The Culprit

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As it turns out, 2016 is going to be a very different year for us. A new challenge presented itself a couple of months ago, that being testicular cancer. This new challenge is the purpose for this blog. I want to not only keep family and friends in the loop on what is going on, but I also want to capture and share this experience. Although slightly scared (inevitable right?), Chelsea and I have already noticed strength from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. This is the good thing about trials in life, they act as a catalyst to rely on God...We have also felt so much support from family and friends lately that we have appreciated so much. Since I'm starting this blog a couple months after things began, I'll go ahead and recap the past two months...

November 2015 - Around mid-November, I happened to notice an odd, unwelcome lump on the right guy ("the culprit"). As soon as I felt it, the thought came to my mind, "what is this, hopefully not testicular cancer". This crossed my mind because back in May, Mom told me she recently had a co-worker who had a lump that ended up being testicular cancer...I figured I would monitor it, and hoped it would go away. A few weeks later it seemed to get a little bigger, and it also started to have a dull ache. This dull ache was also felt in my lower abdomen. That was enough for Chels and I to immediately schedule a doctors appointment.

December 2015 - I went to the doctor in Stephenville, TX at the beginning of December. After examining the lump he referred me to the imaging center to get an ultra sound. Afterwards I was then referred to the Urologist. I went to the Urologist to once again expose myself, and after feeling the lump and looking at the ultra sound images, he confirmed that it was testicular cancer. Chels and I were weak at the knees when he said those words. He confirmed to us that it is very treatable, which was comforting. We scheduled surgery for the following week on December 23 to have the culprit removed. The nerve-racking part of the surgery was filling out paper work, waiting, and getting setup. Chels and I went to a curtained off room where I got setup with the IV and heart monitors. I also met the nurses, anesthesiologist, and talked to the urologist who would be performing the surgery. I felt like I was in very good hands.

Me and Chels waiting in the curtained off room prior to surgery.

As soon as they gave me a dose of something in the IV, the worry vanished. Even when they wheeled my bed into the operating room and I saw a nurse preparing the metal cart with sharp devices, I wasn't phased in the least bit. I scooted onto the surgery table, they placed an oxygen mask over my face and within the blink of an eye I was waking up from the surgery. It was over!?! Anesthesia is an unbelievable thing, it turns a scary surgery into a mere nap. The surgery recovery went well, I was sore and tired a lot but for the most part felt good. The main goal was to prevent Avi from treating me like a human trampoline. When we got home from the surgery, it melted my heart when she started taking care of me. She handed me stuffed animals (including her all time favorite one) and she was so concerned for me. It was a peaceful feeling to have the cancer source out of my system. 6 days later I went to get a CT scan, and the following day we met with the Urologist. Hopes were high that everything was over, but he gave us news that some spreading occurred, in the abdomen as well as some small specs in the lungs (blast). He said it was still very treatable but it would require some work. The rest of the day was an emotional roller coaster. Chels and I were in shock, scared, felt alone, and felt lost as to what we were going to do. We got hit several times with waves of emotion where we sobbed in each others arms. It was difficult to sleep that night, I had a nervous stomach and kept waking up, hoping it was a nightmare. Prayers and scripture reading skyrocketed.

12/31/15 - Things got much better today. The adage that prayers are answered through other people came true. Grandma and Grandpa Rogers connected me with a man in Utah who happened to have the exact type of testicular cancer. After talking with him on the phone, a heavy load of fear was lifted from Chels and I's shoulders. He told me his chemo treatments lasted about 3 months, and although it was not a pleasant experience at all he and his family were able to get through it. The result of him talking about his experience and answering so many of my questions was the flooding of peace into my mind and heart. After speaking with him I felt that it was mandatory that we move to Utah to go through this. Not only for the family support, but also the Huntsman Cancer Institute was where I felt the treatment needed to be done. Fortunately I have outstanding in-laws,who are more than happy to take us in.

Thought: During the course of these past few weeks, the scripture Chels and I have been thinking of a lot and finding comfort in is John 14:27 where the Savior says: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." I find comfort in two ways from this scripture. One, the Savior will give us peace during tests in our lives. He knows what we're going through and he is there for us. And second, no matter what happens in life there is no need to fear because the Savior has completed His atonement, he has fulfilled his supreme role in Heavenly Fathers Plan, which enables all of us to return to live with God with our families for eternity.