Today is Friday.
Last Thursday my life changed.
I received a call from Dr Kevin Kreisle who diagnosed me with oropharyngeal squamous-cell cancer. It started in my mouth and spread quickly to my lymph nodes in my neck. He called me and said I had to come into his office on Friday morning at his Round Rock office. I was scheduled to setup at Bluebonnett Elementary in Round Rock to DJ for their field day. I setup and played for a bit and headed to his office, where Mom and Anne met me at 8:45. He gave me the lowdown and possibilities for treatment. One of the options was surgical removal. When he told me my voice would not be the same, I am almost lost it. He continued on with the other option, which was removal of the lymph nodes in my neck that were infected, followed by radiation therapy. I had a lump in the left side of my neck for the past few weeks.
My first trip was to ProMed on South Lamar and they mis-diagnosed it as an ulcer after spending no more than 2 minutes with me. I was prescribed anti-biotics and an oral solution, both of which did nothing. Next I sought treatment from a Chinese doctor and did 2 treatments with her. I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere and knew I had to have an answer. My beloved Anne called some of her friends and Lauren called back and said I should check out Dr Brode at Austin Regional Clinic on Ben White. I went to see him and saw that he was genuinely concerned with my well-being. He ordered me to have a catscan done. I went to ARC on May 4th to get it. The results were sent to Dr Kriesel and I saw him on the 8th. He read me the results and did a biopsy on the black spot growing in my mouth. Results showed that I had cancer and that we had to move fast to remove the bad cells that had spread to my lymph nodes. I finished my Friday school gig and my Saturday wedding and even did my usual sound gig at Unity Center. Some time Sunday afternoon, it finally hit me like a load of bricks! Was I making the right decison with the surgery? I had been so busy focused on work that I had not really had time to process it all. After several panicked hours, I calmed down and decided to go forward with the surgery.
Monday morning Anne and I checked into good ole Hotel Brackenridge at 5:30 am. Mom and Lori met us there. One of the people who processed me in happened to have the same last name as my mother, so we were related with roots in the small town of Commerce, TX. Surgery began around 8am and I came to some time after noon. As soon as I woke up I began throwing up from the anesthesia. No fun at all when you've had your neck sliced open. I think they sedated me and gave me something for the nausea. I awoke again at 2:30 and they took me up to the 8th floor to check in to my room. After the elevator ride, I got in my room and began throwing up again. Reminders of my body's sensitivity to drugs. I decided then that I would try to stay off of morphine or hydrocodone if at all possible and somehow I succeeded. I figured I could put up with a little discomfort if it wasn't too bad. The main discomfort I had was the tightening of the skin as I felt God's little angels doing their healing work in me. The swelling was bit uncomfortable, not too bad. I also set my mind on the idea that I would be released on Wednesday and frequently reminded those around me to correct their language with that outcome in mind. Expect the best, yeh? Two nights in the hospital and I did not get much sleep at all. I sleep very lightly and was not able to get much rest. Monday evening my butt had gone to sleep after lying on it all day, so I got out of bed and took a walk around the halls with a little help. Lots of friends came by that day and hung out with me and brought cards, flowers, and even an excellent Lance Armstrong book which I am devouring. What an inspiration his story is and the writing is excellent too.
Tuesday went very well and I continued to walk around the halls and had more guests come by. The highlight of the evening was when my cousin Kelley surprised me with a to-go box from Casa De Luz. Brack's attempts at a vegan food option left much to be desired, which we suspected. We went to Whole Foods Sunday night to get some things to get us through the days. Anyway, Casa's food is excellent macrobiotic veghead food! Full of that magical thing called life. I devoured all of it even after eating the frozen veggies that had been delivered.
Wednesday morning I awoke early before mom who was sleeping next to me. I got up and hit the bathroom and splashed my gown into the toilet as I sat down to do my morning bidness. So I threw that off and took a walk to the nurses station to find a fresh one. I got one and found Dr Kriesel making his rounds. I spoke to him and he agreed that I was doing great and would order me to be released that morning. Got my new gown and went back to my room to wait for mom to wake up as I knew she didn't get much sleep the previous night. My sister Lori had stayed with me Monday night away from her two boys and mom didn't get much rest. Both of them and Anne made things so easy with their encouragement and positive attitude.
Gotta also say special thanks to the other angels on the 8th floor at Brack who helped me get through: Jessica, Armand, Beulah, Rosario, Cresencia. I have been with Anne who is also a nurse for the last 2 & 1/2 years and I must say I now have a much better understanding of what nurses do and go through to genuinely help people. They are amazing people!
Thursday I made a trip to see Dr Kriesel's office and got the drain tubes taken out of my neck. After that lunch at Golden Wok which was excellent.
Fast-forward to Friday and I had a great day today. I finally got to shave my face today and that was a relief. Spent some time with Anne and it was great with her. We watched a movie about Dorothy Dandridge that was good but tragic. My friend Jane came by for a prayer healing session and that was great spending some time alone with her and the Creator.
My next doctor visit with Dr Kriesle is Monday and I will meet with my oncologist on Wednesday for an initial consultation and treatment plan.
Through all of this, the support of my mother, daughter, Anne and family and friends has been amazing! I love all of you dearly!
I know that I am going to make it through this and I ask all of you for your prayers and positive thoughts.
RJ