August 21, 2015

I have said several times, if this had to happen, I’m glad it is now instead of when Jake was in his 30’s with a family, a job and a mortgage. I have cherished every moment with him during this time when normally he would be leaving the nest. Today I met a family hanging out by the nurses station in the bone marrow transplant unit. This is the first time in this hospital where I’ve met and visited with other patients. I was drawn to them because of their cute little girl. I like your boots!  Dad is 27 years old. He is about to have his second stem cell transplant. He is having his own stem cells given back to him. They took his stem cells and saved them to help him survive the horrific chemo he would have to endure. He had no idea he had testicular cancer. His greatest risk factor was his age.  Who expects to get cancer in their 20’s? He had back pain. It was reasonable that his chiropractor thought it was a pulled muscle. By the time he was diagnosed on August, 21, 2015, it had spread to his kidney. They operated to remove his kidney, but found another mass on his other side and spots on his liver. He was told to get his affairs in order; they were certain it was a rare type of cancer that was inoperable and incurable.  Results finally showed that it was actually just testicular cancer that had spread. He endured the chemo and radiation, and is receiving his second stem cell transplant next week. Imaging has shown a significant reduction on the mass in his abdomen. The little girl probably won’t remember this, and they won’t have another biological child as the chemo has destroyed his fertility, but I could tell they were hopeful for their future…