March 1, 2002

In 1989, I had cancer in my jawbone. Luckily, the cancer was caught before it spread and I have been cancer free for nearly thirteen years. My lower left jawbone was removed and the area was reconstructed. Over the years the titanium plate and screws worked loose causing my jaw to twist and give me major pain and the last few months I have not been able to eat solid food.

I have scheduled surgery for March 13 to totally reconstruct my jaw from bone taken from my shoulder blade. The surgery will probably take two days and I will have a long recovery period. Wish me the best.

The next three months we will be at the KOA Kampground in Clarksville, Indiana, across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. They have given us a great monthly rate and we have a telephone so I can surf the net. I will be updating our website during my recovery. Linda will work part time at her old nursing job while we are here. We hope to start traveling again in June.
 

April 10, 2002

On March 13, I (Norm) entered the hospital for reconstructive jaw surgery. The surgeon opened my neck and jaw and discovered cancer, so he closed me up. It was a shock as cancer was not suspected and did not show up in pre-surgery x-rays. Last week I had a CT scan and later this week I'll meet with my oncology surgeon. At that time we'll make a plan of attack. I want to thank everyone for their e-mails, telephone calls and prayers.
 

April 20, 2002

Surgery to remove the cancer from my jaw is scheduled for May 29. Yea, that is a long time off, but there is much to be done before then. I will have consults with four doctors and lots of outpatient tests. If I pass all the tests the surgery will proceed on the 29th. It will be a ten hour surgery by two surgeons. (Most cancer victims don't know how they got that dreaded disease, but I know how I got mine. In 1946 when I was one year old my tonsils would swell until they nearly choked me. Surgeons did not like to operate on infants and there was a new procedure to shrink tonsils - radiation. Every time my tonsils swelled a doctor applied radiation to my throat. After about 16-20 treatments it was decided to remove my tonsils. The cancer I had in 1989 and the cancer I have now are different and both are rare, but they are both common in people who received large doses of radiation when they were an infant.)
 

May 6, 2002

Doctors are never in a hurry. "Hey, I have cancer in my jaw and I want it removed!!!" But there are tests and doctors' appointments to get out of the way. I had a MRI last week and this week there is nothing scheduled. Starting next week I have appointments scheduled most days. My jaw is still giving me great pain. I want to thank everyone for the e-mails, prayers and thoughts. I certainly appreciate everyone's concern.
 

May 17, 2002

This week was very busy. It appeared my cancer was growing big time so I had lots of tests and doctors consults. I saw an oncologist surgeon, a re-constructive surgeon, my family doctor, a chemotherapy doctor and a radiation doctor. My tests included another MRI, an EKG, CBC and other blood tests and two chest x-rays. It was determined my cancer has grown very little but the swollen area is much larger and the pain has increased. After all the consults the decision was left up to me as far as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, and combinations of each and dates of each. I decided to go with the original plan of surgery on May 29 followed by 6-7 weeks of daily (Mon-Fri) radiation.
 

May 28, 2002

Tomorrow is the big day for my 10 hours of surgery and I am in positive spirits. I want to thank the hundreds of people who are saying prayers. I appreciate it and can feel the Lord is watching over me. Today Linda and I unhooked our utilities and filled the propane tank before heading down the road for a short drive. The motorhome had not been started or driven for 2 1/2 months so it needed a workout. On the way back to the campground we topped off the diesel tank. Boy, it sure felt good driving down the road and we were tempted to keep going, but that would not resolve my problem. Before going into surgery I would like to say God Bless to each of you and once again - thanks for your prayers.
 

June 11, 2002

On May 29, 2002, I entered Norton Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky to have a cancerous tumor removed from my jaw. Two teams of surgeons, three oncologist surgeons and three plastic surgeons, operated on me about twelve hours with two additional hours in pre and post-op. The tumor was removed with very little margin around it. Facial nerves ran through the area of the tumor with one nerve 1 mm away and one nerve 5 mm away. If you hold up a pencil and look at the lead it is 5 mm in diameter, so you can see the surgeons were working in close quarters to save my facial functions. Removing the tumor left a hole in the inner soft tissue of my jaw. The plastic surgeons removed muscle, fat, an artery and a nerve from my fore arm and transplanted them in my jaw. It is amazing what skilled surgeons can do today and I want to thank Drs. Flynn and Banis for their skills and kindness.

