It’s crazy to think it’s already been a little over a week since Kevin was admitted to the hospital for what we thought was a puliminary embolism (blood clot in his lungs). I’ll never forget the call from the doctor after she had read his CT Scan...“ the GOOD news is that it’s not a blood clot, however, we did find a mass, a large mass, and you need to admit yourself to the hospital ASAP. I’m sorry... did you say “Good News” in that same sentence!? Pretty sure we would have preferred he had a blood clot in his lungs - treatable with blood thinner - then a rare and aggressive form of cancer that was going to take 6 months minimum and the fight of his life to conquer. But, well... I guess that’s how we roll... since when does our family do anything ordinary!?
I wished for a boy then twin girls in that order ever since the 4th grade (twins don’t run in our family), and that seemed as easy as the game of Go Fish... Got what I asked for! I was diagnosed with a juvenile form of macular degeneration called Best Disease (the irony of that name kills me every time) about 6 months before Kevin and I got married, just over 13 years ago. I should be blind at this point since my central vision is virtually gone and some of the top doctors in the county can’t figure out how I can still see (uhhhh probably because I’ve already cured it with the power of thought, healers, microcurrent machines, supplements, homeopathy, essential oils, crystals, past life regression, you name it I’ve done it.. I’m clearly not the type of person to just give in to my disease). And Chase, when he was about 3 years old would sleep crawl and speak in some language unknown to me. Fast forward a couple years to about the age of 5 when we took him to an angel healer and upon walking in the door he could feel all of the crystals in the room. In fact, some started flying across the room when he would go near them. He was like a kid in a candy store... it was his favorite place to be, a place he felt comfortable taking to the angels he would see constantly hovering around him. After witnessing him speaking in tongue during a session one time with his body moving on it’s own in waves, I knew he had a gift that was more powerful then I could even begin to understand. And as if that’s not crazy enough then the girls decide to try modeling on their 7th birthday on 7/7/17 (coincidence? I think not) and somehow overnight they are named “The Most Beautiful Twins in the World” and catapult into a very successful career in no time. So taking everything else into account, it’s no wonder Kevin gets diagnosed with a rare cancer we‘ve never even heard of- Cortical T cell acute lymphoblastic lymphoma / lukemia (oh yea the bonus lukemia on the end is new- just got those test results back 3 days ago that his bone marrow tested positive for the cancer as well). Again... anything but ordinary!
The thing about our family is, no matter what you throw at us, we will get through it. Kevin and I are the perfect balance for each other... he’s my soulmate, the love of my life... and I am his. And that’s why I know he’s going to fight this cancer and and win. He loves his kids and his family too much to let it get the best of him and for anyone that knows Kevin he’s way too competitive to let something else beat him!
So when did we first start seeing signs....
Saturday (October 12th)
Kevin woke me up about 5am telling me his resting heart rate was around 85bpm and that he couldn’t sleep (normally it’s right around 60bpm). He told me he wanted me to take him to the ER. By 10am he was sent home with more or less a clean bill of health. The doctor mentioned he may have pleurisy but that it would work it’s way through on its own. His chest X-ray ray had come back clear, EKG normal and blood test results also fine. Later that night he developed a fever around 101.
Sunday (October 13th)
Kevin still had a low grade fever, but also some muscle aches and pains. The fever would not subside for over a week and the pains stayed constant, continually worsening until we received his official diagnosis 2 weeks later. He also started to have some chest pain and trouble catching his breath and breathing. His resting heart rate also remained 95bpm and above from this point on.
Monday (October 14th)
Kevin went in for a follow up with his primary care physician. The doctor reviewed his charts and determined he may have the flu so he sent him home with Tamiflu, even though none of his symptoms really masked those of the flu.
Sunday (October 27th)
We were laying on the couch watching football when Kevin tried taking a nap but could feel his heart beating throughout his body. He clocked it at about 100bpm and asked me to take him back to the ER. This time his chest X-ray ray showed signs of fluid in the bottom of his lungs, his EKG was normal and blood test results also came back fine. The doctor was concerned that he may have a pulmonary embolism inside of his lungs and sent Kevin to the ER to get a CT to verify. The CT scan showed a mass in the center of his chest cavity. 11.8cm x 7cm x 11.1cm which we were told was “worrysome”. It also showed fluid around his heart and fluid in the bottom of his lungs. Another doctor came in, looked at both of us and said... I don’t think you realize how serious this is. And the truth is... he was right. We really had no idea this would turn out to be cancer. In fact cancer was honestly the last thing on my mind. I guess I had always been under the impression that when someone had cancer, their blood count was either way lower or way higher then the average person and I knew Kevin’s blood test results had come back normal. The guy is 39 years old and as healthy as can be. He had just started getting back into the water to train about 6 weeks prior and had joined a masters swim program. The first thing that came to my mind was that maybe it was some type of bacteria that had formed as a result of the chlorine or something in the water. But as the doctors kept coming in and out, I began paying more attention to the concerned looks on their faces and eventually I remember thinking to myself... Shit, could this actually be cancer!?
