FReeper Jeff Head - in need of prayer - Cancer surgery (GOOD NEWS update @ #1638 1688 1931! 2059)

Journal: My bone cancer (Sacral Chordoma) ^ | 4 January 2010 | Dolly Howard

[Palladin]

Wonderful report! You and Gail are such an inspiration!

May God continue to shower blessings of health and happiness upon you and yours!

[amom]

Excellent! Wonderful good news update. You are an inspiration. Prayers continue for all

[Jeff Head]

God bless you each and thank you from the bottom of Gail's and my heart. May His blessings be showered on you and yours ten fold.

Faith, prayer, encouragement, and care are all far more powerful than we sometimes realize. I thank each of you for all that you have given us in that regard these last two years.

The good Lord does not promise us that we will not have difficiulty, He promises us that we can have peace, fulfilloment, freedom, and love in spite of it.

"In the world ye shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

The fundamental moral truths taught and given us by Jesus Christ are the reason America is free. Because a large enough portion of our people freely choose to follow Him and His principles.

Awakening to those fundamental truths is occurring. It made a difference in 2010. It will make the difference in 2012. Some do not couch it in these terms, but the principles they are turning to, and freely choosing come from Him...and it will have its sway and impact. I look forward to it...though it be a long, hard road.

This is the key and secret to our liberty, in this world and out of it.

AMERICA AT THE CROSSROADS OF HISTORY

[Alamo-Girl]

I pray for Spiritual renewal throughout America.

[McGavin999]

That is so good to hear Jeff. But then we all believed in miracles all along and had no doubt that you would be granted one.

Thank you God for taking care of this good man.

[Jeff Head]

As do I, AG...and God bless you for doing so. Millions of us are, and I believe we are seeing those prayers answered in the affirmative as 2012 approaches...at least I pray and work for it to be so.

[A Navy Vet]

Sorry Jeff, your post was too long to analyze the specifics, but it sounds like you’re doing better, so good for you.

You’ve always been at the top of my Patriot list, ever since the Klamath Falls issues. I’ve known you to be a genuine Constitutional supporter for years and admire you for that.

Sorry, I don’t have the time to deal with your specifics. My wife’s mother and father are going through their end life stuff and I have to concentrate on that. But you know I wish all good things for you. We will meet someday in the far beyond...

A Navy Vet
Rodger Hunter

[Alamo-Girl]

Praise God!!!

[Jeff Head]

Sorry, Rodger, that I missed your post.

Our prayers are now up for you and yours. My father passed eight years ago. I miss him each day to this day...but am happy and secure in the knowledge that he is in a better place, with our Savior, and that one day we will be reunited in Him.

My mother continues. We had to place her in assisted living when I went to Houston. Her dimensia is severe, byt her health is not too bad at 86+ years now.

Such experiences are not easy and we have to rely on our loved ones and God in Heaven for the strength to get through. Our prayers are for you and yours, in the name of Jesus Christ, that you will be bouyed up and have that strength.

As for me, I have plateaued with my own recovery. As you make progress you are thanksful and hope that such progress will continue to so that one dayt it appraoches perhaps where you were before the diagnosis and treatment.

Sometimes it is difficult when you realize it will not be so and the rest of your life will be where you are. Despite that, I am grateful. I have been blessed to be so much better off than I might have been...and I know the Lord is using my circumsatnces to help and bless others. So we go forward with faith...relying on Divine Providence and doing the very best we can.

Thanks so much for your prayers and faith on our behalf!

[MinuteGal]

Bless you Jeff....and many thanks for the comprehensive updates. Prayers continuing.....

Leni/MinuteGal

[Jeff Head]

Thank you, Leni, for your prayers, encouragement and faith!

I could never put into words how grateful Gail and I are and the difference all of these prayers and all of this faith have made.

They give hope and hope fuels a drive to do better and, in turn, help others.

It has been a difficult and trying experience, it has been a growing experience, it has been a good experience despite the difficulties and hardships. Seeing and feeling all of the faith and love is good...irrespective of the circumstances.

I know this...we can perservere and move forward...we can grow and progress...we can enjoy life and the love of family and friends...and we can come closer to God in Heaven and His Son irrespective of the cricumstances we face if we will just turn to them, put our trust in them, and move forward with faith.

In fact, sometimes the difficult times in life bring this out and punctuate it precisely because it is hard and precisely because it does test us to see where our true motivations and heartfelt commimtnets lay.

Again, thank you so much and God’s speed and blessings to you and yours...may He return them 10 fold to you.

[Jeff Head]

36th Update to my Condition, December 20, 2011

Today marks a significant anniversary in my life, one that I certainly did not know was coming, did not wish for, and yet one that came in its time and has very significant impact on my life and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. Two years ago today I got the diagnosis that I had a malignant sacral chordoma in my back. It was what had caused so much pain, searching, discomfort, and disruption to my life for a couple of years before, gradually increasing in intensity and impact through that time.

