If you would like to hear the audio from the show on Wednesday
click here. I hate that this blog has to start on this note, however I look forward to sharing this journey with you. As the coming weeks and months develop I also look forward to seeing Gods hand in this journey and how this blog starts off with the story of cancer before Christmas and ends cancer free with God using this season in my life to do things that only HE can do. As we begin let me remind you that I am a radio host, not an English major. My strongest point is not grammar or punctuation. However Praise the Lord for spell check or I would really be in trouble here. I am going to share my heart and not focus on writing a paper to be graded. So….lets get you up to speed.
During the day of giving back on the 18th of December I had a very sharp pain in my right side while on the air. My initial thought was that a kidney stone was starting to roll. The pain went away a few hours later and didn’t think much more about it. That weekend I still didn’t feel right and felt like I should be checked out. Brittany said that was very unusual for me to call the Doctor and willingly go get checked out. Deep down inside I just had a feeling that something was wrong. After the show on Monday morning Dec 22 I went to the Doctor. After a quick examination he told me that I needed to get to the hospital for more testing. He said after the test he wanted me back in the office to discuss things further. In my mind I knew something was very wrong. I will never forget the walk from the Doctors office across a very cold bridge to the hospital. I stopped before I got on the elevator with the song from Big Daddy Weave “Hold me Jesus, cause I’m shaking like a leaf” was in my head, and that was my prayer for the hours ahead that day. After the test at the hospital it was back to the Doctors office for results. Dr Currin came in and quickly got to the point. “Jason, we don’t have a total confirmation just yet but this dawg gone thing looks like cancer.” You could have not taken a baseball bat and hit me any harder in the stomach than that news did. My first thought was Brittany. With tears in my eyes I ask the Doctor “How do you break this news to a wife that is 8 months pregnant?” He explained to me that testicular cancer is very treatable and curable. That was comforting to hear but still didn’t answer the question how do I break this news. I met with another doctor for a second opinion and he agreed that this was cancer and we had to move forward immediately. There was no way to absorb what was happening. They wanted to do surgery that week but because of Christmas we had to put it off until the following week. I scheduled surgery for the following Tuesday and headed for home to break the news to Brittany. In my 31 years that was the hardest phone call I have ever had to make. I can’t remember exactly what I said but I told her that we have a journey ahead and we ARE going to get through it. We spent the rest of the day at home talking, praying, and beginning to read about my specific cancer.
Christmas was not easy, but I was determined to not let this diagnosis spoil this special celebration for me or my family. It was a long week waiting on surgery. One thing this has already done is it has really put things in perspective. I have really slowed down and don’t take things for granted. Brittany and I have spent more quality time in the last 3 weeks than we have in a long time. The day of surgery was full of emotion. I had it easy that day because I was knocked out but a waiting room full of family and friends had to sit and wait to hear from the doctors. After surgery the initial pathology report did show that it was a more aggressive form of cancer than we thought. They decided to let me go home late that evening to rest and recoup from surgery. They called the next day to schedule a CT scan because they needed to see if indeed the cancer had spread. Friday we went to Memorial for the CT and that was my first day out of the house since Tuesday. I moved in slow motion that day but the tech’s at the hospital were awesome. We had to wait until the following Wednesday to meet with the Doctor for the results of all the test. After hours of reading, we knew that we were going to be either cleared and watched, face chemotherapy or lymph node removal surgery. The news was mixed- the CT was clear which means it doesn’t appear that it’s spread to other parts of my body. The bad news is that the lymph node surgery was going to be necessary. My Doctor advised us to get to Nashville to meet with a specialist. This is a very serious surgery and we want someone that does this surgery more than a couple of times a year. The surgery is an all day surgery with a long hospital stay to recover and will take several moths to get moving again. The earliest appointment to the specialist in Nashville is January 21 which is two weeks away.
We met with Brits Doctor that afternoon for her 2 week check up. I love those visits and being able to hear Cooper’s heartbeat. That little guy is SO special already and when I hear the heartbeat that God has placed inside him it always overwhelms me with emotion. Brittany at this point is 7 weeks away from her due date. Her Doctor said if everything looks good and Cooper still wants to hang out inside Brit that he would let her go 1 week beyond her due date. That means we could have until March 5 for me to get this surgery out of the way and get on the road to recovery. I can’t imagine not being in that delivery room when he is born. I pray that Gods timing is such that I can be there for Brittany and Cooper. Going to and staying in Nashville for 2 weeks is going to be hard on Brit who will be 9 months at the time of surgery. My biggest concern is not for me, but for her. I don’t want her having to go to and from Nashville to be with me, and I sure don’t want her staying in the hospital all the time. Her stress level needs to stay low through all of this. Please pray that she will receive comfort and peace beyond measure. My family means everything to me and I can’t begin to tell you how special they are. You are a part of that family. I have been overwhelmed by the response already. I know there are literally thousands praying for us and that is more of a comfort than you will ever know. Please pray for continued healing from my surgery last week and that the surgeons in Nashville can get the next surgery scheduled quickly. As I shared on the air yesterday I know God is going to use this in ways that I can’t see right now. I have already felt a renewing of His spirit in my life and I know this will only make me focus more on who is in control of everything. God is bigger than any cancer or any problem. No matter what you may be going through today, let God have it and know that he will see you through.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I will be updating the blog as often as possible to keep you up to date. During the surgery and stay at Vandy Brit or someone at work will post updates as available. I will talk to you tomorrow morning! Love you guys!
Again, if you missed the announcement on the show yesterday
click here to listen.
