Until 2014 I was perfectly healthy. I worked out 2 - 3 times a week with a force recon marine of 24 years. He pushed me to my limits and beyond. I loved those workouts for both my mind and body, but little did I know they would prepare my for what was to come, years of saving my own life.
In April 2014 I was diagnosed with Leiomyosarcoma, an aggressive soft tissue cancer. It took me five years just to learn how to pronounce it. My treatment began with 400 hours of chemotherapy, 100 hours at a time. Next was surgery. To save my leg, one of the most incredible doctors and human beings, Dr. Doug Letson removed my knee, tibia, and fibula, replacing them with a steel knee and titanium rod. He then cut my calf in half and sewed it to the steel knee to prevent steel rubbing up against my skin. I lost two of the three arteries and most of the veins in my leg. 12 weeks of radiation followed. My doctor informed me mine was the largest field ever radiated, from the middle of my thigh down to my ankle. When it was all said and done my immune system went into overdrive in response to an infection, and I developed sepsis. I knew the leg would not last so I started preparing for that day.
We made it 6 years without the sarcoma returning, but in 2020 it reared its ugly head again in the same place it originated, my lower leg. Thus began the surgeries, radiation and chemo to almost every area of my body.
December 2020 my leg was amputated above the knee.
April 2021 - December 2021 Body mechanics, conditioning, rehabilitation, working out and learned how to walk with my prosthetic with Hunter at the Athlete Factory. Hunter researched above knee amputee rehabilitation and put together a comprehensive program; thanks to him we walked much sooner than medical experts anticipated.
January 2022 a piece of my lung was cut out to remove a tumor.
February 2022 radiated tumors around my heart
March 2022 radiated tumors in my amputated leg and pelvis.
2022 three rounds of the red devil chemotherapy
2023 radiated a sarcoma tumor from the top of my skull to my synovial jawbone and C4 vertebrae, again to my leg and pelvis, and to my broken collarbone. More red devil chemo.
2023 over a short period almost 5 new tumors a week.
2023 brain tumor, almost every vertebrae in my spine has tumors, bones riddled with tumors, as well as tumors in liver, kidney, and pancreas.
2023 overcame 2 bouts of pneumonia, another bout of sepsis and dangerously low blood pressure.
Throughout all of this mayhem my mind and body was prepared from:
Movement
Hydration
Living in gratitude
Travel
Family
Mushrooms, spices, herbs, escargot,
Prayers
Friends
Meat
Hope
Faith
These key elements are integral in my life and kept me alive for 9+ years battling Leiomyosarcoma.
Prepare your mind and body for storms that may or may not hit. As you move through life, every step is a finish line.
I pay homage to all the cancer warriors who are no longer able to take their next step.
