Mike Ott's Medical Fund
Donation protected
CrossFit Vero Beach is launching a campaign to help Mike Ott, one of long-time CrossFit family members, to help him and his family with medical expenses they will be incurring to treat his melanoma. Below is Mike's story, written by him...
Let me get straight to the point, “I HAVE CANCER” and am asking for your prayers. These three little words are life changing words that turn our world upside down. For those of you, like me, that don’t care to read lengthy posts can stop reading as the rest is simply the details of my story. Thank you for your prayers!
Several months ago I noticed a mole change color on the back of my left shoulder. First lesson, always have a physician immediately check you over when you see a change in a mole or some other odd shape or color appear in your skin. I delayed going to see the dermatologist for a couple pathetic reasons like, “I’m sure it’s nothing since I’m active and healthy” and “I’m too busy right now; I’ll go when things calm down in a couple months.” What can I say, I’m the typical man that still thinks he is invincible and doctors are for sissies. These excuses were prideful. How selfish of me not to think of my wife and kids first by getting into the doctor immediately! I finally went at the prompting of one of my volleyball doctor friends who had noticed the mole. On August 7th I went in and they removed the suspicious area and sent it to pathology. I receive a call from the dermatologist about a week later only to find out that he had removed a Stage II Melanoma tumor that was pretty large. Melanoma by nature is a very aggressive malignant cancer and I know from being in the ministry for the last 15 years that Melanoma can be a quick killer if left unattended.
At nearly 51 years of age, I feel fantastic and am in some of the best condition of my life. I do CrossFit 3 - 4 times a week and play sand volleyball once or twice a week. I occasionally swim and bike and I strictly adhere to the Paleo lifestyle of healthy nutrition. So how in the world did I get this? Possibly too much sun or maybe it was the use of cancer causing sun blocks. None the matter, because at the end of the day God is allowing me the privilege to go thru a trial to be used for His glory. Quite honestly, I feel like I have been on the mountain top for the last several years. Being on the mountain top doesn’t usually produce the best Christians. It is the valleys and trials that allow us to really depend on an Almighty God. So, I welcome the trial with hopes of growing closer to my Lord and becoming a more caring and compassionate Christian towards others. I dare to say that I needed this in my life and I am excited to go thru it while watching a Sovereign God at work.
So why has God chosen me to endure this specific trial? I have no clue yet! My first thought was it was because of the prayer that I have prayed nearly every day for the last 16+ years since getting saved. “God, please show my Dad that you are a real and living God and turn his heart towards you that he might repent and give his life to your Son, Jesus. Use me, God, or do whatever it takes to draw him unto you!” Maybe God has chosen me because I have become weak in my witness for Him over the years. My passion and boldness to talk about my friend, Jesus, to those who might not know Him has diminished compared to my earlier days as a Christian. It could be to simply bring me in a closer relationship to Him. Maybe it is for you as you read this post or to help unite the Body of Christ. I’ve tried not to spend too much time asking “Why?” as much as I have allowed it to begin changing me in the way God wants to mold me. I know through past difficulties that my resistance and stubbornness seems to lengthen the trial and so I would rather ask “How do you want to change me and work thru me and how can I best glorify You?” instead of “Why do I have to go thru this?”
So the last few weeks of my life have been intense! Tons of information coming at me with no two recommendations being the same. It is overwhelming and all consuming! The first decision to be made with little time to decide was whether or not to have surgery to remove a large margin of tissue from the area where the tumor was already removed. Doctors believe that most likely the tumor has already spread into this area and that it is necessary to remove a softball size of tissue for safety. Wow, that is a huge chunk of me! The surgery is scheduled for 10am on Wednesday, September 9th. The surgery is complex and expensive as they must move other tissue from areas of my back to fill the softball size hole and get me stitched back up. Doctors anticipate the whole procedure taking around 6 hours. The surgeon said it will take me a full year to recover. For someone as active as me, those were tough words to hear. While in surgery they will take 1 to 3 of my lymph nodes and test them for cancer. Certainly a big prayer of ours is that the cancer has not spread to my lymph system as this would be a very serious matter.
My decision to have surgery was not an easy one based on my strong belief that God can and does heal. I feel great and have had hundreds already praying for me so who is to say that I haven’t already been healed. I certainly have the faith to believe it! I am also not a strong supporter of conventional medicine and tend to side with the alternative medicine approach but want to be balanced in my outlook. If I found out that the cancer has spread to my lymph system and other parts of my body, I have already decided not to go the conventional route of chemo and radiation but instead will rely on faith, prayer, and holistic methods to heal the body naturally.
