Hello everyone! It’s Josh here. 🙂
Since I got sick in May, I have not really been able to talk to anyone, and my wonderful wife has been posting all of the updates on here for everyone. Now it’s my turn to post one.
When I first got that dreaded call from my family doctor at the beginning of May telling me I was sick, it was hell. I was on my way back from lunch with my good friends Cathy and Rick, when I got the call. I went into Ricks office, and just cried. That’s all I could do. I was so much in shock. It took about a week for it all to sink in, and for me to grasp the reality of the situation dealt to me. After all, I am a young, healthy male in pretty good shape, with the exception of some extra baggage. I think all guys get this though when their spouses get pregnant. It doesn’t go away either. Anyway.
I was feeling good physically with the exception of my shoulder hurting a bit, which was the prime reason I went to the doctor in the first place, when he found the cancer. The first steps of treatment, is to have a biopsy done of a cancerous tumor, to see how severe, stage, etc it’s in. Once I got my biopsy (which hurt like hell, and is the most painful thing I’ve ever endured in my life, including my surgeries during my treatments) everything was rough from that moment. I was in and out of the hospital getting various things done to me, and in and out of Blue Ridge Cancer Center, having my treatments. If you had talked to me during the whole process, you noticed I was always in good spirits and in a good mood. I honestly think that’s what pulled me through this. Amanda was very emotional at first but she knew she had to be strong and positive for me.
I won’t go into everything I’ve been through as far as surgeries or treatments, as she has posted them already and it would be boring and redundant. I will say this, through all of my sickness, I have met some wonderful people, and learned that more people care about me than I could have ever imagined. We got cards and stuff from people that we have never even met in our lives. It was amazing. When I went for my CT scan last Thursday, I was so nervous and scared, because I just KNEW that my tumors had grown and spread, and I would have to go to Indiana for a long time, and let IU do their work on me to save my life. For those of you who have never experienced anything like this, let me tell you… When a DOCTOR tells you that you have a disease that is very deadly, and tells you that you only have a 70% chance of living, that is the most scary thing that you can ever hear. Trust me. When Dr. Shertz called me on Tuesday, I was at the mall and I was so ecstatic to hear the news that my tumors were shrinking. He said I would only have to be scanned every 2 months and no more treatments. Since I have been off of chemo, I have gotten back to my normal self. I can now move around, drive, get online, etc.
I guess the main purpose of me writing this post, is first of all to tell you that it won’t be as many updates, as I am no longer going through treatments, and am getting better. Secondly, I wanted to say “thank you”. Since I got sick, we have gotten so many emails (mainly from this update forum), cards, gifts, donations, you name it. I have not had a chance (nor been able to) say thank you to the first person, because of the obvious reasons. Now it’s my turn. Thank you. Seriously, you can not even imagine how much it all means to me. While I was sick and not able to respond to anything, Amanda printed every single email, and showed me everything we got. I was overwhelmed and just cried. It means so much to me to have such awesome friends that are so caring. I love each and every single one of you more than you know. Thank you again, words cannot express how much it all meant to us. It’s helped us so much. Also for my VUPS family, thank you for all of the food also. It really helped a lot, since Amanda was so busy she couldn’t really cook. To the people I don’t know, like the girls on Amandas message board, thank you for everything too.
Again, thank you to everyone who has stayed by my side through this journey, and kept in touch. I cannot say it enough. You guys ROCK. We have kept track of everything, and next year when it gets warmer, I plan on having a cookout here at my house and inviting each and every one of you down. I want to have a get-together for everyone, just to be together. If I can do ANYTHING for anyone, PLEASE let me know. While my physical capabilities are limited now, I can still do things, even if it’s something small like make you a background or something on the computer, or a graphic or anything. Please let me know.
Every year, I always donate money to the United Way, or some charity. If any of you are looking for something to donate money too, please consider either the American Cancer Society, or the Livestrong Foundation. In case you don’t know, Lance Armstrong is my hero. He inspires me so much. Him and I both have/had the exact same kind of cancer, that went to the same places. His went to his brain, and mine went to my spleen. That’s the ONLY difference. We were on the same drugs, even saw the same medical team. So, you better believe my donations go to the Livestrong Foundation. If you want something in return, then go to Dicks Sporting Goods, and get a Livestrong shirt or bracelet or something. Nike gives 100% of the proceeds to the Livestrong Foundation. That is awesome.
I want everyone to know I am feeling much better, and if you want to email me, you can click the link in the upper right hand corner, which Amanda will forward the email to me. You can also email me directly, josh@dreamscapetech.net
Lastly, I want to say a very special thank you, to Susan Woody (Amandas Mom) for watching Kobie during the entire duration of me being sick. This allowed Amanda to be with me, work, etc. Also for keeping my yard trimmed so I could see out the window!!! And for everything else that you and Jeff do for us. Last but not least, to my beautiful wife Amanda. Thank you for staying by my side through all of this. I know I have been a pain, having my cravings, and being a baby. I honestly could not have pulled out of this situation without you. Thank you for keeping all of my great friends updated with my progress, and mostly, just for being you. I am sorry that we had such a bummed out year, and everything has been so stressful. It’ll be better in ’09, I promise. I love you baby.
This post was posted on Thursday October 09, 2008 at 7:39PM
