Colonel now battles cancer (passed away 10-13-06)

pantagram.com ^ | Friday, August 11, 2006 | Brett Nauman

[budanski]

BLOOMINGTON -- U.S. Army Col. Dirk Spanton lived with the possibility of dying every day during the 32 months he served with Special Forces in Iraq. The Bloomington man was shot at by insurgents, sent to minefields to disarm explosives and once had a rocket-propelled grenade come within feet of ending his life.

After three tours of duty in the desert, the 50-year-old former ROTC instructor finally returned home to his wife and five children on Memorial Day.

Within days, the family’s joy turned to sorrow as Spanton was hospitalized with a mysterious illness. Doctors later diagnosed him with cancer of the liver bile ducts and now say he has six months to live.

The illness was crushing to the family, but Spanton keeps it in perspective after serving with some soldiers who never got to come back home.

“I feel lucky,” Spanton said this week as he draped an arm around the shoulder of his 9-year-old daughter, Megan. “I could have gotten killed while I was over there (in Iraq) and not gotten to say goodbye to my family. This way, I’m lucky. How many people get to say goodbye to their kids, their wife and their family? You don’t like the short timeframe, but it’s at least a timeframe.”

Much has changed during the last three months for the Spantons. Fighting cancer through chemotherapy and readying the family for the day they all know is coming has made the summer difficult, said Julie Spanton, Dirk’s wife.

Fresh tears came to Julie’s eyes Thursday as her husband donned his uniform to accept the Army’s Legion of Merit Award and Combat Action Badge at his home in Bloomington.

“It’s the first time he’s put his uniform on since he’s been back from Iraq,” Julie Spanton said with tears streaming down her face. “He’s lost 40 pounds already, and he’s very disgusted with how he looks in his uniform.”

The Legion of Merit Award honors Spanton for his more than 23 years of meritorious service spent serving in positions of increasing responsibility in the Illinois National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve.

Army officials presented Dirk Spanton with the awards Thursday. Julie Spanton said her husband is a low-key person who initially asked the Army to put the awards “in the mail.” His superiors turned down the request.

Dirk Spanton is proud of what he and other military personnel accomplished in Iraq. Many of the positive images of Iraqis and Americans working side by side to rebuild the nation aren’t shown in the media, he said.

Doctors believe the cancer had been spreading through Spanton’s body for a while, but the symptoms of the illness — back soreness and fatigue — were masked by being in combat.

Spanton said his back was sore and he was fatigued, but it seemed natural since he was constantly wearing a 40-pound flak vest and sleeping four to six hours per night.

Moreover, Spanton said he felt strong before falling ill days after he returned home. In March, he was bench-pressing 205 pounds in repetitions of 10 several times a week. He weighed 188 pounds then.

That seems like ages ago.

Now, Spanton spends each moment he can with Julie and his five children, Ken, 24, Randy, 20, Derek, 17, Craig, 15 and Megan.

Doctors originally said he’d have two months to live after he was diagnosed, but have since changed their estimate to six months.

Part of that is due to the chemotherapy, which leaves him exhausted. But doctors are hoping it’s shrinking the deadly tumor inside Spanton.

“I’m hoping for a couple extra months, maybe longer,” Spanton says. “I’ll take whatever I can get.”

Dirk Spanton

Age: 50

Occupation: U.S. Army Special Forces (Civil Affairs Advance Detachment) serving in Iraq for last three years

Rank: Colonel

Years of service: 23 in Illinois Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve

Family: Wife Julie, 44, and children Ken, 24, Randy, 20, Derek, 17, Craig, 15, and Megan, 9

U.S. Army Col. Dirk Spanton, left, receives the Combat Action Badge from retired U.S. Army Col. Tom Gorski, right, as U.S. Army Lt. Col. Paul Hettich, center, reads off the commendation order during a ceremony in the Spanton home, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006, in Bloomington, Ill. Spanton, 50, survived three tours and 32 months in Iraq, and since returning home on Memorial Day he has found out that he has just months to live because of cancer. (AP Photo/Pantagraph, Steve Smedley)

U.S. Army Col. Dirk Spanton, gaunt from chemotherapy, gets a kiss from his wife, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Julie Spanton, as U.S. Army Lt. Col. Paul Hettich, right, looks on during an award ceremony on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006, in Bloomington, Ill. (AP Photo/Pantagraph, Steve Smedley)

U.S. Army Colonel Dirk Spanton, right, watches as his sons, from left: Randy; Craig; Ken and Derek, help prepare snacks following a commendation ceremony held in his Bloomington, Ill., home on Aug.10, 2006. Spanton survived three tours and 32 months in Iraq, only to come home and find out he has just months to live because of cancer. Now, he spends every spare moment with his family which includes his wife, Julie, and daughter Megan, not shown. (AP Photo/Pantagraph, Steve Smedley)

U.S. Army Col. Dirk Spanton's uniform hangs in the living room of his home as he waits on the couch, right, for guests to arrive, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006, in Bloomington, Ill. Spanton, who served with the Special Forces in Iraq, returned home on Memorial Day and found out shortly afterward that he has just months to live because of cancer. (AP Photo/Pantagraph, Steve Smedley)

[Jet Jaguar]

Hey SandRat, Ping.

