Giving a little bit back

Sep. 7, 2013
4 months ago, things were not going well as I was in the ICU at Park Nicollet.  Now, because of the doctors, nurses at Park Nicollet and a whole lot of prayers, I'm doing great.  Ria and I decided that we should give a little bit back.  We joined "Marathons of Hope", a 5K Run/Bike/Walk that is held by the Frauenschuh Cancer Center every year.

 Each team gets sponsors to support cancer patients and their families through their journeys, much in the same way that I have gone through my own journey.  Giving back (even if it is a little bit) feels great.  Thank you to my sponsors (about US$500 worth!)

Luis and I joined the Bike Ride portion.  I ran into Dr. Mark Menge, my oncologist.  He mentioned that it's great that the we were here given the condition I was in just 4 months ago.  I proudly wore the red bandana that is worn by "survivors" of cancer.

I consider myself a survivor now and will forever be grateful for having made it through my cancer journey for now.  We rode around Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles, two beautiful lakes right in the middle of Minneapolis.  I used to live on Lake of the Isles 17 years ago and one of my favorite activities was always to ride around the lakes.  4 months ago, I didn't think I would get that opportunity again, yet here I was, following Luis and our group of marathon riders.  What a wonderful morning!

At the start line.  Note the red bandana!

With Dr. Mark Menge, my oncologist

In front of Lake Calhoun

Back to Mayo - 4 months after the journey began

August 10, 2013

It's Saturday, Aug. 10 and I feel great.  4 months ago today, we were off to Rochester to the Mayo Clinic as we had just arrived in the USA to begin our journey.  I remember how weak I felt, how uncertain everything was, and how I knew something was very wrong with me physically.  I was waiting for the Mayo Clinic doctors to confirm my diagnosis that I really did have Bone Marrow Cancer (Multiple Myeloma) and Amyloidosis.  We didn't know what would happen after the diagnosis.  Our kids were home in Manila with their Lola Julie, not having any knowledge of where they were going to be 4 months down the road.

What a difference 4 months makes.  The two stints at the ICU, renal failure, viral pneumonia, GI bleeding, atrial tachycardia, along with the amyloidosis and multiple myeloma will always be a vivid memory.  However, the more vivid memories that  I experienced first hand were the power of prayer of friends and family and the hand of God to get me through those trials.  I also experienced the best skills of cardiologists, nephrologists, dialysis nurses, hospital nurses.  I learned (quickly) that family is more important than anything.  My kids flew to the USA and we're all together now.  

4 months later, my cancer is in remission.  The prayers have worked!  The chemotherapy medication is working.  My kidney functions are back.  No more dialysis.  4 months ago, I could barely stand up and walk.  Now, I can go biking for 40 minutes a day.  We have moved into a new home in Plymouth MN which we really enjoy.  My kids are adjusting to life in the USA and getting ready to start school.  I'm working again and contributing to my very supportive company, Global Sources.

Life has become.... a new form of normal.  It's nothing that we expected even at the beginning of this year, but we now enjoy our new lives. Nadya said to me the other day.  "Daddy, sometimes I forget you have cancer." Well, I don't forget...  I've learned how to manage it day-to-day.

We've also done some very enjoyable things.  We celebrated birthdays and holidays with friends and family who visited us.  We spent time with Mike's family in Chicago.  The kids have learned how to go fishing.

My new office.  Working from home

Aug. 3, the Mojica Kids at Wisconsin Dells

Aug 9, Luis and Nadya with a huge fish!  

We went to Wisconsin Dells to a huge waterpark.  We've visited Valleyfair.  I've spent a lot of quality time with my childhood friends.  Experiences I wouldn't trade for anything.

Reality check.  I did have an Echocardiogram on Friday where my Cardiologist (Dr. Ruffy Festin, my cousin) told me that my heart is not 100%.  It's slightly improved from May but I still have a # of issues.  On the positive side, I don't have an irregular heartbeat anymore and my previously very loud heart murmur is no longer very loud.  That being said, it's a bit of a wake-up call that I still have health issues that I need to pay attention to. 

