Doug Lewis Of Professional Marine

[SHARKEYMARINE]

Doug Lewis of Professional Marine Racing is battling cancer.

The history of his fight can be found here:
Doug Lewis' Progress Webpage

I just received this email from his wife Leeanne:

7/3/04
Hi,

Doug is gravely ill and back in the hospital. This AM they did a liver biopsy. After numerous tests this past week something showed up on an x-ray. No one is sure yet what we're dealing with this time. It could be nothing or something. They discontinued his chemo because it isn't working any longer. The docs said that his cancer treatment will be secondary to this new acute liver problem. Once that is dealt with, they'll resume with new meds. He also has what appears to be thrush. By Wednesday we should know more. Please, remember him in your prayers. He needs them now more than ever.
Thank you.

Leeanne

Godspeed Doug! My prayers are with you.....

[EricG]

I've been following His battle since he was out here at Fred Hutch for treatment....I will be thinking about him this holiday weekend

Hang in their Doug!!

-EG

[SHARKEYMARINE]

Thank you Eric.

We need all the prayers we can get.....

[SHARKEYMARINE]

Here is the most recent information I received from Doug's wife Leeanne this morning....


Doug continues to hold on and fight. No athlete I know of could endure what he is going through and remain as steadfast and focused on his goal. I stayed with him until 6AM and then went home to change and go back. He's in renal failure but the doc believes given time and with Doug's sheer willpower can possibly bring them back. He'll be having another round of dialysis today then more plasmaphersis. They infused 2 more compacted units of red cells and 2 more bags of plasma. He was still bleeding freely from the groin area where they put the catheter in that dialyzes him. He was having difficulty breathing even with oxygen so I requested that a doc come up and see him. Doug is understandably very anxious and said so (the reason for the out-of-breath feeling). The doc said there was no significant fluid in his lungs or around his heart. They took some x-rays to confirmed that. He asked for some Jell-O around 2:30 AM which we stole from another floor.

I'm sorry I can't call each and every one of you, especially you Lisa, Kelley and Dan. Please know that I care and that I'm trying the best I can to be there for your Dad. With a little bit of luck, lots of love and a whole lot of prayers - we can get him to Seattle yet. No one is giving up - especially your father.

Thank you everyone for your role in our lives.

Leeanne

Doug is pictured here on the right:

[ToonaFish]

I'm rarely serious, but when it comes to these sorts of battles, there is something almost all of us can do.

GIVE BLOOD AND BLOOD PRODUCTS.

You cannot imagine the amounts that are needed and how truly simple it is to donate. And how terrifying it is to not only be facing life threatening procedures, but to face the potential shortages of blood products necessary to sustain the patient.

My deepest prayers are with Doug and his family.

[SHARKEYMARINE]

July 8, 2004

Hi Everyone:

Today was an extremely ugly day that could have been a lot worse. Most of you know that Doug went into respiratory failure while having dialysis early this AM - only a few hours after I left him at 6 AM. They put a ventilator tube down his throat immediately and rushed him into surgery. The doctors performed a new procedure using a very slim gizmo to find the source of where his liver was bleeding AFTER injecting dye into him. They found the source, which coincidentally was the site of his liver biopsy and plugged it with a special foam. Afterwards they installed a drainage tube in his upper abdomen to relieve the area of the accumulated blood that they had been transfusing into him. By doing this it allowed his lungs to return to their proper position and he could breathe. Doug is currently in ICU in a chemically induced coma on a ventilator (to give his lungs a break from the trauma they've been going through since last Saturday). This happened almost without warning and we are fortunate that they were able to figure out the problem instantly.

The doctors are pleased with their handy work and are optimistic about his recovery. He is stabile and looks wonderful (compared to the past several days). His skin is normal now in color and is warm instead of cold and clammy. I was told even though he couldn't respond to me that he could hear everything I or anyone else was saying so I told him he was doing great and that everyone loves and wants him to get better soon. A tear rolled down his cheek. He will not remember any of this when they bring him out of it.

Please don't come visit yet he's far from out of the woods. As I said he is in ICU and visiting hours are strict and limited. There is no point since he is not in any condition to talk. The plan is to continue dialysis and plasmaphersis throughout the night and after 24 hours bring him out of his fugue to assess his mental state. If he is coherent enough they will remove the ventilator and let him breathe on his own. Everyone is cautious and with good reason. In a few days they will begin a new regiment of chemo. Hopefully this one will work better than the last two.

Thank you all again for your prayers, emails and phone calls. I'll try to keep everyone updated as I learn more.

