Medical&Other Bills for the Chapeaus
I am writing this post on behalf of some very good friends, the Chapeau's, who are having a very difficult time due to medical bills. Mike has already fought off cancer TWICE and is currently in remission. The chemo and radiation treatments have wreaked havoc on his body though, and caused him to be in the hospital for nearly a month earlier this year. We are all so thankful that he is no longer hospitalized, but he has been unable to go back to work because his body is just too weak.
Kathryn is truly one of the strongest women I have ever met. She has taken whatever comes her way with a strength and resolve that simply amazes me. The two of them have worked very hard to give their three children as "normal" a childhood as possible, all the while raising them in the "strength and admonition of the Lord". David, Lauren and Zac are fantastic kids-crazy and smart and respectful.
This family is a wonderul example of Christian love. Even though they are struggling financially, they are one of the first to volunteer when someone is in need or a task needs to be taken care of.
I asked Mike to please tell his own story because I knew I wouldn't get everything right. Anything and everything will be a TREMENDOUS help to them.
For those of you who are members of the Church of Christ in other areas, PLEASE share this with the members of your local congregation.
Thank You to everyone who took the time to read this.
Mikes words:
In 1994 I was first diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. After heavy chemo and radiation, the cancer was beaten. Or so we thought. After God blessed me with a wonderful wife and three amazing children, it came back as stage-4 in 2005. The Doctors at Emory only gave me a 4% chance of survival. I could write a book about what it was like to go through the treatment and recovery process. My wife, Kathryn, could write two. God allowed me to survive the treatments. And with a successful bone marrow treatment, the cancer was completely decimated from my body. At 124 lbs and a “Teflon coated” GI system, I still had another hurdle to overcome -- the recovery. Once again I was blessed with being introduced to a lifesaving product line from Univera. I also was privileged to meet bio-chemist and future friend Stephen Cherniske. Through these products, I was able to have a near-unbelievable full recovery.
Even though my stomach had been sensitive over the years, I have been able to eat most anything. This August that changed. One evening I experienced an extreme amount of pain in my abdomen. After a quick ambulance ride, I was at the hospital for the first time in ten years. My surgeon said that I looked ok, but my CT scan looked horrible. He feared that he would need to remove the inflamed part of my GI. But he said that it would ruin my life. I would have to be on a colostomy bag for the rest of my life. Since my surgeon's educational focus had been on surgery and not healing, I called Stephen. Stephen consulted with the surgeon, and he agreed to let Stephen send me some products that would “fix” my gut. After 4 days of supplements, a new CT showed enough improvement to hold off on the surgery. Another week and I was released to go home. Since I was on surgery watch for 14 days, the hospital essentially starved me. I lost the 35lbs I always wanted to, but my energy was gone. I went on disability at work, so luckily I was able to keep my insurance.
Three + months later and they are still trying to figure out why my energy has not returned. I am still having stomach pain and constant fatigue. I have moved on to a wonderful GI expert that is testing everything and finding a bunch of things. My Christmas present this year will be a trip to a Hematology Oncologist. Hopefully they will figure out what is wrong so I can have a path to getting better. It’s very frustrating when you don’t know what is wrong or how to fix it. Even though I have a long road to recovery, I have been blessed far better than I deserve.