That diagnosis started Gail and I on a path in life we had never trod before. The tumor was literally filling up most of my sacrum (these tumors are slow growing and it had been in there for at least 20-25 years according to my Nuerosurgeon, Dr. RHines) and on the verge of spreading beyond. Chordomas, once they get into soft tissue are much more agressive. They do not respond to normal radiation or chemo therapy. We were referred to and accepted at MD Anderson Cancer center in HOuston and immediately (within a few days after Christmas) drove to Houston for our intial meetings. we thank God that the surgeons and neurosurgeons here rightly recognized the need to have this taken care of elsewhere. There are only 3-4 places in the country equiped to address this disease, particularly at the advanced stage I had.

My options were simple, either undergo massive and radical surgery to remove the entire tumor and significant margins around the tumor, or go into pallitive care and let the cancer take its course. The surgery would be massive, itself life threatening, and would leave me signficantly disabled for the rest of my life. Walking would be in question, normal bowel and bladder fundtion would be severely imparied, nerve damage and feeling in my lower trunk and down my legs would be significanlty impacted. Pallitive care would make me as comfortable as possible, but once the cancer destroyed those same nerve roots that the surgery would take, I would face the same prognosis.

After a lot of prayer and consideration, and a lot of counsel from family, freinds, medical professionals and through our church, we made the decision that was evident to me from the get go...we chose to strive for life...whatever life the good Lord deemed for us.

And so it went. It was very difficuly. We had wonderful family, friends, neighbors, mebers of our congregation, acquantences all over the country, and people who heard of our plight pour out their love and faith on our behalf. That strength, coupled with our own faith and love of our Savior and Father in Heaven allowed us to face the struggle with faith in God, knowing His will would be best.

It has been hard and continues to be so. The cancer had spread and I have three small spots in my illium (hip bones) that will soon be addressed by a special proton radiation technigque that is highly concentrated and very exacting. These small tumors, like the other, are slow growing, but need to be addressed and it looks like in March of 2012 we will do so.

I write this now, two years later, after all that built up to the surgeries. The continuing pain, the reaction to some of the medications that sickened me terribly, the hospitilization shortly before leaving for the surgical dates in Houston that almost put everything off. The three major surgeries in about three weeks time that involved 36 hours of surgery and transfusions equal to over four times my entire blood supply. The three months of hospitilization and slowly coming out of the 3 weeks of intinsive care. Being taught to sit up, being taught to take care of my bodlly functions and the type of diet I would have to be on from now on. Being taught to stand and walk again...first with a walker, then with a cane. The three months of intensive rehabilitation and improvements in my ability to stand and walk...and now the extended time back home and plateauing where I walk without a cain and drive where I need to go.

I will never hike the mountains again, my walking is not altogether rock solid or steady, but I can do it and I can work and provide for my family when all of that was in question.

Prayers have been answered, faith has been confirmed. Not that I have been miraculously and completely healed...but I have been miraculously treated and enabled, for God's purposes to continue my life, to be with my family, to see my children continue to grow with their own families and careers. To witness tow morew granchildren be born and have them now toddling around when visiting us playing with and sitting with their "papa". Taking oledr grandkids (we now have eight altogether) to movies and for drives, having them help me go to the "dump."

Spdneing more time with my dear, wonderful, and angelic wife and best friend and sweethjeart.

God's hand is in each of our individual lifes. In the good times and in the difficult times. His Spirit and Hand are there, if we will humble ourselves and reach out to buoy us up and guide our feet. He has apurpose for us, and that purpose, no matter how difficult is absolutely what is best for us because we touch others and help others as we get through the experiences as best we can and with His help, irrespective of the outcome. I know that a big part of my survival is to witness these things to others. To give hope...and to take hope as I see others, more severely impacted than me, struggle on valiently and themselves help others, including myself, in their trvails. I can do no less.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to all who have exercised their faith in God on our behalf, who have helped us, encouraged us, prayed for us, and been there to whatever extent possible. I thank God for you each every day and witness His Hand in all of this for His purposes and for the betterment and enrichment of all involved.

Please read my entire journal...HERE on my site...or the PRAYER THREAD established for me at a conservative forum of which I am a member.

May God return the blessing to you each, ten fold for the tender mercies and help and encouragement and faith you have given.

Sincerely and in Christ,

Jeff

[DollyCali]

I always get tingles reading your story & the love of God that was richly shared with your family throughout this entire ordeal. Praise God for what has been gifted to you & I know you treasure and capture every moment in this precious life. Thanks for the PING Jeff and Merry Christmas to you & yours!

[amom]

Continued heartfelt prayers for you and yours Jeff. You will never be able to know how much your presence has enhanced my life.

