First let me say one great big THANK YOU to all my wonderful, supportive cheerleaders we have out there helping get the word out there on this contest.
Second, go and vote, vote today, vote tomorrow, and vote every day from now until the end of the month. We only have 10 days left. Vote from your computer and every single computer you have in your house. Vote at home, vote at work, have your co-workers vote. Even ask your boss to vote. This could mean the world to those hundreds of names listed on this car. The link to the car is:
http://www.sponsafier.com/share/201541
Directly from Nick & Friends:
Why is this NASCAR contest is so important? Sarcoma is rare. Its victims forgotten. There is little research & the survival rate is low. Most people have never heard the word sarcoma. This MUST change. We must make sure that everyone hears, sees and understands the word sarcoma. This car will put that "S" word in front of thousands of eyes... Awareness=Funding=Research=Cure! PLEASE continue to vote
What Nick & Friends mean to Michael and I:
Here you have 2 of the most amazing people in this world that does not know you until they see your story. Then they become one of you closest, best friends. As I can say the same about their volunteers, those fighting their sarcoma, and the caregivers and family members, anyone you meet that know what / who Nick and Friends is.
Cancer is a scary thing, but to hear you have a rare cancer and there just isn't much out there on this, well that puts a whole different scare on it. I have met some of the most wonderful people who are fighting this fight just as we are. And when we lose a precious angel, the love and support is outstanding to that family.
Bring Sarcoma Awareness:
We need to bring more awareness to Sarcoma. We need more research done. We need more answers on the what / why / hows of Sarcoma. Those that know and have followed Michael’s journey or another Sarcoma Warriors journey know how hard these treatments are on these babies, these children, these men and women fighting this disease. Yes, some do become Survivors as Michael, some are still fighting this battle, some have become survivors just to fight it again, and some become our precious angels.
Please help me make this dream come true:
This was just a hey, lets try this and see what we can do idea of Michael and me. But let me tell you, reading the carepages, caringbridge pages of those fighting and asking for help, reading the words that this precious child loves to watch these numbers climb on this car, seeing Michael’s face (yes a big 40 year old kid) when I tell him the numbers, reading all those postings on facebook, seeing all the people on facebook asking to be tagged to the photos of this screenshots going on the car, is just simply amazing and so heartwarming. Please help me make this dream come true. This would mean the world to Michael to actually be part of this car, this race and personally, from my point of view, what better way to celebrate being a survivor then being at the race and bringing awareness to the foundation that helped us and to these terrible disease. As Andrea said, how many people really know what Sarcoma is. And then think of how many of you can watch these beautiful names race around the track.
From one of the wives:
Don't wait until cancer affects your life or the ones you love to start caring, help raise awareness and find a cure NOW! Anyone could be the next one diagnosed. Trust me, we never thought my husband would get cancer at age 22. Take two seconds and VOTE!!!!!!!!!!
Here is what one of our mothers has to say about this:
It would be SO cool to see this car racing around the NASCAR track.. and SO fitting. This disease is like a high speed car race that keeps going around and around and around in circles. Sometimes we ride the high tracks and sometimes the low. And along he way, we have many pit stops. But the pits are ALWAYS where we find our team waiting to fix us up and put us back on the track. You guys are our team!
As you see, this is not only for Michael; this means the world to the hundreds of names on this car and their families, my big family!!
PLEASE VOTE and SPREAD THE WORD TO GET MORE VOTES!!
Want more info on Nick & Friends Sarcoma Foundation, go and check out:
www.fightsarcoma.org
You can also friend Fight Sarcoma on Facebook.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE KEEP VOTING DAILY AND SPREAD THE WORD!!! ~
Please continue to vote each day for the next 2 weeks. As of this morning, we are up to 626 votes which currently put us in the top 150. We NEED to get to the top 10. We have a very long ways to get there. The top 20 or so have thousands of votes and we can too!!!! Please vote each day and tell everyone you know. Post on your facebook, post on your twitter, have your family post on their facebook and twitter. Send out emails to everyone you can think of, tell your neighbors, and tell any one you see. Remind everyone daily!!!
http://www.sponsafier.com/share/201541
Please continue to keep all these beautiful sarcoma warriors and their families in your thoughts and prayers.
