|
|
              
 |
Stories of Courage & Hope Abstracts by Tom Swartz
In this issue:
Firefighter Renews Battle Against Osteosarcoma With Experimental Treatment Robby Cowart is a firefighter, family man, and beloved friend. He also refuses to let his battle with osteosarcoma keep him down. Cowart was first diagnosed in 2001. Treated with surgery and chemotherapy the cancer reappeared in 2005 in the same place. “After 30 surgeries and two rounds of radiation they said it was gone,” Cowart said. Now three years later the cancer has reappeared in his lungs.
I want my lungs back and I want to get back on the fire truck and get back to my crew,” Cowart said. Cowart is going to participate in a clinical trial of a drug called Reolysin. Cowart said he is optimistic the treatment will extinguish the cancer once and for all. Reolysin uses a virus and educates the immune system to fight cancer.
“My family is my life and my wife, what can I say, she’s wonderful,” he said. “My kids are my inspiration. I can’t say enough.” His older brother, Steve Cowart, and younger sister, Christie Drake, have organized a raffle to raise money for his trip for the treatment. Steve Cowart said his brother’s diagnosis came as a shock to him and his sister.
Drake described her brother as “the nicest guy you’ll ever meet.” “He’s very honest, very dependable. He’s the type of guy who’ll give you the shirt off his back,” she said. Firefighter Jack Allen has known Cowart for about five years. Though they never worked out of the same station together, they have formed a solid friendship. “He’s your best friend even if he doesn’t like you,” Allen said. “He’d do anything for you. He’d do anything for anybody.”
Allen’s Red Knights Motorcycle Club is also organizing a ride on June 21 to help Cowart. “This one hits close to home,” Allen said. He said Cowart is always in good spirits and he has never known him to have a negative attitude. “He’s just like this big guy and you would think, ‘I do not want to mess with that guy.’ But he’s just a big ol’ teddy bear,” he said. “He’s fought this twice already and now it’s gotten into his lungs and now it’s like where do we go? What do we do? How can we help?”
“Without the fire department and my family, none of this would be possible,” Cowart said. “I never have felt worthy of such attention because, you know, I’m just me. I just try to be as honest as I can be in life.” Cowart said his struggle has been an “emotional roller coaster.” “My wish is to get back with my crew, get this behind me and watch my kids grow old,” he said.
Minneapolis PR exec hopes to beat odds, survive bout with rare bone cancer For Todd Andrews, each workday is literally a breath of fresh air. Andrews spends his days writing news releases and creating marketing materials for the firm for a public relations firm in Minneapolis. He does so while using an oxygen tank to help battle the after effects of the bone cancer which has spread to his lungs. Andrews has been fighting the cancer since 2004. It began in his left forearm which has been replaced with a cadaver bone.
He’s been told that just 5 percent to 10 percent of patients with his disease survive five or more years. I don’t necessarily listen to the numbers that the doctors give you, because I’m not a percentage of a person,” he says. “And they give it to you because they want to keep your expectations in check.”
He’s thankful that people at his firm have been very supportive. “This place has been incredible,” Andrews says. “Part of the reason that I keep coming back to work all the time is that while everyone says, ‘Don’t worry about it,’ you can tell they mean it. “I feel that they’ve done so much for me that I can do as much for them as well. So I keep plugging away at work and doing the work I can,” he says. For example, his workmates pool their frequent flyer miles to enable regular trips to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Clinic in Houston with his wife, Karen.
Andrews splits treatment for his cancer between M.D. Anderson and the University of Minnesota Medical Clinic, Fairview in Minneapolis. The total tab for his treatments over four years comes to several hundred thousand dollars.
Andrews and his wife Karen celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary June 2, and have turned to their families and each other - and use the Internet to help keep family and friends apprised of Todd’s condition. A CaringBridge website provides plentiful information about the twists and turns in Andrew’s battle with cancer, and contains the well-crafted writings of Karen Andrews. Andrews said, “The website has been kind of cathartic for her because she wants to get out her emotions and how she’s feeling about things. And she likes it because we’ve got a record of all the medical things in case we need to refer to them.” The site, which provides web surfers access about the ups and downs of Andrews’ treatment, relieves the couple of repeating the same message over and over.
A nighttime worrier, Karen said chronicling Todd’s duel with cancer has been a relief because in the quiet still of night, she can reach out to others whose children, spouses or acquaintances have had bone cancer that is similar to her husband’s. Take the American Cancer Online Resource support group, for example. There, a pediatrician from Texas e-mailed Karen after reading about Todd’s experiences and suggested treatment that now is being conducted.
