Today I am joining the folks at Two Writing Teachers for the Slice of Life Tuesday Challenge...come on over and check it out! Thanks, Ruth and Stacey!
Today I Love tenacity.
This is my cousin, Blaine.
Overcame Multiple myeloma
May 14 with Alice Keener-Williams in Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina
Received Stem Cell Transplant. May 14 marks my new birthday. It was the day of my stem cell transplant. They call it this because so many things in your body are killed off by the chemo and must start over, they much like a newborn baby.
I came very close to dying after this procedure. I had an infection that the doctors could not locate. My temperature exceeded 104 degrees. They had me packed in ice and it still would not come down.
A new doctor took over my case and it made all the difference in the World. He is the head of the cancer floor at MUSC. His name is Dr. Stuart and he too is a cancer survivor.
The first thing he did was remove my central line. That is where the infection was. Three days later I was almost fully recovered.
Living through an event like this gives you a totally new perspective on life. You realize that life is precious and should not be taken for granted.
The intense chemo treatment they give you caused me to lose all my hair. When it started coming out, it came out in big clumps. I pulled most of it out and then my mother shaved the rest off. (See Picture)
I want to thank my mother for the loving care she provided me while I was going through this process. I couldn't have made it without her.
I ant to thank my family for their perseverance and tenacity through this. Especially my wife. She had the arduous task of maintaining the farm and taking care of our daughter. This was complicated more by the fact that she also had to work.
When she worked on the weekends, my daughter stayed with friends. It was especially tough on her to be stuck at home while I was going through my most challenging times. She stayed in contact with the doctors and nurses during this time and prayed.
My son stayed with my Sister in WV. He enjoyed his stay so much he didn't want to come home.
Now that we are back together as a family, I thank God that we are together again.
When you go through an experience like this, you cannot do it alone. You learn that it is not you alone who is the cancer survivor... We are all survivors.
Received Stem Cell Transplant. May 14 marks my new birthday. It was the day of my stem cell transplant. They call it this because so many things in your body are killed off by the chemo and must start over, they much like a newborn baby.
I came very close to dying after this procedure. I had an infection that the doctors could not locate. My temperature exceeded 104 degrees. They had me packed in ice and it still would not come down.
A new doctor took over my case and it made all the difference in the World. He is the head of the cancer floor at MUSC. His name is Dr. Stuart and he too is a cancer survivor.
The first thing he did was remove my central line. That is where the infection was. Three days later I was almost fully recovered.
Living through an event like this gives you a totally new perspective on life. You realize that life is precious and should not be taken for granted.
The intense chemo treatment they give you caused me to lose all my hair. When it started coming out, it came out in big clumps. I pulled most of it out and then my mother shaved the rest off. (See Picture)
I want to thank my mother for the loving care she provided me while I was going through this process. I couldn't have made it without her.
I ant to thank my family for their perseverance and tenacity through this. Especially my wife. She had the arduous task of maintaining the farm and taking care of our daughter. This was complicated more by the fact that she also had to work.
When she worked on the weekends, my daughter stayed with friends. It was especially tough on her to be stuck at home while I was going through my most challenging times. She stayed in contact with the doctors and nurses during this time and prayed.
My son stayed with my Sister in WV. He enjoyed his stay so much he didn't want to come home.
Now that we are back together as a family, I thank God that we are together again.
When you go through an experience like this, you cannot do it alone. You learn that it is not you alone who is the cancer survivor... We are all survivors.
A story to help us maintain perspective in the face of tough stuff. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat is quite a story. I am always amazed by the strength people have to persevere and fight the hard fight. I suppose it is a bit like a birthday in seeing every minute a little differently. We take so much for granted: health, family, life in general. Today I love this story.
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