Tired of New England winters, Scott Gledhill got into his boat and followed his nose and sails south. His toes were finally warm in Spa Creek in Annapolis.
A decade ago he found himself stranded on the island of pancreatic cancer.
This retired merchant marine captain knows all too well about the death sentence. No man in his family lived this long.
Scott was told to get his affairs in order. He heeded the advice. He gave away most of his money. He gave away his beloved boat. And he prepared to die. Most pancreatic cancer patients do die, by the way. More than 90 percent of them.
Scott then got a big operation called the Whipple at Anne Arundel Medical Center. He didn’t leave the hospital for 100 days.
Then something remarkable happened…he lived.
It took him a year to recover from the operation. He slowly began to live his life again. Eventually, he got a new sailboat. And a girlfriend. They began sailing all they could. Scott’s boat is at Watergate Point Marina in Annapolis.
And then, just this past May, Scott, and Joanne even got married!
One of the ways he gives back now is to volunteer for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, the organizer of PurpleStride. Scott has lobbied Congress for more research funding on behalf of the organization for several years.
Follow the science. Find a doctor who performs 40 Whipple surgeries a year. Get in touch with www.pancan.org.
For the 13th straight year, PurpleStride will walk to raise awareness and for research on Sunday, October 7th. It will be held at CCBC Catonsville starting at 830am.
