- R
- M
Hit by a Freight Train and Thrown onto a Bullet Train
I’m Fighting Larynx Cancer
My name is Douglas W. Stenner; I am “The Dougster” and this is My Story…..
Quickly we realize that My Fight with Larynx Cancer is going to be an aggressive one.
We can’t keep fighting this by ourselves. We are going to Need Help and Lots of It!
Today and in the extended future we are facing Big challenges that are Above or Not covered under my current Medical Insurance.
Increasing Medical Expenses
Daily Medical supplies and equipment
Treatments, Regular Exams, Doctor and Specialist Fees
9-3-19
A Freight Train Approaches
…Since maybe February my voice has been really rough, it was difficult to talk to people and Good grief talking on the phone was ridiculously worse. So finally I went to see an Ear Nose and Throat Specialist. Within a few minutes of meeting the Doctor he sprays two different aerosol medicines into my nose. The first is to reduce sinus swelling and the second is to numb everything so I won’t feel anything during the exam.
I’m brought to a darkened room with a TV monitor attached to a very small gauge flexible cable. Seven (7) pictures of my throat were taken and within minutes I am looking at high resolution images. The Doctor expresses some concerns and suggests several possibilities of what my throat pictures revealed. He continues; “You’re in Great Health for your age and I really want to get a Laser Biopsy done so we know what we’re dealing with”. The Biopsy procedure was a little expensive and I needed some time to Save up the Funds. It never crossed my Mind that my condition would worsen.
10-10-19
Getting HIT by a Freight Train
Well today I have a Follow-up Appointment and I have quite a few concerns. The simplest of tasks lately and I find myself seriously struggling to breathe, I’m losing weight without reason and I feel completely drained?!? Brett and my Boss are with me and we’re all concerned about the Struggle I am having every day. The Doctor is overtly agitated and thrashes me a bit for waiting on the Biopsy procedure. We’re all ushered into the Fluoroscopy camera exam room and he begins to feed the camera through my nose and down my throat.
As soon as the Camera reaches my Larynx the mood instantly changes. My Follow-up appointment has now become a Full Court Press. The Doctor leaves, for what seems like an eternity; upon his return “he literally tells me that I have a 97% Closure of my airway and throat. I’m sending you to Spohn Shoreline for an Emergency Tracheotomy to Re-open your airway”.
10-11-19
ICU Restraints and Biopsy results that Linger
The following day when I wake in ICU: I’m bound by restraints, every movement I make sets off flashing amber lights in the ceiling and a Nurse arrives to explain what is happening. The next several days are a whirlwind blur of sleep, intense discomfort and a multitude of thoughts.
The following Tuesday, 11-15-19, my Doctor arrives with Biopsy results and the Freight Train that struck me last Thursday now has a Name. “Mr. Stenner you have Larynx Cancer: it has eroded most of the cartilage in your voice box and is present in some of the adjoining tissue”. For the next week I am subject to an array of Exams, Labs and Doctors who help me navigate this ‘Out of the Blue and Life-altering’ announcement.
10-28-19
All aboard the Bullet Train
Almost 2 weeks later I am readmitted back into the Hospital. Surgery ultimately is the Best action after careful consideration of all the Exam data, seeing both Oncologists, counseling with the Surgeon and firming up details with the Doctor. So during this last week of October I undergo a Total Laryngectomy to remove the Cancer.
The next several months are to race by as my Recovery begins and I encounter the next phases of treatment options, therapy and ultimately education for the new course of my Life.
November Progresses
Once released from the Hospital I begin to follow a strict dietary course of liquids only until my throat interior and exterior surgical incisions heal further. I also begin to understand what I have to do to care for my new throat, the equipment I have to wear and what are the best cleaning practices to maintain my health. Eventually, at the end of the month; I move into soft foods and begin eating regularly. Weight gain seems to be in my favor and I feel like Progress is slowly becoming reality.
Closed for Christmas
December begins and I’m still consuming soft foods. I look forward to spending time with people and enjoying the Holiday very simply. Just before Christmas I start to develop excess saliva while eating and I occasionally have trouble swallowing and at times partially regurgitate.
Christmas arrives and everyone is looking forward to a tasty Glazed Ham dinner with all the fixings. Unfortunately my throat issue is worse than I thought and I’m barely able to get even just a few nibbles down. The next few days it becomes clear that my throat is closing and I have to get in to see the Doctor. Smack in the middle of two Holidays trying to obtain a Doctor’s appointment is going to be next to Impossible. The next couple of days drinking protein drinks are a real struggle and the reality of my situation becomes glaringly obvious. At some point I have to make a decision on the next course of action.
January and it’s Back to the Hospital
Nothing substantial in my stomach for days; dehydration is obvious and I’m showing signs of malnourished weight loss. The Emergency room Doctor sets out a course of action for IV therapy and discusses some Medical history so we can arrange the proper Consult’s to solve my disappointing development. My Medical Oncologist arrives and Orders a CT scan of my throat while he explains that getting a PEG Feeding tube may be an option I have to consider. Hours after being admitted I am being taken to an Exam Room for a CT scan of my throat and following the scan I am settled into a room for treatment.
Two days later it is confirmed that swelling and a Mass has closed the Center of my throat, as soon as the procedure can be arranged, I will be getting a PEG Feeding tube surgically implanted in my stomach.
Quickly we realize that My Fight with Larynx Cancer is going to be an aggressive one.
We can’t keep fighting this by ourselves. We are going to Need Help and Lots of It!
Today and in the extended future we are facing Big challenges that are Above or Not covered under my current Medical Insurance.