[nuconvert]

pong

[Larry Lucido]

Well done, Colonel. May you beat this and have many prosperous years ahead.

[Dog Gone]

Prayers for him and his family. Life ain't fair, and bad things happen to good people. It makes it all the more tragic.

[Wolfstar]

Within days, the family’s joy turned to sorrow as Spanton was hospitalized with a mysterious illness. Doctors later diagnosed him with cancer of the liver bile ducts and now say he has six months to live.

Oh man. Sometimes there is absolutely no justice in this world. Sigh.

Prayers for Col. Spanton and his family.

[TASMANIANRED]

Prayers offered...

[philetus]

“I feel lucky,” Spanton said this week as he draped an arm around the shoulder of his 9-year-old daughter, Megan. “I could have gotten killed while I was over there (in Iraq) and not gotten to say goodbye to my family."

You are a class act Colonel Spanton SIR.

[The Westerner]

Thank you, Colonel, for giving the best of your life to our country's.

[sten]

as someone that has seen the quality of the VA compared to the better commerical hospitals, my recommendation is get to a real hospital asap. the va docs we dealt with were worse then worthless when dealing with cancer.

personally, with all the va closings they are doing, i don't understand why the government just doesn't push a usservices hmo.. they'd be able to demand better rates and get the best treatment.

oh yea... and for the rest of you vets... if you are a vet, combat or not, you get full lifetime medical from the va regardless of the illness (they have been trying to keep that quiet since the mid 90s)

[butternut_squash_bisque]

(((crisp salute, sir!)))

[Eagles6]

Prayers for him and his loved ones.

[Prokopton]

It seems that the brave and the strong are often given the heaviest crosses to bear. Prayers that this patriot is welcomed home in glory and comfort for his family.

[Obie Wan]

You and your family are my hero's Colonel.God bless and get well !!!

[MamaB]

We just went through liver cancer with hubby who died on July 8th. He was told in May that he had cancer and had 3 months when they said 6-9. Chemo left hubby so exhausted that when we took him to his last doctor's appt., his bp was 66/42. We were told that if the tumor is less than 2cm that it can be cured but any larger, it is much harder. His was 8" x 5" x 5".

I wish him and his family all of God's blessings during this time.

About the same time hubby was diagnosed, a friend's daughter was told she had liver and pancreatic cancer. They have now called in Hospice to help care for her. It seems that liver and pancreatic cancers are the worst to treat. Hubby beat Hodgkin's many years ago. BTW, hubby was the 2nd one on our short street of about 8 or 10 houses to die of liver cancer. Two more had other fatal cancers.

[wizr]

May God bless Col. Spanton, his immediate family, and his service family. Thank you for all you have done. Keep on fighting.

[FairOpinion]

"U.S. Army Col. Dirk Spanton lived with the possibility of dying every day during the 32 months he served with Special Forces in Iraq. The Bloomington man was shot at by insurgents, sent to minefields to disarm explosives and once had a rocket-propelled grenade come within feet of ending his life.

After three tours of duty in the desert, the 50-year-old former ROTC instructor finally returned home to his wife and five children on Memorial Day.

Within days, the family’s joy turned to sorrow as Spanton was hospitalized with a mysterious illness. Doctors later diagnosed him with cancer of the liver bile ducts and now say he has six months to live. "

Prayers for him and his family. May God see fit to bless him with a miracle.

[jazusamo]

Thank you for your service Colonel Spanton and God Bless you and your family.

[Toidylop]

Well done, Sir. Prayer to our hero and his family.

[Pegita]

Unto You, O Lord, we return with profound gratitude that Col. Spanton can spend these precious days with his beloved family. May it be, Merciful Father, that these days will turn into many more months, for we fervently pray that Your healing hand would be upon him and that You would grant his family's deepest desire ... that he remain with them. Grace his medical team with wisdom beyond themselves, that they might ascribe his wellbeing to You, O Lord. Strengthen him physically, emotionally, and spiritually, that Col. Spanton could continue to minister to his family as husband and father.

We praise You, O God, that Your hand of protection has been upon this family through the hazards of his military career. May they approach each new day with renewed faith and hope, and answered prayer.

In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, may it be thus, O Lord, may it be thus, Amen ...