Terry and I met Danny Medley and his wife, Rebel, on my very first day of radiation treatment. Danny and I had different kinds of cancer cells, but in the exact same location and just about the exact same treatment plan. We befriended each other and made a pact to keep in touch and help each other through this. We would see each other every once in a while in the radiaiton clinic and compare notes. Terry and I have kept in touch with Danny and Rebel since then. I remember Danny calling me just after I got out of the hospital from my complications after the second chemo treatment. At that time he was coping with the treatments a lot better than me, and he told me to hang in there--it would get better.
Somewhere along the line, my recovery started to go a lot better than his, and it's now Danny who is having the difficult time--and a much more extended one. He had a section of his mouth and tongue removed after they found another tumor and still relies 100% on his feeding tube to get nourishment. I just recently learned that he may need another surgery to allow his tongue to function normally, or he might need the feeding tube for the rest of his life.
Rebel emailed me that Danny his having a PET scan this coming Monday (11/23). She says he needs the results to be 100% good, not just for the obvious reason, but to help with his spirits--he is fighting hard, but has made little progress back to normalcy after nine months. While I know I fought just as hard, the intense part of my fight was much shorter, and I started to see some progress immediately after the treatments stopped. It was every small sign of progress that helped me to work hard on the next step forward.
So, that's a long way of asking Team Mike to send your good vibes to Danny and Rebel this Monday. All of the great news we had this week will be even better with a good outcome for them.
Mike
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