Sending Big Warm Texas Hugs!!!~
Melodie
Monday, March 15, 2010
GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES!!!! We Need Everyone to Vote, Vote, Vote ~
First of all, Michael is doing pretty well. More on him in a bit…
I have one GREAT BIG favor to ask everyone one of Michael’s followers. Michael is a HUGE NASCAR fan. While watching the races, we saw a contest to design our own race car to sponsor during the All Star race this May and well we decided to enter. It was no question of what we wanted to put on the car. As you can see from following the link, we proudly put Nick & Friends Sarcoma Foundation on the car. We have also included a yellow ribbon with each Sarcoma Warrior’s name. It is a chance for us to bring much needed awareness to Sarcoma.
The winner, gets to be at the All Star Race, meet & greet with the driver we chose to drive the car, a lap around the track in the car and most of all, the winning car will be sponsored in the All Star Race. Now how cool would that be to see each of our beautiful warriors racing 190 miles an hour around that track!!!!
This would be a dream of a lifetime for Michael to be at this race, rubbing elbows with some of the greatest NASCAR drivers ever. Plus a chance for us to bring awareness to Sarcoma and Nick & Friends. Just think of this as a big 40 year old man’s biggest dream!!!
So, follow the link, vote now and you can vote once a day for the next 15 days. We have a long ways to go, so please spread the word, vote daily… the top cars have many many votes (tens of thousands), but with our great, beautiful, big-hearted sarcoma family, each of our own families and friends, we can make this dream come true for Michael, and for each Sarcoma Warrior who has fought, is still fighting, and for those beautiful Angels already in Heaven.
http://www.sponsafier.com/share/201541
Back to Michael,
He is doing pretty well. He has a full head of hair, full beard again and tinkering out in the shop. He is currently re-building a truck and loves every minute of it. He still does have his good days and bad. Some days he still can not get out of bed with the back pain. He still gets the headaches every now and then. But most of all, he is on his way back to the top!!
Thank you for all your love, prayers and support along the way. Please, remember to keep all these beautiful Sarcoma Warriors in your daily thoughts and prayers. Also please pray for a cure. And oh yeah, don’t forget to vote daily and spread the word. We need all the awareness we can get!!!
Warm Hugs~
Melodie
I have one GREAT BIG favor to ask everyone one of Michael’s followers. Michael is a HUGE NASCAR fan. While watching the races, we saw a contest to design our own race car to sponsor during the All Star race this May and well we decided to enter. It was no question of what we wanted to put on the car. As you can see from following the link, we proudly put Nick & Friends Sarcoma Foundation on the car. We have also included a yellow ribbon with each Sarcoma Warrior’s name. It is a chance for us to bring much needed awareness to Sarcoma.
The winner, gets to be at the All Star Race, meet & greet with the driver we chose to drive the car, a lap around the track in the car and most of all, the winning car will be sponsored in the All Star Race. Now how cool would that be to see each of our beautiful warriors racing 190 miles an hour around that track!!!!
This would be a dream of a lifetime for Michael to be at this race, rubbing elbows with some of the greatest NASCAR drivers ever. Plus a chance for us to bring awareness to Sarcoma and Nick & Friends. Just think of this as a big 40 year old man’s biggest dream!!!
So, follow the link, vote now and you can vote once a day for the next 15 days. We have a long ways to go, so please spread the word, vote daily… the top cars have many many votes (tens of thousands), but with our great, beautiful, big-hearted sarcoma family, each of our own families and friends, we can make this dream come true for Michael, and for each Sarcoma Warrior who has fought, is still fighting, and for those beautiful Angels already in Heaven.
http://www.sponsafier.com/share/201541
Back to Michael,
He is doing pretty well. He has a full head of hair, full beard again and tinkering out in the shop. He is currently re-building a truck and loves every minute of it. He still does have his good days and bad. Some days he still can not get out of bed with the back pain. He still gets the headaches every now and then. But most of all, he is on his way back to the top!!
Thank you for all your love, prayers and support along the way. Please, remember to keep all these beautiful Sarcoma Warriors in your daily thoughts and prayers. Also please pray for a cure. And oh yeah, don’t forget to vote daily and spread the word. We need all the awareness we can get!!!
Warm Hugs~
Melodie
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Port to Come Out!!!! ~
I get to take Michael up to the hospital early tomorrow morning to have his Port finally removed. YEAH!!! We are so happy for this. Other than that, we are taking it one day at a time. Some days his pain in is low back / tailbone area gets pretty strong and we have to medicate him. Other days, the ones he just lays around, his pain is somewhat tolerable.