Before entering the hospital I received hundreds of e-mails from old and new friends offering prayers. I ended up with prayers in several countries, in most states and in many religious denominations. I had entire churches praying for me and some friends offered all-day prayers. I strongly feel those prayers made the difference on my day of surgery.

During and after the surgery, e-mails poured in from around the country. The first three days alone, 117 people send e-mails, plus there were many phone calls from our friends. I want to thank everyone for their e-mails, thoughts and prayers. You made a difference. I am sorry I can not answer each e-mail, but I do want you to know your e-mails were read and appreciated.

On June 24, I will start radiation treatments to eradicate any cancer cells left behind. I will have five treatments a week for about six weeks. Please keep me in your prayers and God Bless each of you.
 

June 24, 2002

Last week I visited my two surgeons and both thought I was healing well from the surgery. Today I had my first appointment at the Brown Cancer Center and I was under the impression I would have my first radiation treatment. Matter of fact, Linda and I were told we would be there four hours. The physician said we should not have been told that and they made my next appointment for July 5. At that time they will do a CT scan and some other tests and start the radiation treatments the next week.
 

July 11, 2002

After several delays my radiation treatments have finally started. The next six or seven weeks I will have daily treatments, Monday through Friday. I have been told the bad symptoms won't kick in until the end of the second week so Linda and I have been eating out. We had pasta two nights, Mexican two nights and seafood one night. Now mind you, I don't have a lower left jaw bone and only two teeth meet, one on top and one on bottom. I should not be able to chew food but I am and I'm loving every minute of it.
 

August 1, 2002

The bad symptoms kicked in after five treatments and by ten treatments the inside of my mouth was - well, you really don't want to know. (My mouth and throat actually look like raw hamburger.) My beard has started falling out and everything tastes the same. I have tried scrambled eggs, chili mac, pancakes, baked potatoes and ice cream. Everything tastes the same and the taste is not good. I have finished half of my treatments so I will soon see the light at the end of the tunnel.
 

August 16, 2002

There are only three more radiation treatments to go and boy am I glad. This last week I have noticed the treatments have zapped my energy. Linda has been working part time at her old nursing job and realizes she had rather travel fulltime than work. If I can get releases from my doctors we will hit the road again on Labor Day. At that time we will have been of the road for 184 days for my two surgeries, tests and radiation treatments. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.
 

August 23, 2002

The radiation treatments were completed this week and now I can start the healing process. Monday through Friday for the last six weeks we have driven into Louisville for the radiation. Now we can focus our sights elsewhere. I will try to regain my health and strength in the next two weeks so we can hit the road again. I want to thank everybody for their thoughts, prayers, e-mails and cards. When we leave this campground we will have been here 184 days for my two surgeries, many tests and the radiation treatments. After our September travels I will start updating the website monthly.
 

September 1, 2002

We now plan to hit the road again on September 9 by slowly working our way to Van Wert, Ohio to meet friends at the Fall Escapade. September 9th will mark our 187th day in the Louisville Metro KOA. It sure will feel good to be cruising down the road again.
 

September 8, 2002

Today we started our fourth year of traveling fulltime and tomorrow we will hit the road again. After an oil and filter change at Cummins we'll go the the beautiful Kentucky Horse Park. This will be the last post of "Off the Road" and we'll continue writing about our travels. We were off the road six months and seven days. We want to thank everyone for their prayers and support.
 

March 2003

In December 2002 and March 2003, I had medical checkups and there is no sign of cancer. Yeah!!!
 

March 2005

After having checkups and tests every three months I am now on a schedule for six month checkups. The cancer still has not returned.