[Jeff Head]

Thank you and God bless you both. I pray God’s richest blessings on you and yours, and a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year too!...you have been so kind, so full of faith and prayers for us...and I can never adequately express the thanks we have.

The best we can do is live it, help others as we have been helped, and all the while thank God for our lives and experiences and opportunities to learn, love, and help others.

...and may God grant us all, my friends, the strength, wisdom and opportunity to assist in whatever way paossible in returning our wonderful Republic to its constitutional roots and moral underpinnings, for our kids and grandkids sake!

[amom]

Thank you Jeff. I am honored to be included in your post. DollyCali is truly a wonderful supporter faithfully keeping us updated for so long. Merry Christmas to both you good folks.

[Jeff Head]

Here's my latest update to my Sacral Chordoma Cancer condition. Entry number 38, made on May 11th, the 2nd anniverasry of my last surgery at MD Anderson, which was the third in the space of a couple of weeks:

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38th Entry - Two Year Anniversary of Last Surgery and Latest Checkups

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It's hard to believe that two years ago today I was completing my third and final surgery at MD Anderson in Houston, TX, to remove my entire sacrum. I remember distinctly a lot about that experience, and then of course there's a lot I do not remember because I was really pretty out of it on the pain meds.

I was in the ICU another two-three weeks after that last surgery, having already been in the hospital sinec April 27th, 2010, when I came in for my 1st surgery. That one was about 10 hours long and went in through my abdomen to prepare for removing my sacrum and the chordoma tumor which had filled it up. They took my right side abdomen, including all of the muscles and skin tissue, and pushed it through to the back of my body to prepare for my 2nd surgery and use it to cover the wound that 2nd surgery would create. They also rearranged my intestines and rectum a bit to prepare for that 2nd surgery. They then went to my legs and on my right side cut through my fibula on both ends until it was barely hanging there so they would be able to easily remove it and use it during the 2nd surgery.

Then, three days later, on April 30th, 2010, they conducted the 2nd surgery which was the most major. It was over 18 hours long. They cut in through my back, making a circular incesion down low on my back with straight parts coming up half way up my back on the top, and then clear down to my recttum on the bottom. This was necessary because of the massive amount of work they had to do. They cut through all of the muscles tissue there, including mu glutes to get to the sacrum and open up enough to expose my entire lower spine. Then they went through the painstaking procedure of cutting out the sacrum and all of the nerves and nerve roots associated with it. A very bloody, and a vry intricate surgery requiring very special neurosurgeon expertise. I thank God it was Dr. Rhines doing it.

Part way through apparently they nicked a large blood vessel below the sacrum which began bleeding badly. An anesthesiologist noticed the drop in blood pressure but the surgical team could not get to it to repair it until the sacrum was out. So this individual pumped blood through me to keep me alive while all that was going one. 41 units of blood was used...about six times your entire blood supply.

Ultimately they got the sacrum out, repaired the blood vessel, built the lattice frame work of titanium around my last three vertebrae for support (which is quite the achievement itself...looks like a miniature Eiffel Tower, again thanks to Dr. Rhines)...but, then because it had gone so long, they determined they would have to do a thrid surgery to place the bone from my leg (the fibula) in as a strut support fot the other work they did. So, they used the abdominal tissue they had prepared and covered the wound with it, and stitched me all up.

It was then 12 days before the third surgery. And that was the third and final surgery which I celebrate today, May 11th, 2012. Another 9 or 10 hour surgery where they cut back into me the same way they have gone in on April 27th, and then took my fibula and a blood supply for it from the other leg, and built a spar that connects my two hip bones to the bottom of my spine and the titanium structure there. They used long titanium lag bolts to attach the bone to my hips and then used bone dust made up from scrapings of my own bone and other bone supplies so that when mixed with my plasma it would stimulate bone growth around the areas of the bones that were joined togewther and all around the titanium structure. This bone growth would ultimately be the principle support my body depends on because the titanium would otherwise wear out in ten years and have to be replaced...and I do not want to go through that again if I can at all avoid it.

So, here I am two years hence. What a blessing it has been.

I know the good Lord, without doubt, through the faith and prayers of so many family, friends, relatives, neighbors, people at church...at many churches...and friends at work and folks from all over whom I don't even know, prayed for me, and through the expertise and very hard and compassionate work of my Dr.s, nurses, attendants, therapists, etc., and because God in Heaven, for His own purposes, preserved my life. I promised Him, as a result, that I would witness His name and that of His Son for their love, compassion and mercy towards me.