I will update everyone again once we get Michael home. Just one more step complete.
Sending warm hugs from Texas!! ~
Melodie
I will update everyone again once we get Michael home. Just one more step complete.
Sending warm hugs from Texas!! ~
Melodie
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
DANCING, DANCING IN THE STREETS!!! ~
OK, the official word of the day is NED!!!! Yes, Michael’s scans looked great!!!! We are so excited. We are both doing “the Happy Dance” and Michael doesn’t dance!!
Today we actually did get to see all three of his doctors. We started off the morning seeing his neurosurgeon. He was extremely pleased with Michael’s progress. First thing he did tell us is there is NO TUMOR PRESENT in any of the scans. We are so happy. He did say that the surgical area, spinal cord is looking better than they had expected. His nerves in the previous scans were still clumped together, but seem to be spreading out like they should be allowing more of a free flowing. They still have some “clumping” but overall it’s looking better. We went over the nerve damaged areas and that hasn’t changed any. As Michael told the doctor, he is just getting “use” to it.
Down side, Michael does have a fractured tailbone. The neurosurgeon said this would be due to the radiation weakening the area and he could have easily fractured it. This could explain for the lower back pains he’s been having. He said Michael needs to work real hard on his core strengthening. We need to work on getting Michael back in shape. We are scheduled to go back and see him in 6 months.
We stopped by the orthopedic doctor’s office after that (they are on the same floor) to see if they could possibly work Michael in today instead of us having to drive back to Dallas next week. They said no problem. We had to wait around for about an hour and were able to go back to the exam room. Doc came in and was excited to see Michael up on his feet. We went over his interpretation of the reports and his excitement of how Michael has progressed since the last time we seen him. Michael doesn’t remember that time as that is part of the 2 weeks Michael still does not remember. Doc explained how amazing it was to watch and assist the neurosurgeon on Michael’s surgery. He also talked about how amazing it is that Michael has been given a second chance and yes he has. He did say that the disk degeneration that Michael does have looks good at this point. He did say he wants Michael to continue to stay away from the heavy lifting.
He said that if we ever move from the area to be sure we talk to him first. He doesn’t want Michael to ever get “lost”. He said by looking at the MRI’s now, if we had to take Michael to another doctor and say he had a “Ewing’s Sarcoma” inside the spinal cord, it would be hard to tell. I explained we will never leave his care. He’ll have to retire first and I don’t see this doctor retiring for a long time. Unless Michael has any more back pain or other problems, we will not have to see this doctor for 6 months to a year.
Michael and I went to grab some lunch over at the hospital cafeteria before we had to go see the oncologist. Of course on our way back over to the professional building all his doctors are in (yes all three are in the same building) we ran in to three different staff members from the oncology center. Of course none of them recognized him at first until he spoke, you know the whole he has hair thing. We go to the 7th floor, check in and go back to get his labs. On the way back to see the doctor, we ran in to Michael’s PA who didn’t recognize him with hair either. It’s such a neat thing to see these people’s faces as they realize who he is and the look on their face knowing we did beat cancer.
His oncologist came in with a big smile on his face and we went over everything again with him. He is extremely pleased with the scan reports. Michael’s labs are up and down. The red cells look great but his white counts are still down at 2.9K. We will go back to see the oncologist in 3 months and have a chest x-ray and labs again. We will re-do the scans again in 6 months and if all looks good at that point, we will go to 6 months visits for a year then go to yearly visits.
All three doctors are extremely impressed with Michael’s progress. We need to keep up with his headaches as he still gets one every few days and they come on extremely fast. We need to continue to keep his back pain under control and begin trying to rebuild Michael’s strength and stamina. To look at Michael, you would not know he was sick, but to someone who sees him daily and has known him for years, you can see where he has become extremely weak. We are also going to work on his sleeping. He still does not sleep well and can go days with no sleep. We also need to continue to monitor is fractured tailbone for a bit too.
Over all, today was a GREAT day!! Many smiles all around. Michael is still cancer free and we only can pray he stays this way. We could not have made it through the last 18 months without our family and friends. And to our sarcoma family, we will continue to stay in this fight with you. Each and every one of you has a special place in our hearts forever.
Please continue to keep all our sarcoma warriors in your thoughts and prayers. While Michael has kicked this horrible dreaded disease in the butt, many others are fighting the fight of their lives. Please continue to lift them up.
We love all of ya & sending many warm hugs from Texas!!!
