In 2018 Michael had weight loss surgery, the bariatric sleeve. From 2018 to 2019, he went from 465 lbs down to 215 lbs. He had one year, 2019 to 2020 with mobility. That was a great year. He finally had freedom to get around, enjoy life and do things he had never been able to do before.

 

Then in June of 2020, he noticed a lump on his leg. Like most people would, he just let it go. By the end of July, Sarah nagged him go to the doctor. He did a round of antibiotics, but it just got worse. His GP sent him to a surgeon to remove the tumor, which he did, and got a grape sized tumor out. They biopsied it and immediately sent us to the James Cancer Research Center in Columbus. Turns out the tumor was sarcoma, a very rare and aggressive kind. We are very grateful and lucky we found it so soon, the experts confirmed. They said the kind of sarcoma he had, on average, only 13,000 people in the U.S. get in ayear. We were very lucky it did not spread to his lungs. Michael had his first surgery, with 4 cm clear margins. They transposed part of his thigh down onto his calf area (they called it a flap), and he had to keep the leg up most of the time for circulation to keep the flap alive, but he was allowed to "dangle" for 15 minutes at a time. So he could still get around. We were ready for radiation shortly after Christmas and ready to put the whole ordeal behind us. At this point, we thought, cancer is a breeze. Tests came back... the doctors were shocked... they didn't get it all. So on to procedure #2. This time, they had to go lower in the leg. What we thought was going to be a 6 hour surgery, at the maximum, ended up being 14 hours. At one point Sarah came out of my little area of the waiting room and everyone was gone. She was completely alone and had no idea what was going on. This time, Michael was not allowed to put down his leg at all. They converted their garage into an office/living room/bedroom with a bedside commode. He spent an entire month in a wheelchair or on a couch with his leg up in the air. It was trying times for Sarah too, having to take on everything.

 

Michael still hadn't healed, but they decided if he didn't have radiation right away that it would be worthless to do. His time limit from the second cancer removal was running out for radiation to be effective. So they decided to go with the radiation and he drove, in the winter, every day to Columbus to get zapped for 15 minutes. 3 hours round trip for a month... After radiation, he really wasn't healing. It was time to make a decision. Keep trying and suffering for another year, or amputate. He had already said in the beginning, "I know I am going to lose my leg." So he was mildly prepared. But what a shock. To find out on Friday, August 6th of 2021 and then the surgery happened on Wednesday.

 

Michael is getting around good now, and getting really strong. He walks with a walker and has his wheelchair. The problem is, he still isn't healing in that radiation bed. We will find out on Friday but they fear another amputation is going to be in order, higher up his leg. No matter what happens, they told him not to expect a prosthetic until next year.

 

With all of these sudden changes, it has taken a big toll financially to convert their house to be handicap accessible and all of the medical bills. Because currently their house is not handicapped accessible AT ALL. Michael can't use their shower and has to go to Sarah's parents to shower. In order to update their bathroom to be accessible, quotes are coming in at $10,000. They are facing this expense while still catching up on their other hospital bills as well as cost of medications, medical supplies, copays, gas, hotel stays, and the list goes on.

 

This ordeal has been incredibly taxing on them emotionally, spirtually and financially. If you are inclined to help donate to relieve their financial burden to help convert their bathroom and cover medical bills, please donate below. They would never ask but we know there are many people who care about them who wish to help.