The Initial Diagnosis

Welcome to the first blog posting of Thriving Not Surviving which will serve as a way to keep everyone updated. To be completely honest, I am typically a very private person and not used to sharing intimate details. However, as I continue to process the news over the past week I have realized the need for everyone’s prayers and support. Since this is my first time writing a blog I’m not completely sure how often it will be updated, but I will try for at least once a week.

To start off, I would like to recap the events of the past week. On Sunday, February 26 I was taken to the emergency room after having pneumonia like symptoms, chest pains, shortness of breath, and passing out in the bathroom. They ran a variety of tests and found what appeared to be pneumonia enveloping my entire chest. Additionally, there was a significant amount of fluid around the heart. They scheduled an emergency procedure to remove the fluid from around my heart. I also received antibiotics for the pneumonia on Monday and Tuesday. My condition began to consistently improve each day and it appeared that I had a very severe case of pneumonia.

On Thursday, March 2 they ran tests on the fluid that was around my heart and found that the cells in the fluid are typically found with lung cancer. Later that day Maureen and I received the news that it was lung cancer. On Friday we followed up with an Oncologist at KU and he confirmed that it is Stage 4 Non-small cell lung cancer. Obviously this was what we did not want to hear, but it is the reality of the situation. We are scheduled to have a PET Scan and biopsy later this week to identify the extent of the cancer and treatment options.

To say that this has been a tough week would be an understatement. I have continued to ask myself over and over again how this happened. Less than two weeks ago I was working out 5 times a week with ease. There is the saying that, “God will never give you anything that you can’t handle.” As I think about the battle ahead I know that I can handle whatever God has in store for me. I am far from a perfect person and I have fallen many times; however, my Catholic faith is something that I take very seriously and it constantly influences my thoughts, words, and actions. My faith is going to help get me through this.

In addition to my faith, the amazing support of family and friends from all aspects of my life will get me through this. I am writing this blog for you. The outpouring at our Church has been overwhelming. Over the past 5 years I have had the opportunity to work with some of the best people in the world at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. I do not consider you coworkers, but also friends. Your support has been incredible as well.

At this point Maureen and I are still determining what are support needs will be, but we will let you know. Right now prayers are the biggest ammunition that we have in this battle. I’m sure we have missed some people in our initial release of this information so please provide the link to this blog to anyone you think might want to know. It will also be posted to Maureen’s Facebook page.