Leeanne

[SHARKEYMARINE]

Leeanne's latest email:

July 12th, 2004

Hi:
Doug had a setback today. They lowered his sedative dose and because he was conscious and able to communicate, he wanted his vent tube removed. When it wasn't he got very agitated to the point where his blood pressure jumped up to 160/101 and his heart rate 141. In response to that outburst they increased his dose and knocked him back out. He isn't ready to come off yet. The doc did a sonogram of his liver area and it shows some blood around his lung and diaphragm. He's still draining. Tonight they are doing some more testing to be certain he isn't bleeding elsewhere internally. I should know something tomorrow when I see the docs in the AM.
Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.
Leeanne

[SHARKEYMARINE]

July 13 th, 2004



Hello,

Just a quick update. Nothing really new to report. More transfusions, platelets and plasma. Plasmaphersis was done, dialysis tomorrow and an ultrasound. Tomorrow they might try again to remove the ventilator. The anticipation is unbearable.

Thanks to you all for your telephone messages, emails and offers of help any way you can. It's all appreciated.

Leeanne

[SHARKEYMARINE]

I have spent the last few nights with him & Leeanne.

They have cutoff some off the drugs to bring him around into a coherent state. He gave somewhat of a response when Leeanne called his name. He would try to open his yes, or move his eyebrows, but he was still very much out of it... With his kidneys not in full operation, it is taking a real long time to come off the drugs. Hopefully they can get him to come around today. Leeanne desparately needs to ask him what he would like to do.
He originally went in for his routine check, and from there, some errors have been made. Unfortunately, because of these errors, Doug has not been able to receive his Kemo in a month. They have been trying to deal with the damage that has occurred.
I am sure Leeanne will get around to the details, and will let you know what took place. As of right now, it is not the cancer that is looking to take Doug away from us.
Because he is still responding, we know his mind is still there fighting.
With that alone, Leeanne had decided to give him the chance to overcome the new obstacles. We know that much about Doug. He would want to fight to the very end, and if there is any last thing to try, he would want that...
He doesn't have the word "quit" in his vocabulary.

God bless you Doug!
We are all here for you.......

[Forrest]

Our hearts go out to Doug and his family. We just lost Ginny's cousin to cancer over the Fouth of July weekend.

http://www.upperkeysreporter.com/art...ters/let04.txt

[SHARKEYMARINE]

Thank you Forrest. I am sorry to hear about Ginny's cousin.

Doug had a bad night Saturday night....

I believe the decision has been made to take him off of dialysis...

I think Doug right now in his mind, is packing up his tool boxes and preparing to go rig a Skater for the Big Guy!

I pray for him everyday and I hope he bears no pain on his exit.

God Bless you Doug!

[txtaz]

We are very sorry to hear about Doug. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you, Doug and his family. We know it's tough to loose loved ones as we have lost two in the last year.

[Shanghied Again]

Tim, this is very sad. I have lost family members to cancer including my mother at 57 years old. Doug put up a good fight and hopefully he still will keep on fighting.
He has all my prayers and after getting to know Doug personally he is a man of honor, if he circums to his illness he will be greatly missed. We pray that he will recover and if he don't hopefully he will go to a place were he wil join all the great ones that were a big part in the offshore performance world (I can't see him any were else).
Our love and prayers go out to him and Leanne
The Civitano Family

[SHARKEYMARINE]

I have received confirmation from Leeanne of Doug's passing.

"Doug passed away at 11:05 PM, Tuesday, July 27. After he is cremated a memorial service will be held. I'll let you know the details in a few days.

Thanks for all your encouragement and concern during this time.

Leeanne"

The Offshore Community has lost yet another incredible icon.

Doug has taught me many things over the years.
As often as time allowed, we would work together in the Dyno room. I'd give a hand here and there with rigging, and many years back I would do all his glass work for him. I enjoyed the times working side by side with him. His ideas seemed endless.
The most notable time was when he & I finished the "new design" Cheetah Cat just a few days before the World Championships in Key West, and the boat walked away with the Championship in Stock Class that year.

Doug, I will cherish the times we spent. I am sure you are already rigging a one of the largest Skaters for the "BIG GUY" up in the sky....

God Bless You!

We will meet again......

You will be missed and not forgotten...

[boldts]

Our condolences to the family from my family and I. Thank-you for bringing the story and history of Mr. Lewis to all of us. The Offshore Racing World will be minus another racing hero, but his strength and drive to win lives in each and every racer who knew him.