<div>"Nobody ever had the rainbow until he had the rain" from a Jim Croce song;  I live by this positive outlook, always finding joy and beauty in the midst of adversity. 
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<div>My name is Leman and I live in north central Iowa with the rainbows of my life–my wife, Eve, and our 12-year-old twin boys, Simon and Mason. Almost 6 years ago, I was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, one of the most complex, deadly, and treatment-resistant cancers. The five-year survival rate for glioblastoma patients is only 6.9 %, and the average length of survival  is estimated to be only 8 months. So, yes, I’ve already beat the odds!  But, I’ve been beating the odds most of my life.
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<div><strong>A Little Bit About Me</strong>
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<div>I grew up on a farm between Manly and Kensett with my parents and my sister here in Iowa. A quiet, nerdy and shy boy, I didn't have many friends growing up. Throughout middle school and high school, I started having hip problems, which progressed until my first surgery my senior year. After graduation, I got a factory job. But, my hip problems continued and started getting worse.  While working at the factory, I met my future wife. Two years later we married, and eight months after our wedding I had my 2nd surgery.  I was unable to continue working afterward, and, as life's blessings came knocking when least expected, my wife became pregnant with twins. The twins were born prematurely, so we spent 3 weeks in Des Moines before they were born and then a month after in the Ronald McDonald House while they were in the NICU.  When we all got home, my wife and I decided that I would stay home with the boys instead of trying to work enough to pay for daycare. The summer before they started preschool, I found out about a new surgery for my hip. I had it done in September and was finally pain-free in October after almost 15 years! When the boys started kindergarten, I had planned to get back to work. But, when  I was burning some weeds in my garden, my pants caught fire, and I spent over a week in the burn unit in Iowa City and ended up having a total of seven surgeries to reconstruct my foot and leg.  A year after the fire, after my fourth burn surgery, I began having unbearable headaches. After a week, I went to my family doctor, and he ordered a CT scan which detected a mass in my brain. I was sent back to Iowa City to have surgery. I was diagnosed with Glioblastoma and told to get my affairs in order. I had been living on borrowed time, the sands of cancer quickly slipping through the hourglass of my life. 
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<div><strong>My Glioblastoma Timeline</strong>
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<div>My diagnosis was in November 2017. I immediately started chemo and radiation. For 6 months I did chemo and Optune, a funky electrode gizmo that was attached to my scalp. After that, I had 15 months of no treatment or tumor growth!
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<div>In March 2020, I got my first recurrence, so I got back on chemo. In September 2020, the tumor tripled in size! Then in November 2020, I had laser surgery (where they accidentally crushed my skull.)
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<div>After that, It kept growing, so, I had no choice but to get back on chemo
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<div>In May of 2021, I switched to targeted therapy, and it worked well. . .  no new growth.
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<div>Then this spring, it started growing again. I’m pursuing the 4th generation of a gene checkpoint inhibitor.
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<div>I have been on the 2nd generation for the last 2 years. This treatment is offered at MD Anderson Hospital in Texas.
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<div><strong>I Need Your Help</strong>
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<div>I’m at a point where I’ve come to realize that if I’m going to make the several trips needed to Texas this August to receive this treatment, I am going to need some help financially. Every time I go, I’ll need to stay anywhere from 2 to 3 nights at a hotel. With the cost of flights and where to stay, each trip will cost me about $700. I will need to go 7 times to the hospital in Texas, that's close to $5,000. I need help with these costs. Anything you can donate, I'd be so very grateful for. 
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<div>As you can see, I've had  plenty of rain in my life, but some very beautiful rainbows along the way, as well.  I'm not looking for a pot of gold, just more time to enjoy and appreciate the blessings.
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Anonymous

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CHASING RAINBOWS IN A STORM OF CANCER

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