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Firpo701

Preventive Care..."guys, take heed!"

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Ed Kennell

Sorry to hear this Dom.  Prayin' the rain stops and the sun starts to shine on you.  Hang in there.

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Geno

Sorry to hear about yesterday Firpo and glad they found out what it was.  Sometimes the only way through a bad day for me is telling myself tomorrow will be better, and sometimes I have to say that a few days in a row but it always comes around.    :) 

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Molon_Labe

In our prayers brother. My wife went through it 8 years ago and believe me I know it's tough. It was hard on her and damn near killed me. She is cancer free now. Get well, it only gets better.

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Firpo701

Hang in there Dom, you can only take it one day at a time. Just remember that old saying, " what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Except bears, bears will kill you"  :ychain:

Now that's the funniest thing I've heard in awhile! :laughing-rolling:

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Firpo701

Evening fellow Wheel Horsians! Yesterdays Columbus trip for chemo was a bust. My white blood cell count was entirely too low on top of the UTI turned sinus infection. They sent me home and are to reschedule for next week. The fatigue and anxiety is getting worse as I can't seem to get comfortable physically or mentally no matter what position I'm in here at home. It's gotten to the point where I'm even too jittery and afraid to drive! Will this madness ever end! Lol. :angry-steamingears:

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JimD

Hang in there Firpo. One day at a time. Prayers continue for you. :)

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Ed Kennell

Sorry to hear that Dom.  We're praying for better days ahead.

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Geno

That's a bummer Firpo, but things will get better, I just know it.   :)    I went and dug up an article on how to increase the white cell count if you want to read it - http://www.livestrong.com/article/17407-increase-white-blood-cells/   I do the green tea thing, about 4 gallons of it a week, it helps a lot with the immune system and mood too.  I hope you have a better day today!

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KyBill

Hang in there. You are in our prayers.

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rick

On my mind, and in my prayers!

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AMC RULES

Hope you're feeling better Dom.   :handgestures-fingerscrossed:

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Firpo701

Hello all! Haven't been very active on the forum lately. This chemotherapy is a pretty mean deal. It didn't start out too bad, but it gradually has made me feel a little bit worse with every treatment. Good news is, I only have one more treatment left! I take my last one Tuesday. From what I can tell, and feel, I think it is shrinking the tumor somewhat. Will find out for sure in a few weeks, and then, hopefully, it'll be time for surgery. Can't wait to start feeling better. I have a garage full of horses that "need a fixin'"! Lol. Will try to get on more often for updates. Thanks again for all the prayers and well wishes! Firpo....

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Ed Kennell

Thanks for the update.   Good to hear you are making progress.  Best wishes and prayers.

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19richie66

Glad the chemo is almost done. Hope you start feeling better soon.

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Firpo701

Hello Guys and Gals! I see it's been almost two years since I posted my last update. And the things that have happened in that time sound like something straight from a Stephen King novel. I will try to list everything as it has happened...

I'll start by saying that I've certainly missed talking with everyone, and all of the support I received from everyone was, and has been really appreciated. Thank you all. After finishing my last chemo treatment in March of 2015, while feeling like the south end of a north bound mule, I traded the 310 for an RJ 58. I was ecstatic! My friend went with me and we brought it home, and put it in the garage. I was just getting all of my radiation treatment plans made with O.S.U., and things were starting to look up. Fast forward a few weeks up to the last week of May 2015. I had started messing with the RJ when I felt decent enough to go to the garage. At the time, I thought it was the lingering effects of the chemo making me feel horrible, but I was oh so wrong. On June 8th, 2015, I awoke, still sitting in my recliner from the night before, due to the fact that I was having breathing issues. I immediately felt that something just wasn't right. I searched the house over to find that the Mrs. had left me, taking everything she could fit in the car, along with the car, and cleaned out our bank account. She had left me with no food in the house, no money, and no transportation. Now, I had the stress of trying to figure out how I was going to get to my upcoming radiation treatments, on top of worrying about my mother, who was now in a nursing facility due to cancer, and the general question of why she did this?! Within the upcoming three days, the rest of my world would be turned upside down. My breathing problem was becoming horribly worse, and I'd starting coughing blood. On the night of June 10th, 2015, a friend of mine came to my house and made me go to the E.R. I was too stubborn to go myself. The E.R. doc told me I had became septic from infection that looked as though it started in my mediport. It had turned into endocarditis and destroyed my mitral heart valve, which was now back pumping blood into my lungs on top of the pneumonia that was already there. My kidneys had began to fail, and I had several lesions from the infection that had made it to my brain. They immediately transported me to O.S.U. Last thing I remember was the ambulance door closing, and I waved goodbye to my buddy. I had fallen into a coma on the transport ride. I awoke, 53 days later on a ventilator, and on dialysis, with several tubes protruding from places that wasn't supposed to have holes, in the I.C.U. at O.S.U. They had worked on me nearly two months getting the pneumonia under control, replacing my mitral heart valve, and just keeping me alive. In the time I was in the coma, my mother had passed away. Everything that was in my house at the time I became that ill was thrown away by the landlord, and the house re-rented, and my ex had been trying, in the meantime, to sell all of my Wheel Horses! Grrrrr! She had tried selling them to my buddy who helped me get the RJ. He immediately knew her story was bull, and he had cleaned my garage completely out before she, or my landlord had their way with my stuff. He stored everything in his barn for me! I literally only had my Wheel Horses, and the clothes that I initially came to the hospital in. Everything else in my world, that had been there when I fell into the coma, was gone! Everything! 

