I recall when I went to my surgical clinic to have shoulder surgery the anesthesia doc said to me, after reading my chart, you sure are healthy to have such health issues. That was about 4 years ago and not much has changed for me since then...
In 1981 I began loosing weight very quickly. I went from 130 lbs down to 98 lbs within a week. I was literally going at both ends. The docs in my hometown of Southern Pines weren't sure what was going on so they sent me to UNC Chapel Hill...Go Tarheels!...That is where I met a wonderful Doctor as well as human being Dr. Douglas Drossman. He was a fellow at the time with the (GastroIntestinal) clinic aka GI clinic. We hit it off instantly. He is such an amazing person. He brought me out of many many close calls with my health and he still does. He diagnosed me, with my first health ailment, Crohn's Disease. I was 21 years old.
Crohn's Disease is an inflammation of the colon. In other words I have ulcers in my colon. Back before I got sober it seems that my Crohn's Disease was always active. It never occurred to me that the alcohol irritated my disease as much as it did. At one time they believed that it was inherited from generation to generation to the first born child. My bio Dad's older brother had it so I am told and since I was the first born of my bio Dad's I have it. But now they are saying that is not so. It does tend to run in families but they just don't know why at this time.
For many years we treated the Crohn's Disease with medications such as Prednisone, Antibiotics such as Flagyl, Cipro and last but not least Sulphazaline which I am still taking and have for many years. My disease still flares up now and again. In fact, right now it is flaring but not as bad as it has in the past. Last year it flared up really bad. I was on both Flagyl and Cipro. I had to go on FMLA for 3 months. This was during the time Kathy and I went to Nova Scotia Canada to get married. Doctor D did allow me to go off the antibiotics 2 days before we got married. Thank Goodness.
In 1990 my second ailment came to life when I realized that my life had become unmanageable and unhealthy for me. The drinking and drugging had taken it's toll on my body. I had family members that were in AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). I started going to open speaker meetings with them and realized that this is where I belonged. So I picked up a white chip at one of the speaker meetings and I surrendered myself to AA and a whole new life journey. I would probably be dead had I not done this. My HP aka God has certainly been with me all along in my life.
In 1995 my third ailment came in the shape of a small lump on my breast. I was camping with my folks when I was in the shower and felt a lump on the side of my breast. It felt like a frozen pea. Immediately I went to the doctor when we got home. They did an ultrasound and mammogram. Then on my birthday they did a biopsy. Yup on my birthday I found out that I had Breast Cancer. It was one of those moments when it felt as though I was in a tunnel when the doc called me with the news. I could hear him talk but he sounded so far away. After hanging up with the doctor I grabbed my mother and held on tight. No tears at that time but just disbelief. I felt as though I was a deer caught in the headlights. My mother cried and held me tighter and tighter. Then I called my family one after the other beginning with the mother of my heart Aunt Shirley. I have always and will always believe in strength in numbers. The more people that knew the more prayers and support for me. Which is what I wanted and needed.
I opted for the lumpectomy. So we scheduled the surgery. They did a lymph node biopsy also which is standard procedure and one out of 8 came back positive. As my surgeon said, One Damn Lymph node. He spoke with a lisp which just gave me a bit of humor of the whole situation. Since there was a positive lymph node that meant chemotherapy along with radiation. So it began.
Having Crohn's Disease complicated my treatment for Breast Cancer. They had to sandwich in my chemo with the radiation. I can't remember how they did it...but it took a while. I remember the only time I cried was when they were marking me for the radiation. They had me in a dark room all alone on a table with only one beam of light shining on my breast. At that moment tears streamed down my face. I realized the gravity of what was going on with my body. I have always felt that I had to be strong for everyone else in my life. That was the first time that I could feel my feelings.
Two of the disease miracles in my life came in 1998 my Crohn's Disease had come to the point where we needed to remove part of my colon because it had become so diseased. While doing a cat scan they found that the cancer had metastasized on my lung. So the first miracle was that the cat scan showed a "shadow" on the screen. Mom and I were sitting in the waiting room watching doctor after doctor go in the room. Later Dr. D had told us that they were reading the images and seeing this "shadow" and not knowing what was going on they realized that it was showing cancer. The other miracle was that since I had been on chemo for so long the colon was not as diseased as it once was. First we had to get the cancer under control with Tamoxifen. Then the colon surgery happened in 2000 to remove a small section of colon.
During the years I have had many health ailments. Some tough some rough some just plain annoying. I try to find some type of humor in things around me. The emotional turmoil in my life growing up added to alot of my health problems. Today with my wife things have calmed down within my family life with her. Outside of our family life is my family of origin. That is where much of my health issues are today. So I am trying to balance my life by having a good healthy regimen of eating healthy, exercising, therapy and trying not to stress. It is so hard for me because I have always thought that I HAVE to be the one that people lean on and the one that people come to for support. I am learning little by little that I NEED support which I get every single day from my wife Kathy Bundy and her family. Also from my close network of friends you know who you are. And from some family members. The mother of my heart Aunt Shirley and some cousins.
Life should be good because we only get ONE chance at it. I am truly working hard to have that one good chance at my life.
No comments:
Post a Comment