Update on My Health Status

To all my Blogspot friends:

I wasn't sure what to call this note. But I wanted to bring my friends up to date on how I'm doing since my surgery. While my family and many of my church friends have been kept up to speed, I wanted to let many of my other friends, who have been so supportive, know how i am doing.

It has been three weeks today that I had my prostate removed.

First, the best news is my pathology came back clear. No cancer anyplace else but in my prostate. I will not require any further treatment -- no radiation, no chemotherapy, no nuthin! Praise God! I just need to be tested/examined on a regular basis, starting next month. The only negative at all in my pathology report was the cancerous growth in the organ had moved close to the inner wall surrounding it at one, tiny, even microscopic point. My doctor isn't overly concerned -- he says this just means I need to be diligent in keeping up with my checkups to guard against any possibility of recurrence.

This is all good news, but what this last point brought home to me is that the timing of my surgery was critical. Had I delayed this process in any way, I could have faced a much more serious prognosis. Had I not lost my job in February, and felt compelled to get a physical exam before my severance and health benefits ran out, I probably would have delayed seeing a doctor until at least September (I try to get a physical exam around my birthday, but had missed the last year or so). I tend to be very stubborn and arrogant about matters relating to my health, and I do NOT like to make a big deal over such things, and I hate going to see doctors for matters of my own health. I look back -- had I not lost my job, I might just be hearing about the results of my PSA test now, or had I decided to not have a physical in September, not known at all. It appears that my cancer was caught just in the nick of time. While the loss of my job was probably one of the toughest things I have ever had to go through -- put in perspective, it may have saved my life, or at least saved me from having a much more serious battle for the stability of my health. I am humbled by the mercy of God -- He knew when I needed to have surgery, and he made sure this arrogant, self centered guy would be in a position to listen to Him when that time came.

Everything else I currently am dealing with pales in comparison. I am gradually getting better. All of the adjustments I have to make now that the "mechanics of nature" have been re-built and re-routed inside me have gone pretty well. I am encouraged by my progress. I have a few difficulties with some of my sutured wounds, but those have simply been annoyances. I still tire easily, and suffer from aches, pains, and soreness, but nothing really serious. To think I had major surgery three weeks ago, and to be able to move and function at the level I'm at amazes me.

I've lost a fair amount of weight, too. But I don't recommend organ removal as a viable weight loss program. I hope that through better management of diet and exercise to lose even more weight and have a more healthy lifestyle. My doctor was adamant about this -- "lifestyle modification" he calls it. I've had my weight under control as long ago as seven or eight years ago, despite having my weight be a constant struggle since my teenage years. But since then, I have really let it go. My doctor was very frank with me after my surgery -- gently upbraiding me for not caring about my weight. He said that after working so hard to save my life from cancer, he doesn't want to see me dropping dead from heart disease, stroke, or some other weight related disease. Its good advice. And I hope by God's grace, I'll be able to follow through.

Thanks again to all my friends who have stood by me, prayed for me, and supported me and my family. I couldn't have made it without you. Covenant relationships in God's kingdom are what sustains us all in trying times. In all times.

Please also pray for my business prospects. Being under the weather for nearly a month has brought my law practice to a near standstill, and we really need to see an influx of business or a major breakthrough in some other area.

Thanks again to my children -- Simi, Tara, Cassi and Frank. I know how difficult this has been, and how difficult I have been. "Crabby Dad" has been no fun. Yet, they have shown me such grace and love. I am humbly grateful for my kids.

And my wife Susan -- what can I say about this warm ray of light, the hands and voice of God to me, the one person who has taught me the meaning of "lay your life down." That she would stand by me in all of this humbles me more than anything. I love you.

Sincerely,

John