Mel & Michael
Today we actually did get to see all three of his doctors. We started off the morning seeing his neurosurgeon. He was extremely pleased with Michael’s progress. First thing he did tell us is there is NO TUMOR PRESENT in any of the scans. We are so happy. He did say that the surgical area, spinal cord is looking better than they had expected. His nerves in the previous scans were still clumped together, but seem to be spreading out like they should be allowing more of a free flowing. They still have some “clumping” but overall it’s looking better. We went over the nerve damaged areas and that hasn’t changed any. As Michael told the doctor, he is just getting “use” to it.
Down side, Michael does have a fractured tailbone. The neurosurgeon said this would be due to the radiation weakening the area and he could have easily fractured it. This could explain for the lower back pains he’s been having. He said Michael needs to work real hard on his core strengthening. We need to work on getting Michael back in shape. We are scheduled to go back and see him in 6 months.
We stopped by the orthopedic doctor’s office after that (they are on the same floor) to see if they could possibly work Michael in today instead of us having to drive back to Dallas next week. They said no problem. We had to wait around for about an hour and were able to go back to the exam room. Doc came in and was excited to see Michael up on his feet. We went over his interpretation of the reports and his excitement of how Michael has progressed since the last time we seen him. Michael doesn’t remember that time as that is part of the 2 weeks Michael still does not remember. Doc explained how amazing it was to watch and assist the neurosurgeon on Michael’s surgery. He also talked about how amazing it is that Michael has been given a second chance and yes he has. He did say that the disk degeneration that Michael does have looks good at this point. He did say he wants Michael to continue to stay away from the heavy lifting.
He said that if we ever move from the area to be sure we talk to him first. He doesn’t want Michael to ever get “lost”. He said by looking at the MRI’s now, if we had to take Michael to another doctor and say he had a “Ewing’s Sarcoma” inside the spinal cord, it would be hard to tell. I explained we will never leave his care. He’ll have to retire first and I don’t see this doctor retiring for a long time. Unless Michael has any more back pain or other problems, we will not have to see this doctor for 6 months to a year.
Michael and I went to grab some lunch over at the hospital cafeteria before we had to go see the oncologist. Of course on our way back over to the professional building all his doctors are in (yes all three are in the same building) we ran in to three different staff members from the oncology center. Of course none of them recognized him at first until he spoke, you know the whole he has hair thing. We go to the 7th floor, check in and go back to get his labs. On the way back to see the doctor, we ran in to Michael’s PA who didn’t recognize him with hair either. It’s such a neat thing to see these people’s faces as they realize who he is and the look on their face knowing we did beat cancer.
His oncologist came in with a big smile on his face and we went over everything again with him. He is extremely pleased with the scan reports. Michael’s labs are up and down. The red cells look great but his white counts are still down at 2.9K. We will go back to see the oncologist in 3 months and have a chest x-ray and labs again. We will re-do the scans again in 6 months and if all looks good at that point, we will go to 6 months visits for a year then go to yearly visits.
All three doctors are extremely impressed with Michael’s progress. We need to keep up with his headaches as he still gets one every few days and they come on extremely fast. We need to continue to keep his back pain under control and begin trying to rebuild Michael’s strength and stamina. To look at Michael, you would not know he was sick, but to someone who sees him daily and has known him for years, you can see where he has become extremely weak. We are also going to work on his sleeping. He still does not sleep well and can go days with no sleep. We also need to continue to monitor is fractured tailbone for a bit too.
Over all, today was a GREAT day!! Many smiles all around. Michael is still cancer free and we only can pray he stays this way. We could not have made it through the last 18 months without our family and friends. And to our sarcoma family, we will continue to stay in this fight with you. Each and every one of you has a special place in our hearts forever.
Please continue to keep all our sarcoma warriors in your thoughts and prayers. While Michael has kicked this horrible dreaded disease in the butt, many others are fighting the fight of their lives. Please continue to lift them up.
We love all of ya & sending many warm hugs from Texas!!!
Mel & Michael
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Scans Today, Now the Waiting Game ~
Michael had his scans today and we still won’t hear anything until later in the week. Wednesday, we will go and see 2 of his 3 doctors (neurosurgeon and oncologist) and next week we will go and see his orthopedic surgeon, unless we can get his appointment changed. It was kind of strange sitting in the imaging center on a Sunday, so quiet, hardly anyone there. While I sat there waiting for his scans today, it gave me time to look back over the last 2 years. Yes, we started this journey almost 2 years ago. At times, I wonder how we made it. I am always getting asked a lot how did you do it. All I can say is with love, laughter, faith, friendship, fear, gratefulness, compassion, and support. I don't wish this journey on anyone. Today, it was just a different feeling. Knowing everything we have faced together the past several years, and then sitting there, all alone, but deep down, I know nothing, nothing is this world will stop Michael and I. I sat there remembering every little step along the way.
