Think it not Strange or Explaining the Unexplainable
Today is Monday October 10th. I worked like crazy yesterday to get you caught up to the 25th of September (which is when I started the last update). But tonight I am going to get us all caught up to today and that involves telling you all about the miracle that occurred last Wednesday October 5th. I'm afraid from this point on unless there is a major event I will mostly be updating things monthly, typically the first week of the month, which is when I go to my appointment at the Mayo Clinic each month. BUT my promise is that I will regularly post within a few days exactly what the appointments reveal.
I don't remember much happening between September 25th and October 5th except for two things. First, the tubes coming out of my kidneys got irritated, slightly infected and made it a bit difficult to sleep or sit with my back up against anything. But, with the liberal use of neosporin and the regular replacement of the bandages this passed within about a week. Second, you may remember the weird attack on my left heel from a few weeks ago, well, on Wednesday morning September 28th I woke up with a tremendous pain in my right foot centered around the big toe joint but it wasn't a gout attack (been there done that got the T-shirt). All the same it hurt enough that I called Mayo and left a message for my Dr. asking what my options were. By the time I got a call back a few days later I could tell that it was lessening and we agreed that if it was still bothering me when I got there for my appointment on Wednesday the 5th of October we would do something then. By Monday the 3rd it had all but disappeared.
While I am sure this seems unrelated, bear with me, it will tie into my story in a minute. I won't go into all of the detail, but, Sherry has been battling a strange lung infection for about a year. It has left her lungs with some "holes" in them (revealed in a CT Scan). After having a biopsy it was discovered that she had two problems. One was a different form of pneumonia (which was treated with a 5 day course of antibiotics). The other appears to be some kind of mycobacteria, but they haven't been able to identify it. It's like a cousin to TB but isn't TB. So she was put on the most logical treatment which is 2 heavy-duty antibiotics and 1 anti-bacterial of some sort. She has to take this for 3 months (and get her eyesight and liver checked monthly). So we figured since we are going to be at the Mayo Clinic monthly for awhile we should get a second opinion from a pulmonary Dr. there. The earliest they could schedule her appointment was December 7th.
So now we are at Mayo and it is Wednesday October 5th. I had my blood work done at 7:30 AM and then Sherry and I went to the building where most appointments take place. We went to the 18th floor so that Sherry could see if she could get into her Dr. any sooner. There is no waiting list at Mayo the only option is to show up and register then sit and wait to see if someone no-shows the Dr. you want to see then if you are the first in line you get to see them. So after a quick breakfast we sat and waited for an unlikely opening with her Dr.
Just before 1 PM I headed down to the 7th floor for my appointment and Sherry stayed on the 18th floor. At about 1:20 I got called into my appointment. Just as I was about to enter my exam room (there are probably 100 of them on each floor at Mayo) I saw my Dr. doing some paperwork on a kiosk in the hall. As he looked up I smiled, shook his hand and he said, "I'll be with you in a few minutes, actually it may be a bit longer than that". I sat down in the room and continued working on a crossword puzzle I had been doing. Within about 5 minutes the door burst open and my Dr. came in exclaiming, "Holy crap I honestly didn't recognize you, you look great, the jaundice is gone and you have put on quite a bit of weight. I don't need to tell you that the last time I saw you 6 weeks ago you were a very sick man! I honestly can't believe the change in you in such a short time." He then said he had to go take care of a few things and he would be back in a few minutes. Then he left kind of shaking his head (in a good way).
The heavy door to my exam room closed and a few minutes later from the hallway I hear him loudly exclaim, "Holy @#$%*, I can't believe it. Hey... come here look at this, have you ever seen ANYTHING like this". I heard other voices say "No I've never seen anything like it" and then some mumbling. I had no way of knowing whether the exclamation had anything to do with me, nor if it was an extremely good or extremely bad report. But it seemed like a good one and I hoped it was for me!!!!! Of course the enemy came right away to plant the thought that Oh it's not for you and it's not good news.
