An Unexpected Story

John’s Story

It was the weekend of my 69th birthday. I arose early on Saturday morning and went to Stonebridge Golf Course to play in the Saturday morning Dog Fight. I walked 18 holes and went afterward to meet my family at the Tellus Museum. We spent the afternoon there, and then went to a local Mexican restaurant to celebrate my birthday. Several of my grandkids had made me cards which meant more to me than any gift they could have bought me  

For some reason I had a difficult time deciding what to order, and then ordered something completely different than what I usually order. When I cut into it, I discovered that it was full of purple onions, which I do not care for. Being quite hungry, I proceeded to eat the whole dish without uttering a word.

Early the next morning I awoke to a case of diarrhea. My first thought was the purple onions. The diarrhea continued and I went the over-the-counter route with no success. Finally, I was persuaded to go to Immediate Care. I was convinced by this time that I had a case of food poisoning brought on by the Mexican food I had eaten. The PA at Immediate Care agreed with me and wrote a prescription for something stronger to help with the diarrhea.

I took the prescription for several days, but the diarrhea continued. Finally, my family won out, and my doctor had me admitted through the ER for further testing. Fortunately, Dr. George Goldin, who I had seen serial times for colonoscopies was on call.

Extensive testing was done, and I remember awakening in a hospital room surrounded by my entire family. Then, Dr. Goldin walked in and told us he had good news and bad news. I asked for the bad news first expecting him to say it was indeed food poisoning, or something food related. Instead, he told us I had stage two pancreatic cancer. The good news was that it was treatable. Tears filled the room. Everyone was in shock. I was a picture of health, I went to the gym daily, ate well, and looked much younger than my 69 years.

Then, Dr. Goldin told us the tumor was not in my organs but was blocking my liver and causing it not to function properly. At first, he inserted a small plastic stent to hopefully unblock my liver. However, my bilirubin continued to rise, my skin turned yellow, I began to itch internally, and I lost my taste for food. Soon thereafter, Doctor Goldin decided to go back in and install a heavier metal stint because the plastic one was not working.

The metal stint was installed, and I went home but problems continued. I lost 25 pounds in a short time, continued to itch, and got very little sleep.  

We went to the Harbin Oncology where we met with Dr. Melissa Dillmon. Blood work was done, and my bilirubin was still too high for me to start treatment because of the fear of damaging my liver. My tumor markers were also rising, and I was very weak and was literally wasting away.  

It was a safe bet that I would not last more than three months. During this time, I continued to pray. I prayed that the Lord just give me a chance. I received numerous cards daily from people I had never met and was on prayer lists all over Georgia. I was blown away by all the prayers and support I was receiving.

My son, who is a head and neck surgeon, talked to Dr. Dillmon because he saw firsthand that I wasn't improving and couldn't make it much longer. She agreed to start a lesser strength regimen to hopefully slow down the tumor, with the hope that my bilirubin would come down, and the stronger treatment could begin. The summer was extremely hot, and I can barely remember it. I was still weak but started my chemo infusions and pill regiment. 

The three nurses in charge of my infusions were tremendous. I will never forget Melissa, Rebecca and Stephanie, and the care I received. The treatment continued and I made slow improvements. Food still did not taste good, but I managed to eat and began gaining weight thanks to the Ensure, which I was drinking three times a day. 

I would take the chemo pills after breakfast and after dinner. I could feel the effect within a few minutes and made it a point to rest after I took them.

It was the Friday morning of Labor Day weekend, and I took my chemo pills after breakfast as usual. I immediately retired to my favorite chair to rest while my wife, Paula, took my grandson to school. I closed my eyes, but a feeling came over me that I had never felt before: I could feel the hand of God getting me out of my chair. I immediately went outside, and I began cleaning out my Ford Explorer, something that I had not been in since becoming ill. My wife returned home and couldn't believe her eyes. I immediately announced to her that I was ready to play golf and go back to the gym again. I told her what I had experienced, and she agreed that it was the hand of God.

I began playing golf again and went daily to the gym to improve my strength and endurance. I continued to gain weight, the metal stent began to work, my bilirubin went down, and my cancer markers improved. I was ready at last for the stronger treatment which would hopefully lead to Whipple surgery and the shrinking and removal of the cancer.

The stronger treatment began, and my body handled it well. Everyone marveled at the improvements I was making. I told them it was not me, but the hand of God and they were witnessing a miracle. God was giving me a chance and prayer truly works.

I made it through the fall, and we decided to visit a well-known surgeon at UAB named Dr. Marty Heslin. My son had worked with him during residency and said he was the best.

My son his wife, Allison, accompanied Paula and I to UAB to meet with Dr. Heslin. We arrived early for a CT scan, ate lunch, and went to our appointment with Dr. Heslin. He walked in and we exchanged pleasantries. By that time, he had the results of the scan. He began showing them to us and his first words were, "this is where the tumor was". It took a second for us all to comprehend what he was saying, and tears soon filled the room. We couldn't believe our ears! He immediately asked me if I was ready for Whipple surgery. I told him I was ready when he was.  

Surgery was scheduled for the soonest date possible, which turned out to be February 18, 2020. On Tuesday February 18th, I had Whipple surgery. I lost 1/3 of my stomach, my gall bladder, the head if my pancreas, some intestines, and lymph nodes, but the surgery was successful. I was up and walking around the night of surgery but did not have solid food for three days. I had to learn to eat again with my new stomach. The normal hospital stay was 8-10 days for this type of surgery. I went home after six days! When I got home, I immediately began walking a mile a day. 

The week I returned home; Coronavirus hit. All elective surgeries stopped immediately.

Again, the hand of God had been at work.

If surgery had been scheduled just a week later I could not of had it until later, and I will never know what the results would have been.

After four weeks I was back doing a lot of the things I did before surgery. I began playing golf again after five weeks, at the blessing of Dr. Dillmon, because it was an outside activity. I finished my last chemo pill regimen and was feeling great. I was back at my gym for my 5:00 A.M. workouts before anyone else arrived. Everything was going well as my weight and strength returned, and I was adjusting well to my new body. 

An MRI was scheduled by Dr.Dillmon as a routine precaution. A spot was detected on my liver. It was decided by Dr. Dillmon and Dr. Heslin that radiation was needed. I met with Dr. Matthew Mumber the Radiation Oncologist. A PET scan was done, and he said that five days of radiation therapy were needed. X-Rays were taken during the fourth day, and I was told everything was looking good. At the end of the fifth day of treatment, Dr. Mumber came in and shook my hand and told me that the radiation therapy was a success. He told me to ring the bell on my way out, as I was cancer-free! The waiting room was full, and I left to a standing ovation. 

Since that day, I have returned to Dr. Dillmon for a checkup and the blood work checked out well. A follow-up PET scan was scheduled on my 71st birthday, May 24th, when this improbable journey began two years ago.

I do not have the words to describe my feelings over the past two years.

I do not know what the future holds, but I do know who holds the future. I have learned to live life a day at a time. I would like to thank my family, friends, the excellent doctors and nurses that have cared for me, and God, for giving me the chance that I asked for.