Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this group. I was diagnosed in July of 2018 stage 3 T2N1. I went through 6 weeks of Chemo and 28 radiation treatments. Surgery on 11/26/18 removed half of my esophagus and 1/3rd of my stomach along with related lymph nodes. My first surgery failed and I lost all but a small portion of my stomach and most of my esophagus. A third surgery to remove my gallbladder and to treat an infection was performed in late January and I was on a ventilator in ICU in a drug induced coma until early February 2019. I woke up in mid-February and began a long process of recovery until my discharge from the hospital in March 2019. I went home with a feeding tube and a very different life. The recovery continued through November 2019 when a colonic interposition was performed to eliminate the need for the feeding tube. The fistula in my neck would not close on its own so in October of 2020 I had flap surgery to close the opening. I have been without the feeding tube and on solid food since Thanksgiving 2020. I am still adjusting to normal life (whatever that is) learning to eat differently and manage the other changes in everyday life. I am thankful for what God has given me and could not have made it this far without my sweet wife who is now my caregiver as well, my daughter, many relatives and friends.
Cherish each day. Be a Warrior!! Never Give Up!!