Almost 2 years ago, he started having pains in his back, but different from what he had experienced before with his previous back problems. After going to several doctors over several months, missing numerous days of work, in August of 2008, we finally began getting our answers.
I will never forget going to see his orthopedic surgeon on August 26, 2008. He picks me up at my office so I can go with him, I wanted answers and we completely trust this doctor. He had previously done 2 surgeries on Michael, not to mention he also fixed my dad's back too. We get to the parking lot, get out of his truck, and he looks at me, jumps up and down and said, "see, I am fine today, let's just skip this appointment." Of course, as he would say, the mean woman I am, I told him to get his butt up there, I want answers, and I am tired of you hurting. By this point, he hadn't worked for a week, and before that, he was lucky to make 2 of his 4 days a week.
Going in to his orthopedic doctor, once we go back, Michael always has to get an x-ray of his hardware first. So the nurse calls us back, quick small talk because it's been a while since we've seen any of them, I go towards the exam room to wait for him, and he heads towards x-ray. I start reading my book, and begin to wonder where he is. It's taking a little longer than usual. He finally walks in; tears in his eyes, he can hardly walk. He sits on the table, and my smart mouth, see good thing we are here.
About 10 minutes or so, doc walks in. Of course, he goes to shake Michael's hand, and as Michael lifts his hand, oh the pain. I can not describe the look on his face and then the doctor’s face. We describe a few things that have been going on with Michael and he says "that's it, you are a train out of control and I am stepping on the tracks to stop you." Just have got to love this doctor. By this point, Michael could not walk; we had to get him a wheel chair so I could take him down to the truck to drive him over to admitting. Luckily our doctor is on the hospital campus.
Tests, tests, and more tests. The next evening, doc finally comes in, of course at the time I finally go find me some food, and tells Michael he has a tumor inside his spinal cord compressing the nerves causing things to basically go haywire. Doc walks out of the room while on his phone telling someone he don't care what time it is, he needs to speak to them immediately, this is an emergency. Later find out it's the neurosurgeon.
So the next morning, my birthday, I keep the kids out of school, we go to the hospital and wait to talk with the doctors. I wanted our kids with me, I was so scared. So both doctors come by, explain everything and surgery was set for Tuesday. This was a Thursday and Labor Day weekend. The neurosurgeon comes back and said he cleared his calendar for Friday; we'll do it in the morning.
So Friday, August 29, 2008, I had the longest 6 1/2 hours of my life waiting in that waiting room, not knowing if he would be ok, if he would walk again. Didn't even think at that time the word Cancer would even come up. Tell ya how great his orthopedic surgeon is, he cleared his calendar too to be in the surgery room. Not to assist, but watch and keep tabs on Michael. Both doctors came and talked to me when they were done, even showed me pictures which was so cool. They placed him in ICU through the holiday, moved to a normal room, and he got up and walked. I was so excited.
Pathology took almost a month; no one was for sure what his tumor was when they removed it. Then Michael gets the call, it's not benign and the referred him to an oncologist. What's that mean, what is it? Cancer in the spine, WOW, Ewing’s Sarcoma which is a childhood cancer.
So, all in all, yes Michael had cancer. He had a kid cancer (the joke between he and I is, I us to always say he was a kid at heart, now in the back too). Did it change our lives, very much so, for the good and the bad. Did he kick cancer in the butt, oh yes he did. Michael and I have been together 22 years this past week. We have had many highs and lows, the good and the bad, and we have conquered each and every one of them. And this does include cancer.
Good, Michael and I are closer than ever. I love him more each passing day. We have met so many wonderful people, doctors, nurses, other medical personnel. Also, all you amazing, courageous, inspirational beautiful warriors fighting his disease too. And then their families, caregivers, thank you for your support. And all the love and support for our family and friends. You are amazing. Then there are also complete strangers who step up, Thank you.
