Andy has been a musician most of his life. When we moved to our current home in 2003, he dedicated a place in the basement to become his in-home recording studio. Over the years he has helped other musicians record for their own albums. In the most recent years, he began working on his own album.
In October 2016, Andy was diagnosed with stage four metastatic colon cancer. He had no family history and no typical symptoms. He was 48 at the time. During the course of treatment, Andy said, "Cancer turns your whys into why-nots" and he decided to finish recording his album and get it released into the world. Below you can read part of the introduction to his album (the entire version can be found in the CD liner notes), which reflects how the cancer journey shaped the project.
A selection from Andy's introduction to the album:
Thank you so much for supporting me, my family, and this music - we did it! This album is actually getting released, and I am overjoyed. Over the many years it has taken to nurture the seeds of this album into fruition, much has changed for me. Beautiful, wonderful, wild, amazing things have changed for me and my family. And cancer.
My wife Michael and I decided, soon after my late-2016 Stage 4 diagnosis, to approach cancer as a dance, not a battle. It’s not that we weren’t clear with the outcomes we were hoping and praying for, but rather that we wanted to show up - as best we could - as creative, loving improvisers, dancing with whatever moves cancer seemed to be trying to teach us next. Michael continues to document our entire journey on CaringBridge. Surely I am more in love and in debt to Michael Jeanne Nelson than I have ever been before. I am still here, because of her....
...Claude Debussy said “music is the silence between the notes.” There is beauty in quiet anticipation: waiting for what’s next, in music and in life. Finding meaning in it. Whatever’s next for all of us, you have my intense and unfailing gratitude, for helping create what you’re holding in your hands, what you’re listening to. Because by doing so, you are holding me and my family along with this music, in life and in joy and in creation and in spirit. To music, and to life!
Andy's entire cancer journey is documented on his CaringBridge site. There you can discover how his positive attitude, faith, and the support of amazing people from all over got him through cancer, and helped him finish his album. To read the full journey on CaringBridge click HERE. For those of you that have followed our journey, and supported us, we are forever grateful. For those who are new to the journey, feel free to CONTACT us if you have any comments or questions.