“He’s a very important part of my life. We both say, ‘I love you’ to each other about eight times a day. It could be so much worse,” she adds. And what if Andrews’ condition worsens? “We’re going to beat this and get past it,” he says. “I don’t want this to define me because, at some point in the future, I’m planning to be past it and be who I am.”
Ready to Run: Fighting Back from Bout with Cancer Grand Haven, Michigan’s John Morgan admits that he'll be nowhere near the top finishers at the annual Tri-Cities YMCA Kick-off to Summer Run, presented by Snug Harbor. "I'll probably be just ahead of the people in wheelchairs," he said with a grin. But the fact that the 50-year-old is even competing is a moral victory.
Nearly two years ago, Morgan, owner of J. Morgan Jewelers in Grand Haven, was diagnosed with sarcoma in his hamstring. When they told me it was malignant, all you can think is 'man, this really stinks," he said. "All you can do is try to get as much info as you can and plan ahead. I talked it over with my family, my kids. I had to tell my employees at my business. It knocked me out of work during a critical month of December, which as any jeweler knows, is the biggest time of the year."
In mid-December of 2006, surgeons removed a tumor 19 centimeters in length attached to Morgan's hamstring. "The tumor was a lot larger than they expected," Morgan said. "I barely got out of it with my leg. I was right on the edge of losing my leg because of (the tumor's) proximity to the main nerve." The doctors later told him that if he wasn't diagnosed in another few weeks, chances were the tumor would have been inoperable. "I'm very fortunate and lucky to have had such great doctors," Morgan said. "They did an amazing job. “My main nerve was actually in their hands during surgery."
It was only a start to Morgan's long road to recovery. After needing several weeks to heal, Morgan endured seven weeks of radiation treatment and chemotherapy in Ann Arbor, his new home away from home.
"They finally got me home for a few days, but I had to wear a lousy brace," he recalled, noting he also had to use a walker for a few days. "I'd also used a cane a little bit and hopped from one place I could sit down to another. Slowly, but surely, I could limp around the house. And once I got the brace off, I was able to put more weight on it each day."
"My doctors really did an amazing job, but there was a lot of recovery work I had to put in," Morgan said. "They told me they could really tell I was doing my therapy. Usually, you get all that scar tissue and it binds you up if you don't stretch it out. I was not going to let that happen to me." Morgan made it a point at getting out and being somewhat active, constantly telling himself "he wasn't going to lay around all afternoon. Even if it meant walking for just three minutes and then going back in, that's what you got to do," he said.
Morgan, who has two sons with his wife, Anne, plus three grandchildren, became more courageous and more confident in his ability to use his legs.
He went from using a walker to a cane, and a cane to walking. Then he started using a recumbent bike and taking the stairs when he could. He knew he was inching closer to 100 percent when he began light jogging around his home. He even did some downhill skiing this past winter.
Morgan said he didn't anticipate he'd develop such a strong passion for running. "Boy, I remember the first time, I ran about a quarter-mile," he said with a chuckle. "And it was brutal." But like the process to gain strength in his legs, running also became a gradual improvement, as he can now complete 5-6 miles without stopping.
The Snug Harbor Race will be his first-ever road race, and crossing the finish line might be an emotional end to a daunting obstacle in his life. "I've run the course three times now. It's something I've set out to do," he said. "I've made this a goal for myself and crossing the finish line will be a symbol of that. Hopefully by doing this, if anything, it will help other people realize there are ways to fight back. Even when you have gone through the most terrible, desolate moment in your life."
Recent MRI tests have come back clear and doctors said in another year, he should have a clean bill of health and no more worries. His finish line is well within sight.
Teen battling sarcoma hopes to build home for African AIDS orphans Kristin Elizabeth Elliott, 18, has been battling synovial cell sarcoma for more than two years. Yet when she was asked last July by the Make-A-Wish Foundation what she hoped for, she requested not a celebrity visit for herself nor a fantasy vacation for her family but to share her wish with others.
She thought back on an earlier trip with Family Legacy Missions International to Zambia. There she spent days at Camp Life outside the city of Lusaka, working among the children orphaned by AIDS. Zambia in southern Africa has one of the world’s most devastating HIV and AIDS epidemics.