The bad, yeah there is bad. Where Michael's and my relationship strengthened, we have lost relationships with a few people in our lives, family and friends. Michael can not go work and that takes a toll on any hard working man. We have lost many, many things along the way, but I still have my husband. I have watched parents’ lose their children, wives lose their husbands, and children lose their parents. This breaks my heart, we must find a cure.
I have watched him in the last 2 years change in so many ways, physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. I have watched a grown man be scared for his life. I have watched him lose his hair, I have watched as they pump those chemo drugs into his body and watch him go from this fun loving man I know to this sick, tired man. And through all this, he still loves to make every one laugh around him. As he says, what can he do? He wants to live and live he will. Michael is my hero, and so is every single one of you that are fighting the battle of your life. Michael had spinal surgery to remove a tumor, told it was the big C word, went though a total of 11 in-patient chemo treatments, 33 radiation treatments, emergency gallbladder surgery, and is walking and talking. The way he has taken this is just simply amazing. He is a wonderful man.
So today I sat here, alone in this waiting room, but I know and feel the love around me from every single person who cares for us as he was in those machines for hours getting his scans. YES, all we want is NED.
I will try to update again everyone once we here the first word on his scans. Continue to keep all these beautiful, courageous people fighting this dreaded disease in your thoughts and prayers. We need to continue to fight and find a cure.
*Hugs*
Melodie
Almost 2 years ago, he started having pains in his back, but different from what he had experienced before with his previous back problems. After going to several doctors over several months, missing numerous days of work, in August of 2008, we finally began getting our answers.
I will never forget going to see his orthopedic surgeon on August 26, 2008. He picks me up at my office so I can go with him, I wanted answers and we completely trust this doctor. He had previously done 2 surgeries on Michael, not to mention he also fixed my dad's back too. We get to the parking lot, get out of his truck, and he looks at me, jumps up and down and said, "see, I am fine today, let's just skip this appointment." Of course, as he would say, the mean woman I am, I told him to get his butt up there, I want answers, and I am tired of you hurting. By this point, he hadn't worked for a week, and before that, he was lucky to make 2 of his 4 days a week.
Going in to his orthopedic doctor, once we go back, Michael always has to get an x-ray of his hardware first. So the nurse calls us back, quick small talk because it's been a while since we've seen any of them, I go towards the exam room to wait for him, and he heads towards x-ray. I start reading my book, and begin to wonder where he is. It's taking a little longer than usual. He finally walks in; tears in his eyes, he can hardly walk. He sits on the table, and my smart mouth, see good thing we are here.
About 10 minutes or so, doc walks in. Of course, he goes to shake Michael's hand, and as Michael lifts his hand, oh the pain. I can not describe the look on his face and then the doctor’s face. We describe a few things that have been going on with Michael and he says "that's it, you are a train out of control and I am stepping on the tracks to stop you." Just have got to love this doctor. By this point, Michael could not walk; we had to get him a wheel chair so I could take him down to the truck to drive him over to admitting. Luckily our doctor is on the hospital campus.
Tests, tests, and more tests. The next evening, doc finally comes in, of course at the time I finally go find me some food, and tells Michael he has a tumor inside his spinal cord compressing the nerves causing things to basically go haywire. Doc walks out of the room while on his phone telling someone he don't care what time it is, he needs to speak to them immediately, this is an emergency. Later find out it's the neurosurgeon.
So the next morning, my birthday, I keep the kids out of school, we go to the hospital and wait to talk with the doctors. I wanted our kids with me, I was so scared. So both doctors come by, explain everything and surgery was set for Tuesday. This was a Thursday and Labor Day weekend. The neurosurgeon comes back and said he cleared his calendar for Friday; we'll do it in the morning.
So Friday, August 29, 2008, I had the longest 6 1/2 hours of my life waiting in that waiting room, not knowing if he would be ok, if he would walk again. Didn't even think at that time the word Cancer would even come up. Tell ya how great his orthopedic surgeon is, he cleared his calendar too to be in the surgery room. Not to assist, but watch and keep tabs on Michael. Both doctors came and talked to me when they were done, even showed me pictures which was so cool. They placed him in ICU through the holiday, moved to a normal room, and he got up and walked. I was so excited.
Pathology took almost a month; no one was for sure what his tumor was when they removed it. Then Michael gets the call, it's not benign and the referred him to an oncologist. What's that mean, what is it? Cancer in the spine, WOW, Ewing’s Sarcoma which is a childhood cancer.