I can walk on my own, without any assistive devices. I have been working full time since I got back home in October of 2010. I am providing for my family and working toward retirement. As a result of a leave share program (described above) where I work, I never missed a day of pay, and was never on disability. I have seen two new grandchildren born who are both over a year old now and walking and so much fun. I was able to see our youngest son return from a mission for our Church from Canada and begin getting on with his life and future. I work with my older grandsons building 1/350 scale models which brings a lot of satisfaction and joy. I am able to still mow the lawn with our riding mower and take our garbage to the dump each week. I spend a lot of time with our ids, grandkids, and with my wonderful wife, Gail, who herself saved my life during those long, long weeks in ICU and the hoospital and through rehab.

I have been to a lot of movies since being back, more than my whole life combined before, enjoying them with my grandkids, my own grown children, and most especially my dear sweetheart and wife, Gail.

Here's the link to a video on Facebook I recently took on Mother's Day, of two of our grandkids playing as their families visited us to celebrate Mother's Day with Gail:

http://www.facebook.com/v/10150829557379069

Life is so good! How blessed am I to be able to witness these moments.

I was able to give a very neat presentation at MD Anderson last September when we went back for our checkup in Houston. Dr. Rhines (my principle physician and neurosurgeon gave a presentation, Dr. Garvey, the bone Dr. who worked with getting the bone out of my leg and building it as a strut to help support my entire pelvic ring also gave a presentation. Dr. Liberman, who was my physical therapist ater I got out of the hospital for three months and whose expertise and manner of working with patieents helped me so much walk as well as I do, also gave a presentation) I was honored and blessed to be used as an example for others in this whole process.

BTW, I am convinced without Dr. Lieberman's particular way of working with patients and great knowledge of the physical body, I would not have been able to progress so far. We stayed an extra month in Houston to take advantage of that expertise. In retrospect, if I had had enough leave and time, another three months with him would have made even more difference...but in the end, we have what we have.

Here's a link to a short portion of my presentation that MD Anderson put up on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/6G5G8Y9M8CY

And here's a link to the entire presentation on the MD Anderson web site. I would urge anyone interested in these types of life altering and saving procedures to watch it all. Here's that link:

Jeff Head's MD Anderson Presentation, September 14, 2011

Finally, we are at a point now where every six months we will do our MRIs, CT Scans, and blood work here in Idaho to be sent to Dr. Rhinse at MD Anderosn for review. If need be, he will then call us down there. If things are clean, then we will wait to the next check up and go to MD Anderson once a year, in the late summer/early fall, in September each year...probably for the rest of my life.

We know that there are three very small spots of cancer on my hip bones. Have been from the beginning. It is likely that this Spetember that they will arrange to treat those with stereotactical proton radiation to retard or eleiminate them.

They are chordomas and very slow growing as long as they remain in the bone. If we can retard or eleiminate them, then it is likely that they will not cause me any problems for the remaineder of my life. Then the key thing is to just continue observing the soft tissue around the margins of where the main tumor was removed in the hopes that nothing comes back.

So far, so good in that regard. But in the end, all of that, in my estimation is in the Lord's Hands and we will face whatever it may be when it happens. We hope that no more will come along...but will deal with it should it be so, with faith in our wonderful MD Anderson medical professionals, in one another, in the faith and prayers of family, frineds and others...and most importantly with a steadfast faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ and His Father, our Father in Heaven.

As it is, I have been richly blessed to enjoy the time I have since these momentous events and thank God in Heaven, my dear wife, Dr. Rhines, Gisella, Dr. Garvey, Dr. Fu, Dr. Lieberman, and too many nurses, attendants, and therapists to name. Also, thanks to my dear friends and partners in the Chordoma experience, Neil, Wiley, Mohammed, Steve, and Scott who have suffered and lived through these same types of experiences. Networking with and befriending those who have experienced these same things, and helping one another, has been a critical part of the recovery and ongoing process...and a very helpful and enjoyable one. Finally, thanks to all of our family, friends, and others (particularly many on the facebook and on forums on internet) who prayed for us and encouraged and helped us. Life is good, we can all make the best of it, whatever our circumstance and help others as a result of our own experiences and walk in life.

I will add to this journal now with any major events or findings, and at least each year in the September time frame as I have my major checkup.

Sincerely and in Christ,

Jeff Head
Emmett, ID
May 11, 2012

[betty boop]

May God continue to bless you, dear Jeff! My prayers for your well-being, and that of your loved ones, continue....

[Jeff Head]

Thank you my dear FRiend. All exercise of Faith in our Savior and prayers in His name do nothing but good, and I can witness to their power, their sustaining power in hours and days, and weeks of trouble and hardship. I know they lifted me.

Our prayers in return for you and yours, may He return the blessing to you ten fold!

[MEG33]

It is a blessing just to read your words..but I loved hearing your presentaion and seeing you walk, too..I was silently praying and keeping up through your ordeal..
Your strength and faith are an inspiration..May God be with you always
Thank you for your sharing of this very challenging journey and God bless your dear wife.
I am grateful for all the good medical people and caring friends who helped along the way.