A few minutes later my Dr. came in and confirmed it was not only for me but it was incredibly awesome good news!!! My PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) which he said was off the charts 6 short weeks earlier (meaning it was above 20,000, that's right 20,000) was now 103. Praise God, what an amazing miracle! What a mighty God we serve!!!
The Dr. preceded to tell me that in all his years of practice he hasn't seen this dramatic a result with any patient and that I had both the highest PSA he had ever worked with and the largest lymph nodes. He emphasized that this just doesn't happen, lymph nodes shrinking within 30 days of the first hormone injection and the PSA dropping so dramatically. He stated that something was telling him that it wasn't quite time to let up so we are going to continue to treat this aggressively and "ride this horse as far as it will take us". We also talked about his studies using immune boosters and he said that if we get to that point I would certainly be a candidate for a study and would have a 67% chance of getting the treatment drug(s) as opposed to a placebo. He was awesome and wrote a note to Sherry (who was still waiting on the 18th floor) telling her my PSA count. Of course I ran and told Sherry, gave her the note and we both broke down in tears of joy!!
So, since then I have been on cloud nine (what is cloud nine anyway, is it not as good as cloud 10, but better than cloud eight? Just wondering.) Celebrating the miracle working power of God through His son Jesus Christ. I have received a miracle. Just what I have been praying and believing for for the last few years. It is happening and I am very thankful. It is amazing. I have a theory on what the catalyst for the manifestation was but the crux of it is that just as the Prodigal Son woke up in the mud in the pig sty and the Bible says he "came to himself" (in other words he had nothing left physically, emotionally, financially, etc., he had spent it all) and like the woman with the issue of blood who for 18 years "spent all she had" (again physically, emotionally, financially, etc.) I had to get to a place that I was at the end of myself, the end of my options, no alternatives or back-up plans left. But God.......had a plan. His ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts higher than our thoughts.
So next month, the first week of November, I will return to Mayo for 2 days of poking, prodding, testing, replacement nephrostomy bags and I am quite sure another great report. I'm told I'll get the all-the-tests-you-can-take-in-a-day wristband. Kind of like an all-access backstage thing.
Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks again for all of your prayers, it's not time yet to quit we need to press through to the end. I love you all and can't wait to see you. Write, text, comment here on the blog whatever you can do. I really appreciate hearing from everybody especially since things are so good. Let me know if you need prayer from us for any reason!
All God's Best,
PD aka Bucky
Monday, October 10, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
August 18th through September 25th
Well I have intended to get this update completed innumerable times since my last post but it wasn't happening, but, at this point the good reports are piling up so fast that if I don't get on the stick and begin posting them I won't be able to catch up. WARNING: THE BLOG YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ IS GUARANTEED TO STRENGTHEN YOUR FAITH. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE ENCOURAGED OR HAVE YOUR FAITH STRENGTHENED DO NOT READ THIS BLOG.
So, if you have the fortitude, strap yourself in, here is the update. In short, everything can be summed up in the word MIRACULOUS!!! God has and continues to deliver "above and beyond all that I could possibly ask or think". Had I been given a blank sheet of paper (following my visit to Mayo August 17th) and asked to write down what I was believing God for I would have fallen far short of what has actually occurred. Although I know (according to the Word and what our inheritance is as heirs to the New Covenant (salvation, healing, deliverance, prosperity and all things that pertain to life and godliness))I am incredibly humbled and "blown away" that God (according to Psalm 8) is mindful of me and this is actually happening!!!
My color (both skin and eyes, although eyes took a lot longer) continued to be a little less yellow (jaundiced) every day. NOTE: I didn't mention in my last post that a few days before my visit to Mayo on August 17th, I had a terrible attack of pain in my left heel, it was extremely sensitive to the touch and very painful to walk on. I dealt with it for a few days doing nothing, (I was already doing anti-itch and pain medications daily) figuring it came quickly in the night and would leave as quickly. After 2 days I started wearing some kind of foot brace Sherry got when she thought she had plantar fasciitis. It at least enabled me to walk because it absorbed most of the weight instead of putting it on my heal. It was bad enough that for my visit the 17th to Mayo I rode around in a wheelchair part of the day.
