Support Chris's Battle Against Aggressive Lymphoma

Chris was admitted to the hospital on August 21st and soon after received a cancer diagnosis for Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). It's a fast-growing, aggressive type of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) that affects B-Lymphocytes.

Chris is receiving care in Denver & Colorado Springs at UCHealth, where he will have to make weekly trips to change ports, lab work, scans, chemo treatments, etc. Chris is not able nor has he been released to work. In turn, the monthly obligations have not ceased.

Many of you have asked, “How can I help, What can I do?” With such a long journey ahead of Chris, this is how we feel you can help the most.

Thank you for your generosity and your continued thoughts and prayers! ♥️

A post from Chris:

Been thinking long and hard about if a post is warranted here. Traditionally I'm extremely reserved when it comes to my personal life. I hate putting myself out there and 95% of my social media posts are pics looking outward wanting to share something beautiful and inspirational with someone else, without a selfie to be found. But as I go through this current chapter and talk to more people it seems there might be something valuable I'm able to share even through this and if that's the case then well, I'm going to be an open book bc it ain't about me.

So let's just start at the top... Wtf is going on?

Super long story short I've been complaining/dealing with back pain for about a year with things really accelerating earlier this spring. I bring that up as a separate issue bc even though it ended up not being the ultimate culprit it was real and at least started me down the road of exploring the pain and getting Drs involved bc the next surprise surely came out of nowhere!

After treating this back pain with a new med and seeing little improvement I quickly started seeing swelling and deterioration to my balance and ability to walk which, all of which were listed as side effects. I stopped the medication and gave myself a 48hr timeline to see if things would reverse. Well they didn't, it got bad to the point that I looked like a baby attempting to walk, ending with me literally collapsing en route to the bathroom. Looking back I should have gone to the ER 24hr earlier but if you know me...I don't go to the Dr.

So in the matter of less than 48hrs I go from swelling of feet and balance issues to laying on the ground not even being able to make it to the restroom with hiking poles. This thing came seemingly out of nowhere! One day I'm complaining about some foot tingling and coordination issues (side effects mentioned above) and within 48hrs I collapse on the way to the bathroom virtually unable to walk or feel my legs.

The ER sprints in to full action pushing me to the front of the MRI line (One of the worst most painful 90min of my life) only for them to see within minutes that we have a problem....A pretty big tumor on my spine compressing my spinal cord.

They arrange transport for me downtown and after a few more overnight scans, tests and consults it's decided I transport up to Denver for best possible care and quicker surgery with teams well versed in complex spinal surgeries.

Long story short I have a 7hr surgery the next day to remove the tumor and pressure on the spine while adding some pretty nifty rods and screws to strengthen my back.

We're near 2 weeks post surgery and it's looking like that aspect of this ordeal was a success. I'm up and moving daily with the use of a walker as I slowly regain the strength, nerves and feeling in my legs. There's no promising how much comes back and when but I'm aiming for full on use over the coming months and as each day gets just a little bit better I'm confident I'll get there in time to get last hike this year before the snow comes!

The next few days were tough bc everything hinged on the pathology report to inform what our path forward would be. The elephant in the room was cancer but we had to wait and wait for the confirmation.

Well about a week ago now (5 days post surgery) the report came back. I received a cancer diagnosis for Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). It's a fast-growing, aggressive type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) that affects B-lymphocytes.

So now comes the next phase...cure from this wretched disease. I'll begin chemo this Friday. We're going hard and aggressive and Drs are treating this "WITH THE INTENT TO CURE". Prognosis couldn't be any better in my opinion and the trust I have in the UCHealth medical team is 2nd to none. I start a 6 day inpatient cycle on Friday and followed by 5 more every 28-30 days or so. Throughout this time I'm gonna just keep on getting physically stronger.

So why share the story? Initially I really just wanted people to have the opportunity to ask questions and think ab any parallels in their own lives that might help them seek appropriate answers from medical professionals and perhaps get ahead of this.

However the more I keep talking about this with the few people I've already shared with it's become so very clear that something about my attitude and outlook with this whole ordeal radiates and inspires.

It's pretty hard to put a mentality in to words but I think there are some popular themes that just happen to fundamentally be true for me as I go through with this.

One of the biggest things is that THIS is part of the full breadth of life's experiences and it's exactly what I want.

Do I WANT to lay in bed with the inability to control my bladder or bowels? Not exactly. But when I regain health I do want the ability to fully appreciate the delicate intricate dance all of our bodily systems engage in on a daily bases.

Do I WANT to have nonstop tingling and loss of sensation in my feet? No. But my God can you imagine the next time I walk on crisp grass, gravel on my next mountain camping adventure or the warm Mexican surf.

It's alll a balance. There's no light without dark. For me to get what I truly want on the other side of this ordeal I've fully embraced how necessary this side of things is. And I want this in all aspects of life. So what better way than to be stripped and humbled all the way to the studs.

So no, I don't WANT this in the traditional sense but I do in a spiritual one...it's a right of passage to the re-establishisment of a proper personal relationship with ALL things.

It is what it is. Control the controllables. Pretty common and annoying tropes that we all hear right? But like... they're pretty profound and powerful if you actually take the time to internalize them.

I was told there's cancer throughout my body and a tumor crushing my spine. So now what? There aren't many options. Either get busy living or get busy dying! So we outline the new current reality, establish a plan and then start moving towards it focusing on your part in the plan and believing in those who play a role around you! Life ain't nothing but a series of these processes. This one is a bit more challenging. So the hell what?

Find your peace. For me that's mostly been through gratitude. This gets back to what I was saying earlier. It's the craziest thing but post surgery I just have this overwhelming feeling of gratitude towards every single thing I come in contact with. This combined with having goals and spending time daily being mindful have led to peace of mind greater than at any other point in my life.

I don't know much and won't pretend to. I'm not even cured! All I know is I feel incredibly blessed in spite of the current situation that presents itself and if that can help just one person reading this then it was worth it. Appreciate all the love and support from yall. If you pray then do that,if you send thoughts and vibes I'll take those too! Reach out if you need anything or wanna talk!

Looking forward to beating this and will update through chemo!