Helping Mike and His Growing Family Heal

Mike's battle against cancer has begun and we need your help.  

On July 29th, Mike was diagnosed with Stage 4 Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). His fight against cancer and treatment is now underway. On September 2, Mike & Jojo's baby is due. Follow their story here . 

Mike hates the word cancer. He doesn't want to give it any recognition. Mike instead calls it 'The Dust'. 

Mike was born a warrior. This battle to 'Crush the Dust' is best fought with the help from all of us. Let's lessen the burden and provide monetary assistance for them to spend as they need. Funding will be used for:
• Providing time and resources for Jojo to take care of Mike & their newborn baby.
• Medical, nutritional & holistic healing not provided by insurance.
• Preparing for Baby Mowen coming in early September.
• Shatter any roadblocks that are sure to present themselves. Crush the Dust into oblivion. 

HOW WE GOT HERE

After a vigorous session of shoveling mulch in mid-April, Mike started experiencing low back pain. He has had back pain on and off for years, and has always been able to manage it with stretching and strengthening. So the discomfort was not alarming. 

Despite Mike’s daily stretching and exercises, the back pain continued to worsen.  By the middle of June Mike was spending 90% of the time flat on his back. He was unable to sit, stand or walk for more than 30 seconds at a time. The going diagnosis was that Mike had a pinched femoral nerve. He made his first trip to the ER due to severe pain on June 14th at which point they gave Mike a shot of morphine and started him on a nerve pain medication called gabapentin. 

At first they treated Mike’s nerve pain conservatively, which is the recommendation:  acupuncture, chiropractor and the nerve pain medication. The acupuncturist ordered an xray which indicated that Mike had a slight curve in his spine but no fractures. Health insurance will not pay for an MRI unless you treat back pain conservatively for 6-8 weeks, so we held off on an MRI. 

Nerve damage takes a long time to heal, so they were not surprised when Mike did not make rapid progress. He continued to take gabapentin, visit the acupuncturist and move around as much as he could. Throughout the second half of June he would have good days and bad days. Sometimes he was on his back all day, but there were also days when we could go on short walks, or relax by the river in Lyons, or play board games with friends. On some days Mike would even feel up for doing pull ups! 

However, he did not improve. The pain moved around and worsened again. By early July he was spending every day flat on his back again. On Wednesday, July 15th he saw a spine orthopedic surgeon. He explained that Mike’s x-ray was unremarkable and that Mike’s symptoms did not follow a clear pattern. He could not diagnose Mike without an MRI. 

Mike got an MRI in the morning on Friday, July 17th, and when the doctor received results later that day, he called Mike & Jojo immediately.  He thought Mike had a severe infection on his spine, and that the inflammation had broken his L2 vertebrae. He encouraged us to go to St. Anthony’s hospital in Lakewood, CO, which has a reputable neurosurgery department. 

In the St. Anthony’s ER, doctors seemed confused by Mike’s MRI.  Apparently it was atypical  and difficult to diagnose. By the time we moved upstairs late Friday night, all we knew is that Mike did not have an obvious infection and that cancer was a likely possibility. So began our long hospital stay. 

15 DAYS IN THE HOSPITAL

For 15 days Mike and Jojo lived in room 516 at St. Anthony’s hospital - aka the St. Anthony Resort. They were very comfortable and felt well taken care of the entire time. The 5th floor quickly started to feel like home. They grew to know and love the fifth floor team: The nurses, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Doctors, CNAs, transport team and Environmental Services. Mike & Jojo have an extraordinary ability to make people feel happy and loved and they poured everything they had to those taking care of Mike. 

During their stay at St. Anthony’s, Mike received a series of diagnostic tests: CT scans, MRIs, blood draws and two biopsies.  All of these tests help diagnose cancer but the golden ticket is the biopsy result, which can take 1-2 weeks to come back from the pathology lab. 

Unfortunately, Mike’s first biopsy, which was done on our second day in the hospital (a Saturday), came back non-diagnostic 4 days later. They then did a second biopsy, retrieving samples from new locations, including his bone marrow. 

Information trickled in: The oncologists and neurosurgeons were certain Mike has cancer.  However, it was impossible to know what type of cancer (where it originated) until they received biopsy results. 

Tumor markers in the blood for colon, testicular, pancreatic, liver and prostate cancer came back normal. So did blood tumor markers for myeloma. Imaging indicated that Mike has a fist-sized tumor in and around his L2 vertebrae. That vertebrae is broken, most likely because the bone is weakened by the tumor in the bone and due to pressure from the surrounding tumor. The tumor around  L2 also pushes on nerves, which is what has been causing most of Mike’s severe pain over the past couple months. Mike also has a small tumor on his left femoral head, right pelvic bone and L4 vertebrae, as well as one lesion on his liver and three on his right kidney (it is unclear if the liver and kidney lesions are metastatic). Part way through his stay they detected a couple enlarged and growing lymph nodes, which was scary. 

Mike was fitted for a sweet brace that he wears to protect his back and prevent further damage to his vertebrae. 

While waiting for a diagnosis the focus was on pain control and increased mobility. Mike embraced that goal with tenacity.  In just a few days he was walking around the unit and doing PT - always cheered on by the 5th floor team. When Mike was not on his feet he was sitting in a wheelchair. This was a HUGE change from our first days in the hospital, when he was laying in bed in pain. Mike’s rapid progress shows the power of Mike’s spirit and determination. When he puts his mind to something, he gets it done!


THE DIAGNOSIS

On July 29th Mike was diagnosed with stage 4 Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL).  DLBCL starts in white blood cells called lymphocytes and grows in lymph nodes.  It can appear in other parts of the body as well, which is the case with Mike. 

Even though stage 4 DLBCL is a serious diagnosis, when we got the news we were overwhelmed by a sense of relief. DLBCL is a curable cancer and it responds well to chemotherapy and radiation. Considering the situation, this is the best case scenario.  

Mike hates the word cancer. He doesn't want to give it any recognition. Mike instead calls his DLBCL  'The Dust'. The Dust will be crushed. 


THE PLAN OF CARE

Mike is going to do 10 days of radiation in order to target the large tumor that is in and around his L2 vertebrae.  If his spine remains stable after radiation, he will begin chemotherapy immediately. He will be doing a chemo called R-CHOP. He will do 6 cycles of chemo, each cycle is 3 days long and there are 3 weeks between each cycle. 

Mike and Jojo are ready to FIGHT. Mike is not afraid of the treatment. As he says, he feels like The Dust has been throwing punches, and now it is finally his turn to strike back. 

They are feeling strong and optimistic, and a HUGE part of that is the extraordinary love and support that has flowed in from friends and family near and far.  Their hearts are filled with gratitude and love for each and every one of you.  

Together, we will fight. We will all crush the dust together. Lace up your boots. It's time to start crushing.  

Follow their journey: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/crushingthedust