Leading the team is Meg Phillips. Below is her story and why she continues to march forward with fire and passion. A big thank you to her not only for her commitment, but for continually being open to sharing her family's story and inspiring others to fight the fight. You are an inspiration Meg, thank you!
I met my husband, Rich Phillips, in college in 1969 in northeastern Colorado. We fell in love and started our life together in 1971.
He always had a strong will and always followed his dreams. One of those dreams was to start a construction company . So, to do that, he went to Alaska and worked on the pipeline for 3 years (off and on). I stayed in Coeur d’ Alene Idaho with the 3 kids and we saved everything he made and started Phillips Construction in 1978. We then moved back to Colorado in 1982 and he continued building in the Denver Metro/Douglas County area.
Living in Parker and raising our family, life was good. Rich was very involved with the community, church and coaching the kids activities. Our children were out of school and starting their own lives. We then began to travel and enjoy being with each other again.
Then in 2004, Rich was beginning to have some health issues and was diagnosed in the fall of 2004. We started treatment in early 2005. He was a fighter and determined to win this battle. Remember, he had a strong will and followed his dreams. His cancer was diagnosed at stage 4 but he still had faith and hope. He began the daily routine of radiation and weekly chemo, and during this treatment met many people in the same situation as he was. He became friends with Bill Allan, whose diagnosis and treatment was almost identical to Rich’s. They would always check on each other and compare notes to see how each one was feeling and if the treatment was helping. I too became friends with his wife, Pat, who has joined the committee to help with the walk.
As the disease progressed and Rich’s body was suffering he indicated he wanted to donate his body to science so maybe it would help find a cure for pancreatic cancer. Also, we talked about donations to someplace that did research for pancreatic cancer. We were guided to the Lustgarten Foundation, by a dear friend of ours.
My daughter wanted to honor and remember her father by starting a walk so we traveled to Boston to participate in the Lustgarten Walk. We liked what they were doing and asked them to help us start a walk in our community.
We held our Inaugural walk at Sloans Lake in Nov. on 2007. We have recruited our family and friends to help with this annual event and we have met many people who have known someone with this terrible disease and even some survivors.
So, I feel honored to continue the fight Rich started, by his strong will and dreams, to help find a cure for pancreatic cancer. It has helped me heal, to understand to the fullest how fragile and short life really is.
LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE. This is my motto!
A loving and faithful wife
Meg
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