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Operation 55 Zebra Checkpoint Review = Great Success!

If you are just catching up with Operation 55 Zebra, here is a previous post of what I thought might happen today. And if you have no idea why I keep talking about Zebras, click on Operation 55 Zebra Story link on the left hand side of this page to catch up.

Let's just get to it.

The meeting didn't start out great. The doctor walked in and before showing us any images, reiterated that I need to go on radiation and chemo immediately. She also explained that our "plan of 'observing' the tumor instead of attacking it through conventional treatment would not be her preference and that if I were a part of her family, this would have never happened". Okay... duly noted. By this point her approach is old hat because each of our meetings and phone calls usually start this way.

Not a great way to start out a follow-up meeting, but then she put up the images next to each other and... they were the same.

Nearly identical.

Yup. While I can't speak about any of the specific details (which hopefully I will find out more about in my meeting tomorrow with the department head) it is obvious that the tumor has definitely not grown. Yes, it could be that this follow-up exam is too soon to see a difference or that the growth rate of the tumor is so slow that no treatment (either conventional or alternative) could have made an impact yet. But either way, I didn't care... this was great news because it wasn't bad news!

Now, I know that we have been praying for shrinkage but this is still fantastic. Back in June, Dr. Awesome from Mayo Clinic said that after doing a round a radiation he would circle back to do another MRI to check for changes. If after 6 months the tumor was the same size, he would consider it a 'great success'.  He said that since I am operating normally (or as normal as I ever have which isn't saying much) shrinkage is optimal, but maintenance is the first priority. In other words, if the tumor never grows past where it is now, I will lead a normal life with little-to-no symptom progression.

So, by Dr. Awesome's standards, in this first 6 months we have achieved great success! And to make things better, I didn't have to go through any of the side-effects from radiation such as hair loss, weakness, nausea or risk any long-term brain damage. And not only that, my overall health including my immune system, diet, stress levels and emotional health have improved immensely from the treatments I've been practicing.

So first off, praise God! While we will continue to move forward in faith, He has kept His promise of protecting me as I go down this 'alternative path'. While I felt crazy for saying no to my doctors, He has not left me alone, but given me the strength, confidence and peace to choose this narrow road when it makes no practical sense and when all the odds seem stacked against me. God doesn't tell boring run-of-the-mill stories and apparently this one will be no exception.

Next, thank you to my wife, who self-admittedly went into 'linebacker mode' in the patient room. As a general rule just... never-ever mess with Amy. Actually, if you are any figure of authority such as a government official, store manager or community organizer, just stay clear. Her independent spirit rises up and throws down! I'm just thankful we're on the same team! While I was trying to have a reasonable and logical conversation with the doctor, Amy was slinging alternative knowledge and calling her out straight up high-school debate style! It was incredible and frightening all at once... However as a matter of duty, I did give her a hospital 'red card' and am considering banning her from our meeting tomorrow. The jury is still out.

Third, thanks to Micah-the-Magician. Only by the power of God could you EVER have convinced me to do this. I distinctly remember audibly laughing at you when you first suggested 'natural treatment'.

And lastly thank you to my family and friends who have been such a huge support up to now. All day long I was receiving notes on Facebook, Twitter and emails, each one of them casting a vote of confidence for me. It made such a huge difference. I can't thank you enough.

I know that this is only the beginning of this story and there is lots more to come, but we finally have some evidence that this alternative plan of attack is achieving the same results the Doctors were hoping for with Radiation and Chemo.

I'll offer more detail later, but right now I am so tired. I have to go to bed.

Much Love

I'm writing this on Monday night when I should be sleeping. I'm not tired, but rather excited about my MRI tomorrow, Tuesday, at 7:40 am. I will be meeting with my Doctor at 3:00 or so which is when I assume I will see some side-by-side imaging from the last MRI taken in June. Of course the goal would be to see that  healing has been taking place over the last 5 months. But please be patient with me tomorrow. I want to share the news with my family first, but will be posting about it here shortly thereafter.

I want to thank you. Thank you for the prayers, cards, lasagnas, hugs, t-shirts, money, kombucha tea mothers, stuffed animal zebras, etc... You all have been so kind with your encourgaging words and gifts, but more importantly, I want to thank you for doing the most important thing of all... for sharing this story. This blog's traffic continues to grow (much to my amazement) and this story continues to spread. It appears that people are paying attention to this story which makes me so glad! I am glad because I know that God is using this experience to change people, maybe even you.

To be blunt, I want you, your friends and your family to pay attention, not because of me or anything I say or do, but because God is at work.

I cannot know for certain what will happen on Tuesday (or the day after for that matter) but I have faith in something that I cannot yet see. I have faith that God will continue to display His character and affect peoples' lives. It has without a doubt changed mine.

The most important thing that I have realized is, no matter the outcome, Kung Fu has already saved my life. If you remember, all of this started with a fake kung fu round-house kick to the head which resulted in me accidentally head-butting a concrete wall. Doctors say this accident could very well end up saving my physical life by offering early-detection of a brain tumor years in advance of when I may have naturally discovered it.

But I feel this Kung Fu snafu has done much more than saving my physical life.

