The Thunder Rolls
Approximately every minute 6 quarts of blood makes its way throughout the body back to the heart. Therefore our blood flows through a combination of arteries, veins, lungs and back to our heart nearly 100,000 times a day. Bluish almost black deoxygenated blood flows into the heart through the low pressure veins after it has delivered its oxygen load and is on the way back via the lungs to pick up more. Once it's been loaded with oxygen in the lungs and reaches the heart, the heart muscle forcefully pumps it out of the heart into the much higher pressure arterial system delivering now bright red oxygenated blood to all the tissues. The blood gives up its accumulated CO2 in the lungs which we then breathe out and is cleansed of most of its metabolites and waste products when it circulates through the kidneys and the liver, respectively, both of which are highly specialized cleansing and detoxifying filters. It’s a marvel of God’s creation and the body's functionality. When the blood circulation gets interrupted and the body isn't getting rid of the waste and taking oxygen to the cells in our body and especially the the brain, strokes occur. Prompt treatment is critical and can reduce the impact and damage. High blood pressure is the leading cause of strokes. Cancer also increases stroke risk.
Many of those reading this know that I was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in April of 2022. I immediately started chemo and immunotherapy. My body responded well to the chemo and immunotherapy and after 4 rounds and 12 weeks the lung and bone cancer in my body reduced in half as confirmed by a pet scan. This was great news. I was feeling better. My doctor planned to continue the immunotherapy every three weeks and do blood work. We had already made the decision to move to Helotes, Texas. Melinda’s dad and mom, her brother and his wife and their kids live in Helotes. As a result I changed my oncologist to a doctor at the Start Cancer Center in San Antonio. We got settled in September and started getting used to the warmer temperatures. I started walking and hiking with Melinda. At this point my condition level was around 60%. Things progressed well for the first few months but then towards the end of November my blood pressure was starting to run high and I didn’t feel like doing anything physical. My doctors were working with my blood pressure meds but there was a concern that I might have a stroke. Immunotherapy symptoms include high blood pressure. Thankfully Melinda and Cade sheltered me from worrying about this. But they had a list of symptoms to watch out for.
Then on December 14th, I woke up early and went to the bathroom and noticed my balance was not normal. Melinda asked if I was okay. She noticed I struggled to make sense with my words. She got up and walked with me to sit in a chair in our den. She woke up Cade and asked me questions. I don’t remember much other than I struggled to find the words to say. We were worried. Then they took me to the Methodist Urgent ER by our house. The nurses and doctors evaluated me and spent all day running tests. 20 hours later an ambulance transported me to Methodist Hospital in the Medical Center. I spent the next 3 days in the neurological wing. We learned that it was a ministroke or TIA. A TIA is a brief blockage of blood flow to part of the brain, spinal cord or the thin layer of tissue at the back of the eye known as the retina. This blockage may cause temporary stroke-like symptoms. But a TIA generally doesn't damage brain cells or cause permanent disability. These are things that a stroke does. This was a great thing. My symptoms were that my voice was slurred, I struggled to find the right words to say, and my right hand fingers wouldn’t do what I wanted them to do. Honestly, for the first few days, it would take me several minutes to type a simple two-word text message. The thunder was rolling again.
The neurologist at Methodist was great. She was friendly and patient with us. She introduced herself, then began assessing me and the impact of the stroke. One of the first things she did was ask me to close my eyes and hold the first finger of my right hand out extended in front of my face and then touch my noise. I did this and my finger contacted my right ear. I opened my eyes and said “That’s not good!” I tried again with similar results. She did a few other tests while I remained in the bed and then asked me if I would stand up and slowly walk with her. Someone seeing me would think that I had been drinking. She asked for me to place one foot in front of the other. I did this and made it a couple of steps but then lost my balance and stepped off to catch myself, and she said, “What was that?” I told her I lost my balance. She quickly had me lay back down in the bed. Melinda and I were nervously laughing and the doctor was too. She also reviewed a stroke assessment document with me that I struggled to answer.
Then on December 21st I had a pet scan. The next day I had an appointment with my oncologist. He explained that the cancer was back to the size it was when I was diagnosed back in April. This was not good news. It explained why my blood pressure was high and I was so tired. He said we would be doing chemo the next day. He would be evaluating and treating my cancer this time around like a new patient. He explained that since my oncologist in New Mexico had good success and the cancer had decreased he had not modified any of my cancer protocols. He also said he would be sending my blood off to determine if I had a cancer mutation which my other oncologist had done but the results were inconclusive.