I have already see God’s hand of provision and guidance by placing incredible friends in my life. I met a couple of men almost immediately upon my arrival to Vero Beach and have played sand volleyball with these guys for years seeing them once and twice a week. They are both in the medical field and have been instrumental during this process. One of them is a very skilled surgeon that will be preforming my surgery. How cool it was to sit with him in his office as he walked me thru everything and then to play volleyball with him later that evening. During my office visit he wasn’t sure the best way to approach the surgery but when I saw him later that evening he described in detail how he would perform the surgery in order to give me the best mobility possible in my shoulder. Where else would I get a surgeon to be thinking just about me and what was best for my long term health!? No doubt, that was God’s providence! My other friend who is a nurse and runs a home health care business will be looking in on me every day after the surgery to check on me and dress the wound. Again, God’s providence!
When I first learned that I had cancer I began to think through the many roles I have in life. I soon realized that I would be missed but am very replaceable as a Pastor, a friend, a counselor, a volleyball partner, etc. When I began to think of my role as a husband and a father this is what brought tears to my eyes and made me cry out to God and beg for my life. No one can do as good of a job as I can in being a husband to my precious wife and a daddy to my kids! At the end of the day, in the deepest pit of my soul this is what makes me fight for life.
There have been moments and days that I have felt overwhelmed with an attempt to comprehend everything, the looming financial pressures associated with cancer, and simply hearing from God to make a decision that is pleasing to Him, yet the peace of God has prevailed. As far as I know, God may have already healed me but I feel compelled to still move forward with the surgery not out of fear but out of faith. The faith that God will use my wounds and a huge scar on my back to testify of His goodness and provision in my life. To Him goes all the glory! And if I am wrong in all this, it simply means that God loves me so much that He couldn’t wait to see me face to face any longer.
Please pray specifically for Rose, Sophia, and David, my strength to endure while giving God the glory, the wisdom to make godly decisions, a successful surgery and speedy recovery, and ultimately a complete healing that I might continue to be a husband and father for many years to come.
In His Service,
Michael Ott
Let me get straight to the point, “I HAVE CANCER” and am asking for your prayers. These three little words are life changing words that turn our world upside down. For those of you, like me, that don’t care to read lengthy posts can stop reading as the rest is simply the details of my story. Thank you for your prayers!
Several months ago I noticed a mole change color on the back of my left shoulder. First lesson, always have a physician immediately check you over when you see a change in a mole or some other odd shape or color appear in your skin. I delayed going to see the dermatologist for a couple pathetic reasons like, “I’m sure it’s nothing since I’m active and healthy” and “I’m too busy right now; I’ll go when things calm down in a couple months.” What can I say, I’m the typical man that still thinks he is invincible and doctors are for sissies. These excuses were prideful. How selfish of me not to think of my wife and kids first by getting into the doctor immediately! I finally went at the prompting of one of my volleyball doctor friends who had noticed the mole. On August 7th I went in and they removed the suspicious area and sent it to pathology. I receive a call from the dermatologist about a week later only to find out that he had removed a Stage II Melanoma tumor that was pretty large. Melanoma by nature is a very aggressive malignant cancer and I know from being in the ministry for the last 15 years that Melanoma can be a quick killer if left unattended.
At nearly 51 years of age, I feel fantastic and am in some of the best condition of my life. I do CrossFit 3 - 4 times a week and play sand volleyball once or twice a week. I occasionally swim and bike and I strictly adhere to the Paleo lifestyle of healthy nutrition. So how in the world did I get this? Possibly too much sun or maybe it was the use of cancer causing sun blocks. None the matter, because at the end of the day God is allowing me the privilege to go thru a trial to be used for His glory. Quite honestly, I feel like I have been on the mountain top for the last several years. Being on the mountain top doesn’t usually produce the best Christians. It is the valleys and trials that allow us to really depend on an Almighty God. So, I welcome the trial with hopes of growing closer to my Lord and becoming a more caring and compassionate Christian towards others. I dare to say that I needed this in my life and I am excited to go thru it while watching a Sovereign God at work.
