I hope this update finds you well! I have been doing better in recent weeks. The pain on my spine is periodic and not nearly as severe as it was. I have been able to work full 12 hour shifts and able to complete full cycles of my normal work rotation. I am limited in what I do as I still get tired pretty quickly if I exert too much energy. 

     I had my 12th round of Chemotherapy yesterday and felt a bit tired in the afternoon but by the time I went to bed I actually felt better and not so lethargic. 

It does seem to be easier as I go along. I woke up today feeling well. My last scans were about 4 weeks ago and the doctor said that everything is still stabilized. This is great news. We are not out of the woods yet but we are on a path to healing! 

     This is only possible with all of your prayers and support. We are praying for you and your families in return. As with all families we all have so many things going on in our lives and we appreciate so much that you have my family and myself on your heart. 

     We truly treasure your financial support. Please remember it is your prayers that are the most powerful medicine! Have a blessed day! 

It’s been a little while since I’ve been on here and for that I apologize. I’ve not had a good month. After you read this I hope you understand. 

On Feb 22 I had my chemo and an appointment with my doctor. I had small pain on my spine in the area where I had my radiation treatment. I also had a painful spot on my stomach next to my belly button. These spots were about the size of a quarter and about a pain level 1 or 2. Remember I compare pain to passing a kidney stone! They were an annoyance at most. We decided to wait until my next scheduled CT scan to look at them. 

I had a rough week after chemo with my intestines. Normally my side effects last 3 to 4 days. This time it lasted an entire week. So now we are a week away from chemo and my guts seem to be in working order I went to work on Friday night but had pain across my abdomen. I thought it was just from the rough week on my intestines. 

Left work early on Saturday and drove home on Sunday. My wife, Chris wanted me to go to the ER then but I was stubborn. Monday Chris and my daughter Casey conspired and I talked to my cancer clinic. My doctor wanted me to go to the ER. Monday afternoon I was in the ER and it was determined that I needed a GI doctor. A few irritating phone calls later and I got an appointment for next week. 

Fast forward to Friday morning, I’ve been lying in my chair in incredible pain for a week now, 

lost my appetite and was fast losing my strength. I could find no relief from the pain which by now had spread from the right side of my spine all the way to my rib cage on the left. My entire abdomen was on fire. Pain level was at an 8. 

Casey spoke to my clinic and Chris prayed. Friday afternoon I’m back in the ER. A few more gallons of blood were drawn and we determined staying in the hospital for pain management was our best option. They started off with standard narcotics which knocked me out but did nothing for the pain. On Saturday morning a nurse recommended Gabapentin and a doctor approved it. It has helped tremendously. Another CT scan and MRI has shown that the problem is scar tissue from my radiation therapy. This a temporary condition, that being said there is no way of knowing how long it will last. My pain level is down to a 2. I can live with that. I want to thank everyone for your prayers and texts of support. I want to thank Casey for her support and advocacy to the medical staff. I especially want to thank my wonderful wife for her prayers and encouragement. I’m pretty certain she hasn’t slept much in the last few days because she has been fretting over me. 

I’m home now and we are going to figure out how we forward from here. I have to talk to my job about this medication and my ability to work while I’m taking it. How we go forward will be determined by God. I’m not worried, I am praying. God is carrying us through every day. Have a great evening! My prayers go out to you. 

I am asking for your financial support in whatever manner you can afford. Thank you for your prayers and support. 

”Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.“

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭46‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

TREATMENT UPDATE- 1/14/24

It has been quite a while since I put out an update. Let me get right to it. December was a rough month for me. Along with my normal chemo I had two weeks of radiation therapy. This was extremely my body. As a soldier and a father I have spent days on end without sleep working on the edge of exhaustion and I’ve never felt the level of fatigue that the radiation brought about. Only through the strength of the Holy Spirit within me was I able to fight through the exhaustion. This was truly a case of the treatment being worse than the cure. Once again, I am grateful for God and the earthly angels on my support team. My family has been so strong through all my battles, I owe them so much. 

You will notice the beard, I have never worn a beard because I have always held positions that it was not possible. Clean shaven soldier, company policy, wearing a respirator, that sort of thing. This is my act of defiance to the cancer and the side effects of treatment! I’m have become the storm! I will not give in. 

On to the good news, December’s storm has led us to an early spring! On Thursday, a week ago I had a CT scan. We received the results this week. My cancer has stabilized, WOOHOO! That does not mean that it is gone, it simply means that it is not growing. This is a very positive development. Chemo is still necessary every three weeks as I have already been going through. The medical team is removing the harshest of the chemo meds that I have been on. This means that I will have less side effects and I should feel better in general. I have slept well the last couple of nights, and I was able to work a full 12-hour shift yesterday. That is the first time in months that I have had the energy to work a whole shift, I only worked 2 hours in December.

