Jerry Atkin

Jerry Atkin’s Final Sail

Derek — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 04:09:43 +0000

Yesterday June 21, 2015 Gerald Atkin was laid to rest in Little Traverse Bay, Northern Michigan. His last reported position was N 45′ 23.648 W 85′ 01.419. I took the liberty of building the boat he took his last sail on, I hope he enjoyed it. The ceremony was attended by myself, my sister Cori and my father’s brother Jim. A couple of tears, a swig of Jack Daniels and a few laughs were shared by all. It was a good send off, I think he would have approved.

Dad I love you and miss you, fair winds my friend.

One Year After…

Derek — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 23:26:10 +0000

Hello Friends and Family,

Its been a year since Dad (Jerry) passed. 5.5 hours from the time I am drafting this email to be exact. Many thanks to all of you that attended his memorial celebrations. Tonight as we celebrate his one year anniversary in Heaven, I would ask you all to raise a glass and have a drink to honor his Memory. Lord knows he will be drinking up there tonight.

Please continue to keep in touch and share the stories of the life and times of Gerald C. Atkin.

Miss You Dad.

Derek.-

Memorial Charity Information

Derek — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:21:37 +0000

The family has chosen the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan as our charity for Dad’s Memorial. Dad always delighted in giving gifts that just made people happy. It is our hope that he can continue to do so – through this foundation.

Please send your donations to:
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan
230 Huron View Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103

Attach a note that it is in Memory of Gerald C. Atkin.

Derek.-

Memorial Information

Derek — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 19:01:47 +0000

Hello all,

We have planned two memorials for Dad. Details are below:

Saturday January 16, 2010 12pm-4pm
Tawas Bay Yacht Club
578 S Coast Guard Rd
East Tawas, MI 48730-0006.

Saturday January 30, 2010 5pm-8pm
Grosse Pointe Yacht Club
788 Lake Shore Road
Grosse Pointe Shores, MI 48236-1592

If you need travel information, detail or have any questions please feel free to email me at datkin@opus45.com

Thank You,

Derek Atkin

A note from Denise

Derek — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:53:02 +0000

Well as you probably have already heard Jerry passed away on Dec. 1st, and the Jerry we knew gave it his all to fight his disease. He amazed his doctor’s and nurses. Throughout his battle he still had that raw sense of humor, still could make you laugh even at the worst of times.

I would like to take this time to thank you all for your prayers, beautiful thoughts and messages, it truly ment alot to Jerry and myself. I would read him his e-mails while he was in the hospital, he so enjoyed each one, sure brought back many memories for him. It gave us both the opportunity to look back and talk about his past especially during his McCann years, which was a major part of his life (in good times and not so good times). As Jerry would say though that was the name of the game!

It’s truly hard to believe that he is gone but he will live on in our memories forever.

I’m still in Texas awaiting for his remains so I can bring them home, a promise that I made to him. I told him before we even came to Houston that I would not come home without him, either way.

We will be planning a memorial service to celebrate Jerry’s life but I can only do that after I get home. Please have patience, it has been a long trying journey and I want to do this properly for Jerry.

I pray for you all and I can not begin to tell you how much your support has ment to us.

My Deepest Regards.

Love Denise

December 1, 2009

Derek — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:10:17 +0000

It is with great sadness that I send this email out. Gerald Atkin passed away 10:45 CST in Houston Texas.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”

Derek, Cori, Diann and Denise Atkin

November 22, 2009 – Update

Derek — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:35:39 +0000

Hello All,

This past week has been quite good for Jerry he has been getting up and doing his daily exercise and walks. It really makes a huge difference in the way he feels. Sometimes it’s hard to get motivated being that he feels so weak but exercise is the best thing for him no matter how he is feeling.

The BIG NEWS is that we are coming back to Michigan on Dec. 2!!!

Doctor’s here realize that because of his other medical conditions, i.e. short gut syndrome he is not a candidate for some of their unique or experimental treatments. They feel that it would be very beneficial for both of us to come home and continue his treatment closer to home. That way we can be around family, friends and our loving four legged babies. We will be flying home non-stop flight, our good friend Judy which is a CRNA (medical field) will be traveling with us. She is such a God send. The doc’s here will have all his medical record needs transferred before we get there so the doc’s at home will know just how to treat him. We could not get this all arranged in time to keep him on track with chemo so we decided to continue on with his schedule and get him home after round 4. They started this treatment Sunday and basically he should be set to be released on this Friday. That will give us a few days to let him relax before his long day of flying home.