So why has God chosen me to endure this specific trial? I have no clue yet! My first thought was it was because of the prayer that I have prayed nearly every day for the last 16+ years since getting saved. “God, please show my Dad that you are a real and living God and turn his heart towards you that he might repent and give his life to your Son, Jesus. Use me, God, or do whatever it takes to draw him unto you!” Maybe God has chosen me because I have become weak in my witness for Him over the years. My passion and boldness to talk about my friend, Jesus, to those who might not know Him has diminished compared to my earlier days as a Christian. It could be to simply bring me in a closer relationship to Him. Maybe it is for you as you read this post or to help unite the Body of Christ. I’ve tried not to spend too much time asking “Why?” as much as I have allowed it to begin changing me in the way God wants to mold me. I know through past difficulties that my resistance and stubbornness seems to lengthen the trial and so I would rather ask “How do you want to change me and work thru me and how can I best glorify You?” instead of “Why do I have to go thru this?”
So the last few weeks of my life have been intense! Tons of information coming at me with no two recommendations being the same. It is overwhelming and all consuming! The first decision to be made with little time to decide was whether or not to have surgery to remove a large margin of tissue from the area where the tumor was already removed. Doctors believe that most likely the tumor has already spread into this area and that it is necessary to remove a softball size of tissue for safety. Wow, that is a huge chunk of me! The surgery is scheduled for 10am on Wednesday, September 9th. The surgery is complex and expensive as they must move other tissue from areas of my back to fill the softball size hole and get me stitched back up. Doctors anticipate the whole procedure taking around 6 hours. The surgeon said it will take me a full year to recover. For someone as active as me, those were tough words to hear. While in surgery they will take 1 to 3 of my lymph nodes and test them for cancer. Certainly a big prayer of ours is that the cancer has not spread to my lymph system as this would be a very serious matter.
My decision to have surgery was not an easy one based on my strong belief that God can and does heal. I feel great and have had hundreds already praying for me so who is to say that I haven’t already been healed. I certainly have the faith to believe it! I am also not a strong supporter of conventional medicine and tend to side with the alternative medicine approach but want to be balanced in my outlook. If I found out that the cancer has spread to my lymph system and other parts of my body, I have already decided not to go the conventional route of chemo and radiation but instead will rely on faith, prayer, and holistic methods to heal the body naturally.
I have already see God’s hand of provision and guidance by placing incredible friends in my life. I met a couple of men almost immediately upon my arrival to Vero Beach and have played sand volleyball with these guys for years seeing them once and twice a week. They are both in the medical field and have been instrumental during this process. One of them is a very skilled surgeon that will be preforming my surgery. How cool it was to sit with him in his office as he walked me thru everything and then to play volleyball with him later that evening. During my office visit he wasn’t sure the best way to approach the surgery but when I saw him later that evening he described in detail how he would perform the surgery in order to give me the best mobility possible in my shoulder. Where else would I get a surgeon to be thinking just about me and what was best for my long term health!? No doubt, that was God’s providence! My other friend who is a nurse and runs a home health care business will be looking in on me every day after the surgery to check on me and dress the wound. Again, God’s providence!
When I first learned that I had cancer I began to think through the many roles I have in life. I soon realized that I would be missed but am very replaceable as a Pastor, a friend, a counselor, a volleyball partner, etc. When I began to think of my role as a husband and a father this is what brought tears to my eyes and made me cry out to God and beg for my life. No one can do as good of a job as I can in being a husband to my precious wife and a daddy to my kids! At the end of the day, in the deepest pit of my soul this is what makes me fight for life.
There have been moments and days that I have felt overwhelmed with an attempt to comprehend everything, the looming financial pressures associated with cancer, and simply hearing from God to make a decision that is pleasing to Him, yet the peace of God has prevailed. As far as I know, God may have already healed me but I feel compelled to still move forward with the surgery not out of fear but out of faith. The faith that God will use my wounds and a huge scar on my back to testify of His goodness and provision in my life. To Him goes all the glory! And if I am wrong in all this, it simply means that God loves me so much that He couldn’t wait to see me face to face any longer.
Please pray specifically for Rose, Sophia, and David, my strength to endure while giving God the glory, the wisdom to make godly decisions, a successful surgery and speedy recovery, and ultimately a complete healing that I might continue to be a husband and father for many years to come.
In His Service,
Michael Ott
Organizer and beneficiary
Wendy Shafranski
Organizer
Vero Beach, FL
Michael Ott
Beneficiary