Hello, my name is Joseph
Medley. Here is my story...
At 42 years old, on January
16th 2016, I was diagnosed with colonrectal cancer.
I had two prior instances when
I had bleeding out of the rectum. The third time, it became really bad. I was
in the bathroom continually. My wife and children had been at church, and when
my wife came home, we started talking about going to the ER. Before we could, I
passed out in the bathroom, and she called the paramedics.......
After an overnight stay in the
hospital, drinking the prep, I had a colonoscopy done the next day. That
colonoscopy revealed a tumor, at the base of the sphincter muscle, labeled at
that time Stage 1. So, the plan was made to do a surgery that would remove the
tumor, and give me a temporary ileostomy bag while my body healed......
Shortly after what we thought
was a successful surgery, I got an infection that was affecting my surgical
wounds. We had a drain surgically implanted, while we treated for the
infection. The complications continued, and required another surgery.........
We started to realize the
damage that had been done to my body, and we were faced with the realization
that life may never be normal again. It came down to one of two scenarios:
Scenario 1: I will have to wear
a diaper for the rest of my life, because I will never regain control, or...
Scenario 2: I could get a
permanent colostomy bag installed.
After many conversations and a
lot of prayer, my wife, doctors, and I decided to go with scenario 2.
So, we had the surgery to fix
the infection and other issues, as well as removing the ileostomy bag and
installing the permanent colostomy.
This surgery resulted in a 16
day hospital stay. The night after my surgery, I aspirated, and that put me in
ICU, after Rapid Response saved my life. I then ended up with pneumonia, staph
infection, MRSA, on oxygen, etc......
My wonderful wife never left my
side the entire hospital stay. She was so incredibly strong for me through this
entire illness, and continues to be.
As a result of this surgery,
they also found more cancer. This cancer was labeled Stage 3, and turned life
upside down instantly. As a result, there was a treatment plan implemented
including chemotherapy and radiation.
After 7 weeks of recovering
from everything that happened in the hospital, we started the chemotherapy
treatment. My treatment consisted of two weekly visits, 4-5 hours each visit,
as well as wearing a portable chemo pump whenever I wasn’t at the Cancer
Center. We went through 2 complete rounds of this, each round consisting of 6
weeks.
During the second round, we
incorporated the radiation into the treatment plan. The radiation was every
weekday, for a 6 week period.
By mid-December of 2016, the
very long year was coming to an end. I completed all treatments, and officially
labeled “in remission”
I knew that cancer was a
horrible thing, but I never realized how horrible the treatments are. I believe
to this day that the only symptom I ever had, from the cancer itself, is some
bleeding. But the list of symptoms and side effects from the treatments are a
mile long.......
Don’t get me wrong, I’m very
thankful for the treatments, and believed they were used to save my life. I’m
just saying that though treatments are successful in battling cancer, it is
horrible what the treatments do to a person.
The radiation literally burned
my entire pelvic area, to the extent of my body literally splitting open.
Thankfully, I have fully recovered from all of the radiation side effects,
though I still experience some hip pain that was never an issue before
radiation.
The chemotherapy has a
different lasting effect. I can’t even really fully explain it, or even fully
personally understand it myself. I just know that my thought processes,
reactions, decision making, etc. has been drastically affected from the
chemotherapy. I really am not even the same person anymore in many ways.
That said, I returned to work
in March of 2017, and have been working 50-60 hours a week ever since.
I praise and thank God for my salvation
and His presence with me through all of this. I have no idea how I could have
even made it through without Him, and I know that my wife and children would
say the same.
One of my hopes going forward
is that somehow some way my story might be used to help inform, strengthen, or
encourage somebody else.
But for somebody looking for
any hope, or peace, I would point to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is always there
with open arms to “whosoever will”
Thank you