I went back to work on Thursday the 18th of August and there was no change in my heel. In fact by Friday it was so bad that when we went to the Steele County Free Fair in Owatonna with some friends I rented a scooter in order to get around! It was somewhat embarrassing since I really have never considered myself to be sick. By Saturday morning the pain in my heel had lessened for the first time and by Monday the 22nd, when I returned to work, my heel felt fine.
All during this time I was feeling a little better each day, but working a full 8 hours a day was quite exhausting. I'd come home each night and crash hard. The jaundice continued to lessen so that you really didn't see it in my skin tone and just barely in my eyes. Also, each time one of the multiple medications I was on ran out, I would either stop taking it or back off the dosage substantially. Very quickly I was down to taking only two pills before bed for restful sleep and the last remnants of itching. Early the week of September 12th when those last two prescriptions ran out I stopped taking all meds. All during this time my appetite vastly improved (I'm sure I have put back on a good deal of the weight I had lost when I weighed below 170 with maybe 20 lbs. of tumors in my gut) and I gained energy every day. I am back to normal color and weight-wise although I can't put an exact date on the return to normalcy.
2 or 3 weekends ago I went out and worked on a project in the garage but after a couple of hours I had to call it quits, I was exhausted! However, yesterday September 24th I got up early went and had coffee with Sherry, then we shopped for several hours, even hit a couple of garage sales, came home and tackled some projects around the house and felt great!!! Today for the first time since June 30th I went out, mowed and weed-whacked the entire yard (despite the fact that Sherry and Brileigh had tried to keep up with it, it was incredibly long) then did a brake job on my car, now I'm doing the blog. It is an awesome testimony to the goodness of God!!! I really am feeling back to normal and doing everything I was doing back in June, but certainly have a new appreciation and thankfulness for the good heath I have again (and which so many of us take for granted). But I am rushing ahead.
On Monday September 5th I felt a prompting to do a Google search on my Dr. (Dr. Eugene Kwon). What I found was amazing. If you're interested you should check out these links http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/staff/kwon_e.cfm and http://www.minnpost.com/healthblog/2009/06/19/9659/mayo_reports_dramatic_outcomes_in_prostate_cancer_study
The long and short of it is that once again God's providence was in operation. I had initially called the Mayo Clinic and was randomly (I thought) scheduled as a patient of Dr. Kwon's. It turns out he is a leading researcher in the area of immunology as a treatment for prostate cancer. For two years I had used naturopathic treatment methods changing lifestyle, diet and exercising more trying to boost my immune system in order to "destroy" the prostate cancer, as a result of the long-held belief that the medical profession only offered surgery, radiation and chemotherapy as options for cancer treatment. Then as "luck" would have it I am "randomly" assigned to a Dr. whose entire research focus is on using therapies which boost the patients immune system to eradicate cancer and specifically prostate cancer.
Again, things continued to improve a little bit every day I had more energy and by the time my next Mayo Clinic appointment arrived (September 9th) I was feeling really good. I went through the normal drill for my appointment (Early AM blood draw, then CT Scan with & without contrast then a 1:00 PM Dr. Appointment, following that a Lupron shot (the hormone treatment that blocks the production of testosterone). They had to wait this long (a month) to do the CT scan with contrast because my impaired kidney function wouldn't have been able to handle the contrast dye earlier than this.
Dr. Kwon was not there for this appointment so I met with his assistant Dr. Wynn. He informed me that a number of my lymph nodes had shrunk in size approximately 1" in diameter. In his words this was extremely unusual to have this dramatic a result in this short a time (just 1 month). Dr. Wynn is normally very reserved, doesn't display a lot of emotion, but in this case he was VERY animated and visibly moved by the incredible results. He went on to say that most of the time it takes up to 12 months to see any results from the hormone therapy. Needless to say I left the appointment feeling incredibly blessed and encouraged!
