This year I attended a Walk/Run for Sarcoma at Duke. I went with my friend David Ostiguy. In the same event last year, David was the special speaker and this is what he said as he gave me his speech afterwards:
Six years ago, I was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in my right hand. My wife and I were 26 years old and we had only been married for 11 months. We were cancer virgins. From the instant we were told I had cancer, I remember feeling absolutely numb. It was not until my first chemotherapy treatment that I started to feel again. While walking the halls of Duke University Hospital during that treatment, I remember feeling pretty good and thinking to myself maybe 10 months of chemo would not be so bad and we would soon be able to put this cancer thing behind us in no time. Boy, was I wrong! Soon afterwards, I was back in my hospital room throwing up in front of my wife for the first time, and it would not be the last.
Fast forward six years to today, through appointments, scans, recurrences, second opinions, surgeries, amputations, chemo, radiation, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, infections, fevers, hair loss, transfusions, medications, joy, laughter, sadness, anger, frustration, tears, prayers, birthdays, anniversaries, births, deaths, and the love and support from family, friends, co-workers, doctors and nurses, I would do it all over again if given the choice.
I have learned that I have the strength, resolve, and patience to survive one of the more serious and adverse situations one can face in life. Secondly, I have learned compassion and that being able to help others through their own adversities is so worthwhile. Finally, I have learned that sarcoma and I share a common trait: we both know no limits.
No comments:
Post a Comment