Does that title say it all? Not quite. Today (Holy Thursday) marks 25 years since Greg was first diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. I'll never forget that day. I was a young wife of just 26 years old (the same age as our son is now!), with a one year old child (said son). Greg went in for day surgery to remove a lump near his groin. A couple hours into surgery, a nurse came out and said that they wanted to make another incision, to see what's in his gut (we had tests previously that all came back inconclusive), so I signed. A couple hours later, the doctor comes out to tell me my husband of 3 years (and only 35 years old), has cancer. This was supposed to be day surgery, but he ended up having to stay because of the huge incision in his gut. I remember having to call his mother to tell her, over the phone, that her son had cancer. His parents were babysitting Aaron for us. I was in shock. I remember calling his boss at Peck Meat Packing to tell him that Greg was not going to be back at work for a while.
The doctors and I had decided that we would not tell Greg of the diagnosis that day and would wait until the next day when he was more fully awake. I remember later in the day though, he woke up and said to me "What happened? It feels like they ripped my gut open!" I looked at him and simply said "They DID!" I stayed with him for a while and finally left to go get Aaron. As I was walking to my minivan in the parking lot, (no, I did not always drive a truck!), I heard someone holler my name. It was Greg's sister, Jody! Apparently, Greg's mother had called her and she left work because she didn't want me to be alone. That was very sweet of her! I remember being a little numb, as I was certainly not expecting to hear THAT news!
I always get a little melancholy on this day. I don't remember the exact date, but I will always remember that it was Holy Thursday. I'm amazed that it's been 25 years since that horrible day. I'm amazed that we have our two "miracle babies!" You see, Greg had to start chemo as quickly as possible, because he was already stage IV. For those that don't know, chemo can make you sterile and I wasn't done having kids! We were able to put off the chemo for a very short period of time, so we would be able to freeze some of Greg's sperm so we could try to have at least one more child.
Greg finished his chemo in September of 1992. In January of 1993, we had him tested, and there was no way I was going to get pregnant. There were simply NO swimmers. We decided to use what we had frozen, and went to see a specialist. The woman that we went to see kept insisting that I have a bunch of invasive tests done, including a biopsy of my cervix. I kept telling her that I was FINE. I already had a child. There's nothing wrong with me! We are simply there for her to use what we had frozen to get me pregnant. She kept insisting. I finally asked her if my insurance would cover it. She said that it should. I told her that I checked and it will not cover anything having to do with "achieving a pregnancy." Her response: "Well, then we don't need all those tests"! How HORRIBLE is that?! This woman wanted to put another woman through INVASIVE tests just to make money! I was FURIOUS! We walked out the door, never to return. I lost 30 pounds and in August, 1993 I got pregnant with Erica without having to use what we had frozen! Greg's oncologist was AMAZED that I had become pregnant not even a year after Greg had finished chemotherapy and only 8 months after being tested as sterile!!
We kept the sperm we had frozen until after Erica was born, just to make sure she didn't have any problems because of the chemo. Back then, it only cost us $100 a year to keep it frozen, so that was a very small price to pay! Needless to say, we did not need what we had frozen to have Abby, three years later, because Erica was perfect in every way! Our miracle babies, for sure!
So, that's the story of Greg's first diagnosis. Who'd have thought that 8 years after that, once again during the Easter season, that Greg would have a Bone Marrow Transplant, and 17 years after that, again during Easter, that he would be diagnosed with esophageal cancer. I have to admit, back when I was just 26 years old, I never thought this is how our lives would turn out. Life is funny that way. Actually God is funny that way! OK, so probably not so funny! BUT, He has been by our side through all of this. He has never left our side, even if we left His. After all, how many people can actually say they have survived 25 years after a cancer diagnosis!
May God bless you all!
Julie
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