The next day I had chemo treatment. My feelings were that we were starting over. This round of chemo treatment was rough. I was nauseous several times. I struggled to recover, slept longer than normal, and had little energy even after several weeks. Before our next appointment with the oncologist Melinda and I compiled questions related to how we might better manage my chemo symptoms and energy level. It was frustrating as my symptoms from the first 4 rounds of chemo were not bad and by the 6th day my energy level would start getting better. The storm was back and my patience and endurance was being tested.
Then on January 11th we met with the oncologist before my scheduled chemo treatment. Melinda and I were waiting in the treatment room and looking over our questions. He entered the office abruptly waving a piece of white paper with a huge smile saying, “You tested positive for the cancer mutation! You are allowed to do the targeted pill treatment. You don’t have to do chemo!” I was confused and didn’t understand. Chemo brain was affecting me. I said, “What does that mean?” He explained it again, that I would not have chemo and would be on pill therapy. Further, that the pill therapy doesn’t have bad symptoms like chemo. The next pet scan would be in 3 months and he expected the cancer to be close to remission by then. In the blink of an eye, we went from being very stressed to beyond joyous. Remission wasn’t something my oncologist talked much about. He explained that we would get a month's supply of the targeted treatment pills in their pharmacy. He also mentioned that they were pricey. In fact, $16k a month, or $86 a pill and I had to take 4 in the morning and 4 in the evening, everyday. Before we left the oncologist office, I noticed a quote on the wall that said, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” This had certainly been one of those moments. The rain and the storm had passed.
Melinda later shared with me that for the 2 nights prior to this appointment with the oncologist, that when I was falling asleep and she was rubbing my back, she prayed a bold prayer asking for the same power of the Holy Spirit that separated the Red Sea, raised Lazarus from the dead, and raised Jesus from the dead, would heal my body of cancer. Melinda’s prayer had been answered. Many of our friends and their friends had also been praying for us. Prayers answered. Prayer matters! God hears our prayers. “If you abide in Me and My Words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” John 15:7. Praise God!
I started taking the pills that night. I was still dealing with issues from my stroke and would spend the next month doing therapy with an occupational therapist to help me with my words and my right hand use. Also, for our prescription benefits through Eagle Adventure Camp, we use RX Help Center. I had a call with our benefits manager and she explained that I would need to call RX Help Center, and tell them the medicine I was prescribed and they would search for the best price. I called them and told them the name of the targeted cancer treatment pills. They would need to further research and get back with me but thought they would be able to work directly with the drug manufacturer and get a better price. The next day I received a call back and they told me they were able to get the medicine from the manufacturer, at no cost. Are you kidding me? No cost! Free! More blessings from God raining down!
Roll the clock forward 5 months and two more pet scans. July 6th, we had another appointment with my oncologist to review the latest pet scan and blood work. I was feeling much better and regaining strength and energy. However, I was anxious. I was cautious to get my hopes up because you never know with cancer. Melinda on the other hand was calm and confident I was in remission. We were waiting in the treatment room again. He came in and said “The pet scan was great! You are in remission. Congratulations!” He explained that my tumor markers were normal. Further, he would monitor my tumor markers every six weeks and do a quarterly cat scan to confirm I was still in remission. The circumstance and the suffering had challenged my endurance, character and hope. But by God’s design I had made it through this storm.
I thought about writing about this and some of the good news earlier this year. But it took me a good while to get back to where I could type. By March the therapy helped me fully recover from the ministroke. Later in March I actually was back riding my bike trainer in the house and then on the trail by April. Physical recovery has been slow. But thankfully I have been patient with myself. Which is surprising, I know. Since May I have been back in the gym.
I am grateful for all of your prayers over the last 14 months. I am thankful for Eagle Adventure Camps, the team I work with and the leadership team at Glorieta for their care, love, and patience. I am thankful that Cade was here to help. I feel blessed and grateful that we have family that live close. And my words of gratitude and love are not enough for Melinda, for being by my side throughout this difficult time for both of us. Lastly, I praise God! I praise Him in and through the storms of life.
God planned out our journey long ago. It will have seasons that will bring us great joy and happiness. He loves us. Likewise our journey will have seasons of storms and giants that we will face. He designed these specifically for us. At some point we will take our last breath on this earth. However for believers this is not the end, it is just the beginning. Eternal life we are promised through Jesus' blood and righteousness that is unending.
Even when the storms come we are washed by the water.
Pat