“God placed it on my heart to leave something for these kids,” Kristin said. So she requested that Make-A-Wish help her start Kristin’s Miracle House, a home for 20 orphaned children in the poverty-stricken African nation stricken by this modern scourge. The home would be part of a village established to give educational opportunities and medical attention to the ostracized children. The nonprofit entity gave her $2,600 in seed money but said it was up to her to raise the rest to make her $60,000 wish come true.
“I’m proud of her servant’s heart,” said her mother, Terri. “She has never let the cancer be first place in her life.” To date, they have raised $7,000 for the cause, Terri added.
A grapefruit-sized, stage III tumor was found in Kristin’s right thigh in February 2006. Kristin endured chemotherapy for almost three months but ultimately had to undergo a nine-hour surgery to have the large mass removed. Kristin was not expected to return to playing her high school sport, volleyball, much less walk again. But after recovering from the extensive surgery, she started aggressive radiation treatment and survived.
“Doctors are amazed she’s gotten this far out from diagnosis, and she’s got back to full-time volleyball in school,” her mother said.
A year after Kristin’s last radiation treatment, two cancerous tumors were found in her lungs. The masses were removed in July 2007. Because a tumor was missed during that procedure, she had to return to the operating suite on New Year’s Eve to have it removed.
The teen undergoes periodic scans to determine if she carries any trace of the sarcoma in her tissues. “We’re believers, so we go in (to each scan) with a hopeful heart,” Kristin said.
“My faith in God and prayers from family and friends has sustained me through this long, hard journey,” Kristin said. “I am believing in my complete healing and will continue to live life with everything I have.”
Since age 13, she added, she had been called to care for the unloved and less fortunate souls of this world, people “who desperately need to hear of God’s unconditional love for them.” “I feel most humbled when caring for others and cannot express the joy I have when doing so,” Kristin said of her mission trips abroad. “I have come to find that nothing can be more spiritually fulfilling and eternally worthwhile than being a servant to others for God.”
If her health holds out, she will be returning to Zambia from June 8-22 with Family Legacy Missions International (LegacyMissions.org) on another mission trip.
“By faith, we just move forward,” said her mom.
Wedel Survives Sarcoma, Gets Back In The Game Coleton Wedel, age 15, will have a chance to play baseball, to grow up, and to learn to drive a car. "I am cancer free," Coleton smiles. Coleton is cancer free just one year after being diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma.
Coleton kept the mindset that he would make it. "I had my days where I did doubt it," Coleton said. "But those were the days that seem like they last years. The days that I was myself, flew by and I came that much closer to finishing." It was that positive attitude that brought Coleton's treatment to a finish.
Just six days after leaving the hospital Coleton played his first baseball game in more than a year. That night, the Carlisle Indians won 25-1 and Coleton scored.
"I started playing baseball again, and hanging out with friends, going to school," Coleton said, "and just being normal."
Coleton's best friend is also his teammate and his big brother, Quinlan. Quinlan carried on last season without Coleton. The two are thrilled to play together again one last year. "It's a good feeling knowing that he's back again," Quinlan said watching his brother practice. "He's out there doing his dream, what he loves to do. It's good to see him doing that again as his brother."
In 2007 the Indians dedicated their season to Coleton with the motto "Do It For Skinny." Skinny is Coleton's nickname. That same season, the Indians had their longest playoff run in school history, making it to the regional finals. Coleton hopes to inspire another state title run.
"I was a part of it last year in a different way," he said. "This year I'd like to be a part of it while playing."
Friends, family share memories of teenager who battled cancer Her classmates wore pink in Brittanee's honor. Brittanee Delk was a sophomore at Poly High School who recently lost a battle with Ewing sarcoma.
"The whole school really knew about her," said Monica Haider, a senior at Poly who had met Brittanee once or twice. "We're all kind of involved in her cause," Monica said. "Fighting with her. We were getting through it with her. It wasn't just her on her own."
Many at the school Monday spoke of the effect Brittanee had on those she met. "Our school is spirited but I think not as spirited as other schools. But every time she was around ... she definitely brought us all together," a friend said.
Brittanee was honored with a varsity letter and other gifts as tokens for her courage. She was also named by a Youth Council as a Remarkable Teen for her courage.
Brittanee's mother Rebekkah said of Brittanee, "She just had an incredible amount of faith. She never let (the illness) limit her. She would go directly from the hospital and go to swim practice. She just never gave up on anything."
Elizabeth Willson, a counseling secretary at the school recalled Brittanee as, "always smiling. Always smiling. No matter how much pain she felt."
V5N3 ESUN Copyright © 2008 Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative. |
