Erick Moody

07/17/1956 — 11/30/2011

His battle with metastatic melanoma started in 2006. He had a subcutaneous lump removed off his back; otherwise he was a healthy young man.

Over the last 5 years, he had 13 surgeries, two were from the lung, and in 2010 a tumor was found in the corpus callosum of his brain. He had two craniotomies, one in June at Shands Hospital in Gainsville and another one in September at Moffitt in Tampa.

After his second surgery, he was fortunate to get the latest FDA-approved Yervoy (ipilimumab) drug. Everything was stable, no side effects or pain. He had a great attitude, loved life, was extremely intelligent, fought hard, but was never able to be the electrical design engineer and entrepreneur that he was again. We were blessed that he was able to see me graduate.

We spend good days laughing and listening to music together as a family. Unfortunately, he lost his battle when the brain tumor started to grow once again, causing the spinal fluid in his brain to accumulate, which caused edema and vision problems, not to mention confusion. My mother was his caregiver 24/7. She did everything, as our lives were changed drastically.

On November 22, 2011, my mother realized that there was no reason to continue to get my dad tested as there wasn’t another option for treatment. She decided to get help with hospice, and we enjoyed Thanksgiving together as a family. The very next day my dad had to go to a hospice facility as he began having headaches, his blood pressure was off the charts, and his vision was minimal. He was put on morphine, out of pain, but he would listen to music and whistle the Christmas tune to the David Foster CD that he loved.

The good Lord came knocking on November 30, 2011, and my dad is now in peace after his battle. He and my mom lived hard, played hard, and worked hard … no regrets, but we will miss him dearly. What a journey my family has been on, but you learn a lot about people and what blessing life has to offer. We will never forget his smile, love, and kind words. He had so much to offer; our memories will forever live on. We love you, Dad.

Lana Moody, daughter