Over the course of the next several weeks I have continued to get stronger, feel better, look better (I'm told) and also feel the pressure that the lymph nodes were putting on my entire abdominal area, lessen. For the last 6 weeks I have been back to work full time and the only negative is the multiple "hot flashes" I get each day as a result of the Lupron therapy (basically it is manopause). But after being incredibly cold for the last year or so (I'm guessing as a result of the cancer) I'm thinking that the hot flashes will provide some welcome relief this winter.
One of the challenges is to remember those long nights of uncontrollable itching, jaundice and weight loss and feeling miserable and remember what I have been delivered from. Because God has answered my prayers for relief from all of those things. It truly is a miracle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to each and every one of you for all of your prayers!!! I know I wouldn't be where I am were it not for those prayers, your love and support and your powerful encouragement. While it is a bit too early to celebrate the complete victory, I would ask that you continue in your prayers for me. But, all indications are that if we continue on this course it will eventually lead to a complete healing with no lingering or recurring effects. Thanks for all of the awesome emails, texts, voicemails, phone calls, visits, letters, faxes, etc. they have been incredibly encouraging and uplifting. I appreciate them more than I can express. I love hearing from each and every one of you and apologize if during these many distractions I haven't gotten back to you in a timely manner. Just as I eventually get around to updating this blog I will eventually get back to each of you. All God's best in every area of your lives.
Paul (and Sherry)
So, if you have the fortitude, strap yourself in, here is the update. In short, everything can be summed up in the word MIRACULOUS!!! God has and continues to deliver "above and beyond all that I could possibly ask or think". Had I been given a blank sheet of paper (following my visit to Mayo August 17th) and asked to write down what I was believing God for I would have fallen far short of what has actually occurred. Although I know (according to the Word and what our inheritance is as heirs to the New Covenant (salvation, healing, deliverance, prosperity and all things that pertain to life and godliness))I am incredibly humbled and "blown away" that God (according to Psalm 8) is mindful of me and this is actually happening!!!
My color (both skin and eyes, although eyes took a lot longer) continued to be a little less yellow (jaundiced) every day. NOTE: I didn't mention in my last post that a few days before my visit to Mayo on August 17th, I had a terrible attack of pain in my left heel, it was extremely sensitive to the touch and very painful to walk on. I dealt with it for a few days doing nothing, (I was already doing anti-itch and pain medications daily) figuring it came quickly in the night and would leave as quickly. After 2 days I started wearing some kind of foot brace Sherry got when she thought she had plantar fasciitis. It at least enabled me to walk because it absorbed most of the weight instead of putting it on my heal. It was bad enough that for my visit the 17th to Mayo I rode around in a wheelchair part of the day.
I went back to work on Thursday the 18th of August and there was no change in my heel. In fact by Friday it was so bad that when we went to the Steele County Free Fair in Owatonna with some friends I rented a scooter in order to get around! It was somewhat embarrassing since I really have never considered myself to be sick. By Saturday morning the pain in my heel had lessened for the first time and by Monday the 22nd, when I returned to work, my heel felt fine.
All during this time I was feeling a little better each day, but working a full 8 hours a day was quite exhausting. I'd come home each night and crash hard. The jaundice continued to lessen so that you really didn't see it in my skin tone and just barely in my eyes. Also, each time one of the multiple medications I was on ran out, I would either stop taking it or back off the dosage substantially. Very quickly I was down to taking only two pills before bed for restful sleep and the last remnants of itching. Early the week of September 12th when those last two prescriptions ran out I stopped taking all meds. All during this time my appetite vastly improved (I'm sure I have put back on a good deal of the weight I had lost when I weighed below 170 with maybe 20 lbs. of tumors in my gut) and I gained energy every day. I am back to normal color and weight-wise although I can't put an exact date on the return to normalcy.