At the time though, I couldn't worry with everything. I had to get better. After they finally got all of the tubes, pumps, and breathing apparatuses out of me, they tried to stand me up to walk. I couldn't! I couldn't even sit up on my own without falling over in the bed. Where I had layed motionless for two months, all of my muscles had became deconditioned. I couldn't move anything but my arms, and they were weak. So, they left me alone until I was transferred out of I.C.U. to a step down hospital. They then started a little bit of physical therapy. A month later, I was transferred to a nursing rehabilitation facility in Columbus. They began an intensive physical therapy regime on me. While doing this, my radiologist began radiation treatments on me. I went through 33 treatments. I was in the nursing facility for three months. After three months, I could walk with the aid of a walker, and I was released from the facility on December 14th, 2015. I then flew to Florida to stay with my sister while I finished my home health care, and physical therapy. I was there from December 2015 until August 2016. In the meantime, I had saved my money, bought another vehicle, completed my physical therapy to the point where I was walking with a cane,and being self sufficient. I then drove back to Northeast Ky., got reacquainted with my doctors at O.S.U., and began the fight of this rectal cancer once again. I rented a little two bedroom house, in the country with enough land to eventually tinker with my Wheel Horses and gardening once again. The cancer still hadn't spread, so in October 2016 I underwent surgery to remove the tumor, which, in turn left me with a permanent colostomy. I've finally recuperated from that, and now I've found out that they still didn't get all of the cancer cells out. So, I am now waiting on my radiologist to schedule yet another round of radiation. That's where I am at this point.I am just thankful, and happy to be alive, and am looking forward to getting back to work on my RJ. I plan on going to my buddies barn and bringing her home before the weekend. Yayyyy! 

Thanks to all of you who wished me well before all of this happened, and thank you all for reading my story. God bless you all! And...happy Horsin'! 

                                         Firpo701

                                            (Dom)

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meadowfield

wow!!!!!  you've been to hell and back more than any of will ever do. It's both a remarkable and sad story, but good to see you have pulled through and are still here!!!

 

Glad to have to back and hope the final treatment works.

 

mark

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Firpo701

Thanks Mark. It's great to be back. I watched many Wheel Horse videos on you tube while in the nursing facility. That helped me keep going somewhat. I just kept looking ahead and looking forward for the day to come that I'd be able to do the things that I enjoyed doing again. I believe if I hadn't had a positive outlook and things to look forward to, I probably wouldn't have made it. And, I'm still keeping that attitude. I plan on beating this one way or another. Thanks again! :wh:

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JC 1965

Some days I feel down from back pain and small everyday things that are really minor. When I read what you have been through I realize that I have nothing to feel down about.

I wish you the very best Dom and am praying for your complete recovery. Please keep us informed on your recovery and keep on fighting. You remain in my prayers.  God bless you.

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Firpo701

Thank you so much for your prayers JC. I will keep posting updates as they progress. Thanks again! Dom...:text-thankyoublue:

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roadapples

Wishing you the best, keep fighting...

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ohiofarmer

 Wow. All this was going on before i became a member, so today was the first i heard of it. Reading the first page, I was hoping that you got a good hospital like the James, as I am a seven year survivor from those skilled and wonderful people. I am convinced that the skill of my surgeon saved my life, but went through a type of chemo just in case....

 

 Then i noticed how old the thread was and got concerned that something might not have gone so well. What a story of adversity and survival! We can all learn from you and even though what you went through was impossible to endure, somehow you did and here you are, an inspiration to us all.

 

  So you guys, get yourselves tested. colonoscopy and the prostate exam are the minimum and are a piece of cake . Catching cancer early can save so much pain later

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Firpo701
1 hour ago, roadapples said:

Wishing you the best, keep fighting...

Thank you very much! I plan on it. :violence-blades:

57 minutes ago, ohiofarmer said:

 Wow. All this was going on before i became a member, so today was the first i heard of it. Reading the first page, I was hoping that you got a good hospital like the James, as I am a seven year survivor from those skilled and wonderful people. I am convinced that the skill of my surgeon saved my life, but went through a type of chemo just in case....

 

 Then i noticed how old the thread was and got concerned that something might not have gone so well. What a story of adversity and survival! We can all learn from you and even though what you went through was impossible to endure, somehow you did and here you are, an inspiration to us all.

 

  So you guys, get yourselves tested. colonoscopy and the prostate exam are the minimum and are a piece of cake . Catching cancer early can save so much pain later

I agree. The James and Wexner are the reasons I'm here at this time. Fine hospital, and wonderful people. That's why I decided to come back to this area instead of staying in Florida. I went to one appointment at the Moffit Cancer Center in Tampa. All I could do was shake my head. I knew then I had to come back to O.S.U. I am so glad to hear that they did you well. Seven years! That's great! Hope there will be many more years to come for you. Thanks again for your kind words!

And for everyone else, not only can catching things early save you pain...it can also save your life. 

Edited by Firpo701
Misspelling
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953 nut

Image result for praying hands images

Dear Lord;  Our brother Dom has suffered too much physically and emotionally over the past couple of years. Thank you for the Angles in his life who have provided comfort and aid, particularly his sister and the buddy who convinced him to seek further medical help. Please guide the actions of all of Dom's medical attendants and help them to completely cure him.

 

Lord;  help to smooth and straighten Dom's path and make his burdens light. He has endured more than most of us can imagine.

 

In Jesus name, we thank you for every day and the blessings you bring into our lives. Amen.

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stevebo

Dom-

Your positive attitude shines though in this post and it will get you through the difficult times. Keep the faith and keep fighting the good fight!

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formariz

Dom

All I can say is wow. Wow that just about everything that can go wrong has, and wow not only that you are so tough and resilient but that you have kept such a positive attitude that indeed is an inspiration to me and makes me feel ashamed to sometimes complain about how cruel life can be. Not only I wish you well and pray that the worst is over for you but I also wish for others to read your post and stop complaining about life.

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