So, all in all, yes Michael had cancer. He had a kid cancer (the joke between he and I is, I us to always say he was a kid at heart, now in the back too). Did it change our lives, very much so, for the good and the bad. Did he kick cancer in the butt, oh yes he did. Michael and I have been together 22 years this past week. We have had many highs and lows, the good and the bad, and we have conquered each and every one of them. And this does include cancer.
Good, Michael and I are closer than ever. I love him more each passing day. We have met so many wonderful people, doctors, nurses, other medical personnel. Also, all you amazing, courageous, inspirational beautiful warriors fighting his disease too. And then their families, caregivers, thank you for your support. And all the love and support for our family and friends. You are amazing. Then there are also complete strangers who step up, Thank you.
The bad, yeah there is bad. Where Michael's and my relationship strengthened, we have lost relationships with a few people in our lives, family and friends. Michael can not go work and that takes a toll on any hard working man. We have lost many, many things along the way, but I still have my husband. I have watched parents’ lose their children, wives lose their husbands, and children lose their parents. This breaks my heart, we must find a cure.
I have watched him in the last 2 years change in so many ways, physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. I have watched a grown man be scared for his life. I have watched him lose his hair, I have watched as they pump those chemo drugs into his body and watch him go from this fun loving man I know to this sick, tired man. And through all this, he still loves to make every one laugh around him. As he says, what can he do? He wants to live and live he will. Michael is my hero, and so is every single one of you that are fighting the battle of your life. Michael had spinal surgery to remove a tumor, told it was the big C word, went though a total of 11 in-patient chemo treatments, 33 radiation treatments, emergency gallbladder surgery, and is walking and talking. The way he has taken this is just simply amazing. He is a wonderful man.
So today I sat here, alone in this waiting room, but I know and feel the love around me from every single person who cares for us as he was in those machines for hours getting his scans. YES, all we want is NED.
I will try to update again everyone once we here the first word on his scans. Continue to keep all these beautiful, courageous people fighting this dreaded disease in your thoughts and prayers. We need to continue to fight and find a cure.
*Hugs*
Melodie
Friday, January 8, 2010
Quick Update ~
Busy, busy, busy… Don’t know if I ever have time to stop anymore. Christmas and New Year has come and gone. We hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Christmas and New Year. Ours was nice and quiet.
Michael has been doing OK. He has his good days and his bad days. We just take it one day at a time. Michael let his facial hair grow out to a full beard. Almost looked like grizzly Adams. He finally cut it off this past weekend. He figured he’d better clean himself up, was getting some funny looks out in public. I will have to post a photo when I get home. The hair on his head, not so much growth yet. Slow growing, but so baby fine and soft.
His 3 months is next week. We will go on Sunday (yes I said Sunday) to have all of his scans done. After his scans, we will meet with his orthopedic surgeon, his neurosurgeon, and his oncologist. We will have a week full of doctors’ visits. I am so nervous about his scans and I am sure he is as well. Please pray for NED, this is the only word we want to hear!
Going to keep this short, I will try to update again this weekend and if not, definitely will update once we here the first word on his scans. Thank you again to everyone who keeps Michael and me in your thoughts and prayers. You all mean the world to us and we are forever grateful. We love each and every one of you!! Also, continue to keep all these beautiful, courageous people fighting this dreaded disease in your thoughts and prayers. We need to continue to fight and find a cure.
*Hugs*
Melodie
Michael has been doing OK. He has his good days and his bad days. We just take it one day at a time. Michael let his facial hair grow out to a full beard. Almost looked like grizzly Adams. He finally cut it off this past weekend. He figured he’d better clean himself up, was getting some funny looks out in public. I will have to post a photo when I get home. The hair on his head, not so much growth yet. Slow growing, but so baby fine and soft.
His 3 months is next week. We will go on Sunday (yes I said Sunday) to have all of his scans done. After his scans, we will meet with his orthopedic surgeon, his neurosurgeon, and his oncologist. We will have a week full of doctors’ visits. I am so nervous about his scans and I am sure he is as well. Please pray for NED, this is the only word we want to hear!
Going to keep this short, I will try to update again this weekend and if not, definitely will update once we here the first word on his scans. Thank you again to everyone who keeps Michael and me in your thoughts and prayers. You all mean the world to us and we are forever grateful. We love each and every one of you!! Also, continue to keep all these beautiful, courageous people fighting this dreaded disease in your thoughts and prayers. We need to continue to fight and find a cure.
*Hugs*
Melodie
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