We have so appreciated your kind letters, e-mails and prayers they really have helped us through this trying time.

We will keep you posted on Jerry’s progress and transfer home.

Take care and God bless you all.

Love Denise

Hello All,

The BIG NEWS is that we are coming back to Michigan on Dec. 2!!

We have so appreciated your kind letters, e-mails and prayers they really have helped us through this trying time.

We will keep you posted on Jerry’s progress and transfer home.

Take care and God bless you all.

Love Denise

November 12, 2009

Derek — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:48:21 +0000

Hello all.

Dad had completed his latest Chemo treatment and is in the “valley” of the treatment cycle. His blood counts are low and he is battling infections and a bout of thrush.

Yesterday the hospital executed another PET scan and the results were very positive. From a cancer perspective the tumor is shrinking faster than anticipated, so that is a good sign. There are still other issues to be dealt with but overall – he is progressing well.

I spoke with Dad tonight and he was in good spirits. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated – please keep them coming.

Thanks

Derek.-

Friday October 30

Derek — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:26:56 +0000

Hello all,

I made another trek down to Houston to check on Dad.

He had a surgical procedure yesterday to have a tube installed in his stomach. This tube allows the contents of his stomach (mostly acid at this point) to bypass his digestive system and give him complete bowel rest. He had been having issues with blockages in his ileostomy which was putting lots of pressure on his digestive system. The doctors have indicated that he will not be able to eat by mouth for 12 weeks. In the interim he will continue to be fed intravenously using a protein/sugar mixture called TPN.Dad is planned to start his third Chemo regiment this week. Doctors have been happy with his response to the treatment – and his system is bouncing back pretty well.

Dad has been on a regular regiment of pain medication – which makes him groggy and not always sure where he is or what is going. Coupled with a tube in his nose – it get tough at time to understand him. Even in the midst of the drugs Dad’s sense of humor still shines through – here are a couple of quotes from the surgery yesterday:

Nurse: Mr. Atkin – do you know what operation you are having performed today?

Dad: A Hysterectomy

As they are loading Dad back into his bed after the trip to the OR:

Dad: Where is my thong? You know they call me the Beach Marauder.

Dad: That is not my arm – someone switched my arm!

As they were fixing his sheets:

Dad: I sleep so much better in peach.

I will be down for a few more days. If all goes well the nose tube will come out later today – and that will make life easier on Dad. I will update again before I head out of town.

Friday October 23 Update

Derek — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:23:15 +0000

Hi Everyone,

Sorry it’s been quite sometime since I’ve written an e-mail on Jerry’s status.

A week ago this past Tuesday they released him from the hospital, he did quite well for about 2 days then he started having some issues. They have not let him eat or drink anything now for about 3 wks. So they have been feeding him his nutrients and hydration thru his picc line. He started to dehydrate and temp. hit 101.4, time to take him back to the hospital. To say the least they readmitted, to date he is still in the hospital. He is experiencing some pain and discomfort in the lower abdominal area again, they do give him pain meds throughout the day and night, let alone his heavy-duty antibiotics and many other things.

He has had two cycles of chemo so far and his next cycle is scheduled next Friday if all goes well with his vitals, never know until that day. Today he is having a little bit of a rough day, pain in abdomen and some strange sick feeling in his stomach, they have given him meds to take care of these symptoms.

Doctors just came in and they are going to do another abdominal x-ray because of his increased discomfort, just need to be safe to make sure nothing is going on in there.

Houston weather has started cooling down a bit (70’s) so delightful, can’t stand the heat and humidity. I’m not outside too much either I’m at the hospital or the apartment, Houston is an exciting place but not by yourself. I need the rest though because when he gets released from the hospital it is a 24/7 job for me. He still needs all his meds, nutrition and hydration (plus more) that needs to be administered, it does keep me busy all the time. But we are managing, sounds like things at home are going well too, but we sure do miss our pets.

Well that’s enough for now, don’t want to bore you with a long e-mail.

Take care of yourselves and our best to all.

Love Denise