2 or 3 weekends ago I went out and worked on a project in the garage but after a couple of hours I had to call it quits, I was exhausted! However, yesterday September 24th I got up early went and had coffee with Sherry, then we shopped for several hours, even hit a couple of garage sales, came home and tackled some projects around the house and felt great!!! Today for the first time since June 30th I went out, mowed and weed-whacked the entire yard (despite the fact that Sherry and Brileigh had tried to keep up with it, it was incredibly long) then did a brake job on my car, now I'm doing the blog. It is an awesome testimony to the goodness of God!!! I really am feeling back to normal and doing everything I was doing back in June, but certainly have a new appreciation and thankfulness for the good heath I have again (and which so many of us take for granted). But I am rushing ahead.
On Monday September 5th I felt a prompting to do a Google search on my Dr. (Dr. Eugene Kwon). What I found was amazing. If you're interested you should check out these links http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/staff/kwon_e.cfm and http://www.minnpost.com/healthblog/2009/06/19/9659/mayo_reports_dramatic_outcomes_in_prostate_cancer_study
The long and short of it is that once again God's providence was in operation. I had initially called the Mayo Clinic and was randomly (I thought) scheduled as a patient of Dr. Kwon's. It turns out he is a leading researcher in the area of immunology as a treatment for prostate cancer. For two years I had used naturopathic treatment methods changing lifestyle, diet and exercising more trying to boost my immune system in order to "destroy" the prostate cancer, as a result of the long-held belief that the medical profession only offered surgery, radiation and chemotherapy as options for cancer treatment. Then as "luck" would have it I am "randomly" assigned to a Dr. whose entire research focus is on using therapies which boost the patients immune system to eradicate cancer and specifically prostate cancer.
Again, things continued to improve a little bit every day I had more energy and by the time my next Mayo Clinic appointment arrived (September 9th) I was feeling really good. I went through the normal drill for my appointment (Early AM blood draw, then CT Scan with & without contrast then a 1:00 PM Dr. Appointment, following that a Lupron shot (the hormone treatment that blocks the production of testosterone). They had to wait this long (a month) to do the CT scan with contrast because my impaired kidney function wouldn't have been able to handle the contrast dye earlier than this.
Dr. Kwon was not there for this appointment so I met with his assistant Dr. Wynn. He informed me that a number of my lymph nodes had shrunk in size approximately 1" in diameter. In his words this was extremely unusual to have this dramatic a result in this short a time (just 1 month). Dr. Wynn is normally very reserved, doesn't display a lot of emotion, but in this case he was VERY animated and visibly moved by the incredible results. He went on to say that most of the time it takes up to 12 months to see any results from the hormone therapy. Needless to say I left the appointment feeling incredibly blessed and encouraged!
Over the course of the next several weeks I have continued to get stronger, feel better, look better (I'm told) and also feel the pressure that the lymph nodes were putting on my entire abdominal area, lessen. For the last 6 weeks I have been back to work full time and the only negative is the multiple "hot flashes" I get each day as a result of the Lupron therapy (basically it is manopause). But after being incredibly cold for the last year or so (I'm guessing as a result of the cancer) I'm thinking that the hot flashes will provide some welcome relief this winter.
One of the challenges is to remember those long nights of uncontrollable itching, jaundice and weight loss and feeling miserable and remember what I have been delivered from. Because God has answered my prayers for relief from all of those things. It truly is a miracle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to each and every one of you for all of your prayers!!! I know I wouldn't be where I am were it not for those prayers, your love and support and your powerful encouragement. While it is a bit too early to celebrate the complete victory, I would ask that you continue in your prayers for me. But, all indications are that if we continue on this course it will eventually lead to a complete healing with no lingering or recurring effects. Thanks for all of the awesome emails, texts, voicemails, phone calls, visits, letters, faxes, etc. they have been incredibly encouraging and uplifting. I appreciate them more than I can express. I love hearing from each and every one of you and apologize if during these many distractions I haven't gotten back to you in a timely manner. Just as I eventually get around to updating this blog I will eventually get back to each of you. All God's best in every area of your lives.
Paul (and Sherry)
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