 “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can move a mountain,” Matthew 17:20   There were many days that this is all I had to keep me in the fight. It was reading your prayers and knowing that others were lifting my battle up to God that kept me going. My gratitude for your prayers is overwhelming. 

All this good news does not mean that it is over for us. We still have a hard fight ahead and continuing treatments. It is the beginning of the year which means that insurance copays and deductibles are due once again. With those being due there are many things that are not covered, my vitamin therapy, gas to and from the many doctor and lab visits are just some of the things that are out of pocket expenses. I am thanking everyone that has supported our fight financially. Yes, I am asking for financial support from those that can help us going forward. If financial support is not in your budget, we understand. YOUR PRAYERS ARE ALWAYS THE BEST MEDICINE! For this we are extremely grateful.

Thank you for your continued support!



I had Round 3 of chemo on Thursday. Chemo went well. I had a port put in a few weeks ago and really makes it easier. I really don’t handle needles very well. GOOD NEWS X2!!!

I had some fluid gathering in my right lung. I was scheduled for a thoracentesis today. The CT Scan from last week showed no fluid. Hooray, I don’t need to have long needle stuck in me to drain it out! The scan also showed the swelling in my lymph nodes has been reduced!!! This all means that your prayers are working. I’m not being unrealistic, I know that we have a long row to hoe. This is just good news.  

Another concern did show up. I’ve got new lesions on some bones. There are any number of reasons that they showed up now. I could be that they were too small to see in August and grew in the five weeks before I started treatment. They may be reduced in size already but we don’t have any imaging to compare them to. Next week I see a Radiation Oncologist about the bone lesions and we’ll gather a plan of attack for those. 

I also will see a lung specialist as I still get out of breath if I exert myself self at all. Stairs, walking through the shop at work that sort of thing. These are just more opportunities for prayer. 

I have been truly blessed with a great medical team and my support team at home. I never do anything alone. Every Dr. visit or procedure I have angels walking in the door on each side of me. They are a force of prayer, brains and beauty! I’m very grateful for them and for you. I can feel the strength of your prayers every day. Thank you all again for your prayers and financial support. I’m praying for you and your well being as we go through this difficult time together! God Bless You All! 

Here we are, it’s been about a month since my last update. I have had another round of chemo since then. It went as well as can be expected. Knowing how it will affect my body allows me to prepare for it. It really helps to have my family there to provide support. The support of those closest to you is always so important. 

One of the things that never occurred to me before my journey through this process of beating cancer, life doesn’t stop! My body is changing and going through changes. I’m am going to appointments and having procedures to monitor my health or to improve my healthcare, but life itself doesn’t change. The earth is still spinning around the sun. The sun still rises in the east and sets in the west. We continue on with our lives. I still go to work as much as I can. I’m am blessed to work for a great company and be part of a team that is extremely supportive. 

I think I expected that my world would change, family and friends would suddenly call me daily and check on me, everyone would just become nicer and more caring and compassionate. I somehow thought that more bad things wouldn’t happen. It doesn’t really work that way. I’m not looking for sympathy I’m simply making an observation. People are, who they are and rarely does a significant event in someone else’s life change them. Those faithful people in the world will still reach out and share their love and support. Those with out faith will still be who they are. The world moves on around us. I asked a good friend of mine whose family has been fighting this same fight for years, “What do I do now?” He smiled and said “Just keep being you.” I need to continue to be the Christian, husband, Dad, friend or coworker I always have been. I need to be me and more importantly allow those around me to be who they are. Along with our own health issues we will still have trials and tribulations in our lives. We must face them and be the best person we can be. God will carry us through and we will prevail. 

Thank you all again for your prayers and financial support. My family prays for blessings upon your family every day! 

This is me after my first chemo treatment! It did a lot for me mentally to go through this first time. It was this big scary thing out on the horizon that I was unable to get a hold of. Going through it has gotten me over a huge mental hurdle. While it is stage 4 the cancer hasn’t hit me hard yet, we are trying to stay ahead of a lot of the symptoms. I do get out of breath pretty quick. I have minimal pain symptoms that I can tolerate/ control without opioids. I’m really focused on my eating plan and work on my mental health through prayer, therapy and meditation! When you’re body is under attack you have to fight back with every positive weapon you can find! The support of family and friends is vital to your mental health when going through any kind of crisis. Thank you for your prayers and support! 🙏🏻😊