Blindness
I became blind from Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
complicated by Lymphomatous Meningitis in March of 1994. The
cancer made the lining of my brain swell, and that swelling
pinched off the optic nerves. Thankfully the hospital saw the
swelling and they were able to stop it before any other damage
happened.
It was such a rare form of cancer that I was given a 1 in 10
chance of living up to 6 months. This was in March 1994 and if you
have looked at the calendar lately, its a bit past that now. 🙂
I went through an extended course of radiation treatments from the
top of my head to the bottom of my spine. After that, a tumor
popped-up in my armpit. The surgeon who removed the tumor told me
after surgery, Steve, there are some things we don’t need to know
in life and I’m not going to tell you how big the tumor was.
I started chemotherapy and the new doctor I was seeing made the
comment, “Well I hope I can get six treatments in you.” I thought,
why put money in the pocket of this doctor if he thinks that is
all he’ll be able to do before I die?
I then started drinking an herbal tea called Flor Essence. It
purifies the blood and was created by some Indians in Canada who
shared the recipe with a nurse who helped them.
I drank the tea like it was a religion and soon there were no
traces of cancer to be found in my body. I continued drinking the
tea for about a year, again with no signs of cancer or anything
related coming back. I decided that if something ever does come
back, I don’t want it to be resistant to the tea.
Weight Loss…
I’ve been overweight for as long as I can remember, all the way
back in second grade is the earliest I was aware of this. I’ve
been through it all with being poked fun at, receiving all kinds
of hateful things from other kids, parents saying things that
didn’t help and none of that helped the problem.
Things really started to change one day while working and I was
constantly thirsty and was making trips about every hour to the
bathroom. I mentioned it to my Wife that night and she tested my
blood sugar with her meter. I forget the exact number but it was
somewhere around 250 or maybe higher. We went to the doctor who
confirmed I was now diabetic. We were able to manage the sugar
levels with pills and watching what I ate, but this did nothing
for my weight.
A few years later I heard a wonderful series on a local news radio
station from one of their employees who documented her experience
with having weight loss surgery.
That did it for me, I knew I was going to change my life for the
better and this was the route I wanted to take.
After looking around the hospitals in the Kansas City area, we
attended a seminar at Saint Lukes Hospital. They explained the
various options and how gastric bypass surgery had the best long
term success and how 80% of people leave the surgery table, no
longer diabetic. I knew this was what I wanted.
I went through the screening process, explaining how being
overweight has been a long term problem, went through the great
education program the hospital has and finally my day came.
I had gastric bypass surgery on January 25, 2011 and I was part of
that 80% who was no longer diabetic when I left the surgery table.
I weighed 336 pounds when I started the process and as of January 20, 2016 I weighed 170 pounds.
I’ve learned allot over time and always will be learning, from my
own experiences and from others. I continue to attend all of my
follow up appointments and have followed the education I was
given. I hear stories from someone who knows someone who has this
friend… I say, I’d be willing to bet that person didn’t either
follow the education they were given or went to a place that
didn’t offer good information.
I don’t know it all but am happy to share what I do know and I
love to help others.
When it comes to weight loss, no matter which path you choose, one size does not fit all. Everyone is different. Don’t compare yourself to others because you are not other people.