Increasing Medical Expenses
Daily Medical supplies and equipment
Treatments, Regular Exams, Doctor and Specialist Fees
I’m Fighting Larynx Cancer
My name is Douglas W. Stenner; I am “The Dougster” and this is My Story…..
Quickly we realize that My Fight with Larynx Cancer is going to be an aggressive one.
We can’t keep fighting this by ourselves. We are going to Need Help and Lots of It!
Today and in the extended future we are facing Big challenges that are Above or Not covered under my current Medical Insurance.
Increasing Medical Expenses
Daily Medical supplies and equipment
Treatments, Regular Exams, Doctor and Specialist Fees
9-3-19
A Freight Train Approaches
…Since maybe February my voice has been really rough, it was difficult to talk to people and Good grief talking on the phone was ridiculously worse. So finally I went to see an Ear Nose and Throat Specialist. Within a few minutes of meeting the Doctor he sprays two different aerosol medicines into my nose. The first is to reduce sinus swelling and the second is to numb everything so I won’t feel anything during the exam.
I’m brought to a darkened room with a TV monitor attached to a very small gauge flexible cable. Seven (7) pictures of my throat were taken and within minutes I am looking at high resolution images. The Doctor expresses some concerns and suggests several possibilities of what my throat pictures revealed. He continues; “You’re in Great Health for your age and I really want to get a Laser Biopsy done so we know what we’re dealing with”. The Biopsy procedure was a little expensive and I needed some time to Save up the Funds. It never crossed my Mind that my condition would worsen.
10-10-19
Getting HIT by a Freight Train
Well today I have a Follow-up Appointment and I have quite a few concerns. The simplest of tasks lately and I find myself seriously struggling to breathe, I’m losing weight without reason and I feel completely drained?!? Brett and my Boss are with me and we’re all concerned about the Struggle I am having every day. The Doctor is overtly agitated and thrashes me a bit for waiting on the Biopsy procedure. We’re all ushered into the Fluoroscopy camera exam room and he begins to feed the camera through my nose and down my throat.
As soon as the Camera reaches my Larynx the mood instantly changes. My Follow-up appointment has now become a Full Court Press. The Doctor leaves, for what seems like an eternity; upon his return “he literally tells me that I have a 97% Closure of my airway and throat. I’m sending you to Spohn Shoreline for an Emergency Tracheotomy to Re-open your airway”.
10-11-19
ICU Restraints and Biopsy results that Linger
The following day when I wake in ICU: I’m bound by restraints, every movement I make sets off flashing amber lights in the ceiling and a Nurse arrives to explain what is happening. The next several days are a whirlwind blur of sleep, intense discomfort and a multitude of thoughts.
The following Tuesday, 11-15-19, my Doctor arrives with Biopsy results and the Freight Train that struck me last Thursday now has a Name. “Mr. Stenner you have Larynx Cancer: it has eroded most of the cartilage in your voice box and is present in some of the adjoining tissue”. For the next week I am subject to an array of Exams, Labs and Doctors who help me navigate this ‘Out of the Blue and Life-altering’ announcement.
10-28-19
All aboard the Bullet Train
Almost 2 weeks later I am readmitted back into the Hospital. Surgery ultimately is the Best action after careful consideration of all the Exam data, seeing both Oncologists, counseling with the Surgeon and firming up details with the Doctor. So during this last week of October I undergo a Total Laryngectomy to remove the Cancer.
The next several months are to race by as my Recovery begins and I encounter the next phases of treatment options, therapy and ultimately education for the new course of my Life.
November Progresses
Once released from the Hospital I begin to follow a strict dietary course of liquids only until my throat interior and exterior surgical incisions heal further. I also begin to understand what I have to do to care for my new throat, the equipment I have to wear and what are the best cleaning practices to maintain my health. Eventually, at the end of the month; I move into soft foods and begin eating regularly. Weight gain seems to be in my favor and I feel like Progress is slowly becoming reality.
Closed for Christmas
December begins and I’m still consuming soft foods. I look forward to spending time with people and enjoying the Holiday very simply. Just before Christmas I start to develop excess saliva while eating and I occasionally have trouble swallowing and at times partially regurgitate.
Christmas arrives and everyone is looking forward to a tasty Glazed Ham dinner with all the fixings. Unfortunately my throat issue is worse than I thought and I’m barely able to get even just a few nibbles down. The next few days it becomes clear that my throat is closing and I have to get in to see the Doctor. Smack in the middle of two Holidays trying to obtain a Doctor’s appointment is going to be next to Impossible. The next couple of days drinking protein drinks are a real struggle and the reality of my situation becomes glaringly obvious. At some point I have to make a decision on the next course of action.
January and it’s Back to the Hospital
Nothing substantial in my stomach for days; dehydration is obvious and I’m showing signs of malnourished weight loss. The Emergency room Doctor sets out a course of action for IV therapy and discusses some Medical history so we can arrange the proper Consult’s to solve my disappointing development. My Medical Oncologist arrives and Orders a CT scan of my throat while he explains that getting a PEG Feeding tube may be an option I have to consider. Hours after being admitted I am being taken to an Exam Room for a CT scan of my throat and following the scan I am settled into a room for treatment.
Two days later it is confirmed that swelling and a Mass has closed the Center of my throat, as soon as the procedure can be arranged, I will be getting a PEG Feeding tube surgically implanted in my stomach.
Quickly we realize that My Fight with Larynx Cancer is going to be an aggressive one.
We can’t keep fighting this by ourselves. We are going to Need Help and Lots of It!
Today and in the extended future we are facing Big challenges that are Above or Not covered under my current Medical Insurance.
Increasing Medical Expenses
Daily Medical supplies and equipment
Treatments, Regular Exams, Doctor and Specialist Fees