I previously said I have never been afraid of physically dying, but was extremely afraid of not living life to its fullest potential, of getting to the end and wondering if there was any more I could have done or one more life I could have impacted. But this experience has given me the boldness to speak my feelings, renew my faith and pursue my passions in a way that I never could have imagined.

Cancer does not define me, but forces me to redefine my identity and my existence. Cancer forces me to challenge the mediocrity I previously feared. And for that, I am grateful.

I would never wish illness or suffering of any type on anyone, I hope that someway, somehow you would experience a life-altering change. Unfortunately, it seems that this change often comes through times of suffering so I hope that you would choose to view this sufferring in your life not as an end, but as a new beginning, as an opportunity to redefine yourself and challenge your fears.

Kung Fu has saved my soul. It has brought me back to life. While I am still not afraid of death, I am no longer afraid of a mediocrity. No matter what Tuesday's results say, no matter how long or how short or how painful this story is, I have faith in a God who promises that the best parts are yet to come.

As I have historically said to my friends and family, I whole-heartedly say to you now...

"Much Love"

Healing Crisis

Things aren't always as they seem.

Sometimes what we see as a step in the wrong direction is actually evidence that everything is going according to plan. There is actually a term for this; Healing Crisis.

"A 'Healing Crisis', also known as the "Herxheimer Reaction", this reaction occurs when the body tries to eliminate toxins at a faster rate than they can be properly disposed of. The more toxic one's bodily systems are, the more severe the detoxification, or healing crisis. It is characterized by a temporary increase in symptoms during the cleansing or detox process which may be mild or severe. You may feel worse and therefore conclude that the treatment is not working. But these reactions are instead signs that the treatment is working and that your body is going through the process of cleaning itself of impurities, toxins and imbalances."

I feel my body has been experiencing a healing crisis. When I went to the ER a few weeks ago, the pre-seizure symptoms were telling everyone that my brain was swelling. I knew it, Micah-the-Magician knew it and the Doctors knew it. The evidence for brain swelling was obvious, so the real question was, 'Why? Even though I've been doing everything right, why is there more swelling in my brain?'.

There are two ways to look at the reasoning behind the brain swelling:

1. As predicted by my doctors, the tumor is continuing to slowly grow in size which impacts the surrounding brain matter causing a progression in seizure symptoms. Over time, this will eventually lead to another seizure. The medically response would be to undergo radiation and chemo to reduce the size of the tumor, thus relieving pressure to the surrounding brain matter, and to immediately administer steroids to help curb inflammation and stop immediate seizure symptom progression.
2. Through my changes in diet, supplements, stress levels, emotional healing, etc... my body is healing the cancer by reversing the elements that cause cancer in the first place. One of the signs that the cancer is reversing is that the tumor, a collection of cancerous cells in my brain (a symptom of the cancer within the body) are starting to die. And as the tumor cells die and pile up, the lymphatic system (the clean-up crew of the body) goes into the brain to start clearing everything out which causes swelling. The solution for this issue would be to aid the lymphatic system by helping to clear it out, taking along with it all of the dead cells it has been collecting.

We chose to see this crisis through the lens of view #2. To be honest, I am feeling even better than before. I am taking on some new detoxification practices that I'll detail later each helping my lymph system clear out the dead cells in my body as quick as possible. Many cancer patients don't actually die from cancer but from toxemia, or a build-up of toxins / bacteria in the bloodstream because the bad cells can't be eliminated from the body. So the 1st goal was to kill the cancer, but the 2nd goal is to get rid of the dead cancer cells as soon as possible. And as far as I can tell, after a few weeks, it is working!

Physically, I was having a build-up of toxins in my brain that needed to be released. This crisis, after being addressed, lead to overall healing.

However, emotionally and spiritually, I think I'm in the middle of a healing crisis.

Clueless & Free

Couple of quick updates:

• My MRI has been moved from November 17th to November 24th. Please continue to pray that we will see tumor shrinkage on that day. Then we shall all offering Thanksgiving for the good news and eat Tofurkey.
• I am doing fine after my last blog which detailed a trip to the emergency room. I've been busy relaxing and/or working and haven't been able to post, but I am feeling fine. Thank you for all of your kind notes and prayers!
• This blog is ridiculously long and somewhat aimless. You may want to quit reading and enjoy the rest of your day. Don't say I didn't warn you, but this thought has been on my brain since Catalyst and I have to post it.

Onward.

I am in Ohio this weekend. I am speaking to a middle school, a high school, a cancer support group and a church. I have no idea what I am going to say at 3 of those 4 places. I am clueless about what I am going to say, yet feel completely free about how things will turn out. 

I am clueless and free. Why? I've recently stumbled across the fact that I am not a teacher but a story teller. I realize that God has not given me wisdom in the form of a 3 point framework that can be disputed on scientific or theological merit, but a simple story to retell. If you don't like or disagree with the story, that's cool. I'm okay with that. (And that's a big thing for me to say)

So this is what I'm doing... I follow God, along with this story, to middle-schools in tiny towns of Ohio and cancer support groups where probably very few people will be undergoing (or interested in) alternative treatments similar to mine and high schools where kids are more interested in, well... just about anything than me or my story.

But my job is neither to determine who gets to hear my story, nor is it to convince people I am right and they are wrong based upon knowledge or wisdom. My job is to tell simply tell the story. So I go and whatever happens after that isn't up to me.