo and had a good time. For those of you that don't know, he's an extremely talented musician and getting better all the time.

The Gemcitabine chemo seemed to make him a bit nauseous a couple days after getting it but it only lasted a couple days last time. He's feeling it today so hopefully it doesn't last long. He's also not sleeping very well because of the restless leg symdrome. His attitude is still very good.

That's all for now. Thanks for all the prayers.

Chemo went fine

It was a long day for Heath but everything went ok. They were able to access his port but that part was stressful. Keep praying that this chemo will remove the tumors completely.

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.

Update on 3-15-08

Heath is recovering well and he is following a strict diet plan. His attitude is very good and he is eating and drinking what Karis is giving him. For the most part it's pretty good because she's done her research and is a very good cook.

The doctors at Moffitt and at Mass General meet every Thursday to discuss their cases. They have been in communication with each other and have agreed on how to proceed. Needless to say, that alone is a major stress relief.

He goes back to Moffitt next Wednesday for labs and has appointments with 2 different doctors. He will start chemo on Thursday. I didn't want to go into all the details of the treatment at this point but he will not have to be admitted because it is an outpatient protocol. It is also a protocol that has had proven results and not a clinical trial.

Keep praying for healing of Heath and guidance for us and the doctors.

Coming home today

His chest tubes were removed yesterday and he will be coming home today. His spirits are still very good and positive.

We will be meeting with the doctors early next week to discuss treatment. Please pray that the best decisions are made and the best treatments are available.

I will try and keep this blog updated next week since a lot is going on.

Thanks again.

Update after surgery

Heath had surgery Monday around 12:30. After the surgery, the doctor came out and said that they found some tumors. They biopsied the area and confirmed that it is a spread of the initial sarcoma from his sacrum. The only thing we know is they said he would need more chemo.

He is in pain but doing ok and his attitude is just awesome. Please keep him in your prayers.

Sorry, I had the wrong time. The Surgery is not scheduled yet.

The surgery is not scheduled yet. He may go at 8:45 AM if there is a cancellation but that is unlikely. He may get scheduled for noon or it could be 5PM. If that doesn't happen then he should get in sometime Tuesday.

Sorry for the confusion.

Heath is scheduled for surgery at 8:45AM on Monday, 3/3/08

As of now, Heath is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning at 8:45AM.

Heath was admitted into Moffitt on Thursday due to fluid in his lungs. They quickly realized that his right lung was collapsed due to being filled with fluid. They called it Pleural effusion. It was so bad that his heart was being pushed over. They put in a chest tube to start draining the fluid. So far they have drained 10 liters of fluid. Initially, they said it could be pneumonia or cancer that is causing the Pleural effusion. They have sent off a sample of the fluid to biopsy it. They will not have results on that until probably Tuesday.

Going back a little, on January 2 they found another spot on his right lung. They decided to just keep a close eye on it because it was very small. Karis moved up the follow-up scan because Heath has been coughing and not feeling well at all in his chest. Plus she didn't want him to get x-rays here and then have to get them at Moffitt.

He had more w-rays last night so I'm guessing that the doctors looked at them this morning and decided to schedule surgery. They said that he still has fluid on the bottom 3 lobes of the right lung. They are going to perform a right video assisted thorascopic surgery to remove the remaining fluid with a possible right pleuroresis (process to make the lung stick to the wall) and possibly remove the spot that they found back on January 2. They will look at the rest of the lung if possible.

That's all I know at this point. We do ask that you try and check this blog for updates to help reduce the amount of time that Karis needs to spend on the phone for several reasons. Feel free to call me for updates if needed.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers