- Dec 31, 2007
- 613
When I was 15 years old I was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme 4 brain cancer. I was given 30 days to live without surgery, and 6 months max with surgery. That’s if I survived the 20hr surgery. We decided to prolong my life as much as possible and agreed on the surgery. They removed a tumor that was the size of a man’s fist. Below is my actual MRI. I was searching a couple years ago to see what improvements had been made and stumbled across it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glioblastoma_multiforme
This all came about because I went to a doctor for headaches and within 48 hours I was laying on a hospital bed waiting to go into surgery the next morning. That night I accepted death at the age of 15. It was a very cold, heartbreaking experience.
The next morning they wheeled me back and went to work. I made it out and after a few weeks I went straight to the next level of Hell….Chemo and Radiation treatments. Sick, frail, having seizures, and knew I was dying. The only thing I found peace in was car magazines. They were all I had. I didn’t want my friends to see me in the condition I was in, so I was alone…a lot. But the car magazines gave me an escape. I dreamed of a brand new Mustang and Camaro. It kept my spirits up and minimized the realty that I was going to be dead soon.
One evening after I was home for a few weeks in-between treatments I was lying in bed and my dad came into my room. He asked me to help him for a minute. I felt horrible but followed him to see what he needed. We went out the front door towards the driveway and my eyes were very sensitive to sunlight so I couldn’t see very well. But there was something very bright in the driveway that was blinding me and I finally was able to focus.
It was a brand new 1991 white Z28 Camaro! It was one of the cars that I dreamed of so many times in the hospital bed. For that brief moment I didn’t have Cancer……I wasn’t dying……..things in my world were perfect. My parents or other family members would take me for rides in it, even let me sneak in a short drive every now and again. It gave me a sense of pride and normality.
So weeks turned to months, and months to 1 year. There started to be hope that I may beat the odds and live longer than they thought. But it was still certain death. The doctor bills kept pilling up and my dad had to sell the Camaro to pay bills. It was hard for me but I understood.
Then one year turned into two…. and so on. The battle was long and hard but, I was beating the Cancer. It had taken my teenage years and a lot of my health, but it never broke my will to survive. I was so far behind in school I had to get my GED. Then I got a job in the Oilfield and worked through the ranks and eventually become a business owner. I now own several businesses and have achieved a lot of milestones in my life.
None more important than my marriage and two beautiful boys. One is 5 and he is starting kindergarten this year. The other is 8 months old. That is important for the obvious reasons, but much more to me. Beside the fact that I am supposed to be in a box, they told me many times after I was beating the odds that I would not be able to have children. Luckily for me it didn’t scare my wife away when I explained to her that I could not give her children.
All my life I have had a lust for cars. They have been my passion; they have kept me alive when I was dying. They have been my relief when stress was unbearable in business. So cars have been a part of who I am all my life. And ever since I have gotten involved with Ford GTs and this community, the GT has become just as special to me as that 1991 Z28. Obviously for different reasons, but still just as special.
Why am I telling my story on a car forum??
Maybe some have let their desire to get a new GT become so significant in their life…..they forgot about their many blessings. Even though getting the opportunity to purchase a new GT is the pinnacle of my car experience, its value in my life is safely tucked where it should be.
If you were denied and are so emotionally distraught that you feel you have to lash out at Ford, look around your life and take stock. Because you are missing out on a lot of important things. There are many things in life that are so simple, yet so precious that we take for granted. Health being one.
I am just happy to be here to enjoy the ride……….:thumbsup
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glioblastoma_multiforme
This all came about because I went to a doctor for headaches and within 48 hours I was laying on a hospital bed waiting to go into surgery the next morning. That night I accepted death at the age of 15. It was a very cold, heartbreaking experience.
The next morning they wheeled me back and went to work. I made it out and after a few weeks I went straight to the next level of Hell….Chemo and Radiation treatments. Sick, frail, having seizures, and knew I was dying. The only thing I found peace in was car magazines. They were all I had. I didn’t want my friends to see me in the condition I was in, so I was alone…a lot. But the car magazines gave me an escape. I dreamed of a brand new Mustang and Camaro. It kept my spirits up and minimized the realty that I was going to be dead soon.
One evening after I was home for a few weeks in-between treatments I was lying in bed and my dad came into my room. He asked me to help him for a minute. I felt horrible but followed him to see what he needed. We went out the front door towards the driveway and my eyes were very sensitive to sunlight so I couldn’t see very well. But there was something very bright in the driveway that was blinding me and I finally was able to focus.
It was a brand new 1991 white Z28 Camaro! It was one of the cars that I dreamed of so many times in the hospital bed. For that brief moment I didn’t have Cancer……I wasn’t dying……..things in my world were perfect. My parents or other family members would take me for rides in it, even let me sneak in a short drive every now and again. It gave me a sense of pride and normality.
So weeks turned to months, and months to 1 year. There started to be hope that I may beat the odds and live longer than they thought. But it was still certain death. The doctor bills kept pilling up and my dad had to sell the Camaro to pay bills. It was hard for me but I understood.
Then one year turned into two…. and so on. The battle was long and hard but, I was beating the Cancer. It had taken my teenage years and a lot of my health, but it never broke my will to survive. I was so far behind in school I had to get my GED. Then I got a job in the Oilfield and worked through the ranks and eventually become a business owner. I now own several businesses and have achieved a lot of milestones in my life.
None more important than my marriage and two beautiful boys. One is 5 and he is starting kindergarten this year. The other is 8 months old. That is important for the obvious reasons, but much more to me. Beside the fact that I am supposed to be in a box, they told me many times after I was beating the odds that I would not be able to have children. Luckily for me it didn’t scare my wife away when I explained to her that I could not give her children.
All my life I have had a lust for cars. They have been my passion; they have kept me alive when I was dying. They have been my relief when stress was unbearable in business. So cars have been a part of who I am all my life. And ever since I have gotten involved with Ford GTs and this community, the GT has become just as special to me as that 1991 Z28. Obviously for different reasons, but still just as special.
Why am I telling my story on a car forum??
Maybe some have let their desire to get a new GT become so significant in their life…..they forgot about their many blessings. Even though getting the opportunity to purchase a new GT is the pinnacle of my car experience, its value in my life is safely tucked where it should be.
If you were denied and are so emotionally distraught that you feel you have to lash out at Ford, look around your life and take stock. Because you are missing out on a lot of important things. There are many things in life that are so simple, yet so precious that we take for granted. Health being one.
I am just happy to be here to enjoy the ride……….:thumbsup