I'm going back to Mayo Clinic on Monday, Aug. 12 to talk with Dr. Gertz, the physician who provided my original diagnosis.  What's next?  My oncologists in Minneapolis have said that I'm a candidate for a Stem Cell Bone Marrow Transplant because I've recovered so quickly.  The doctors have all said that a Stem Cell transplant (using my own stem cells) is usually the best route towards long-term remission of multiple myeloma.  The questions in my head are flying prior to the visit.  Now that life has stabilized, kids are starting school soon, we've moved in and settled in, I'm working.... are we ready for the process of a stem cell transplant?  This is a long stint in the hospital.  Are we ready to go through that again?  So soon?  Now that everything seems to be stable?

Aug. 12, 2013

Walking through Mayo Clinic was a bit emotional this morning.  Reason being, I hadn't actually walked through Mayo Clinic previously.  The last two times I was here, I couldn't walk.  I could barely get out of a wheelchair.  Now, I felt almost like a tourist enjoying the sites.  Ria, the kids and my dad came with me.  Oh yes, they took blood from me and ran lab tests.  I had an appointment with Dr. Morie Gertz, one of the premier Hematologists/Oncologists in the world (this is not an understatement, he's that good).  I'm truly blessed that God placed me with Dr. Gertz, as he knows my disease better than anyone.

April 11, 2013, 1st visit at Mayo Clinic

What a difference 4 months make.  Same place!

We talked to Dr. Gertz about my condition.  He went through all of the results of my tests, including my Kappa Light Chains (measurement of cancer activity), protein level, troponin, heart condition, kidney functions, etc..  He noted that in April, that if I had gone ahead with a stem cell transplant, he didn't feel that this would have been survivable at that time.  He said that I'm not the same person now.  My condition has improved so much that I should now proceed.  A successful stem cell transplant of my own bone marrow has a very high chance of putting the cancer in long term remission.  Dr. Gertz said they have 55 cases of patients at Mayo Clinic who have had 10 or more years of remission from Multiple Myeloma and Amyloidosis after Stem Cell Transplant.  The only reason it's 10 years of measurement is that these drugs haven't been around very long.  He said the failure rate was 1-2%.  He also noted that I can't be on Bortezamid and Cytoxan indefinitely as these chemo medications can eventually do long term damage to my organs.  Post the stem cell transplant, there are regular checkups but, if it works according to plan, no need for further chemo.

This is fantastic news!  But, there is anxiety attached to this fantastic news.  Life has become so "normal" again and now I (we) have to get our mindset to go through potentially 6 weeks having tests, harvesting my own stem cells, major chemotherapy, infusion of my stem cells, recovery, etc...  The kids are about to start school.  It will be very difficult to be away from them yet again.  Luis said immediately to Ria and I, "you're leaving us again??" Ouch, didn't expect that.   However, the short amount of time (relatively) needed to go through this procedure is probably a short period of time compared to the long-term prospects of cancer remission.  The answer is obvious.  This is a new light at the end of a tunnel.  A potential gateway to long-term full recovery.

The question now is timing and logistics.  As my brother Mike said to me the other night, this is something we have full control over in terms of when to make it happen.  He also said that at this time, "You're not dying.  in April, you had to make fast decisions because you were dying."  A bit blunt, but true.  Yes, we'll make it happen.  Stay tuned for when.  My thanks to all of you for your prayers and thoughts.

Moving In and Moving On...

Forgive us for the lack of recent updates.  Now that Bud is living a more normal life (if a weekly chemo session can be considered normal), we are burdened with more mundane things like house cleaning, doing the groceries, house cleaning, cooking, house cleaning, laundry, house cleaning, preparing for school, house cleaning, summer camps, house cleaning...you get my drift...

Last week we moved into a home whose previous owner was a single guy (looks to be in his late 30's - 40s) with a cat -- you can just imagine what cleaning the fridge and oven (where all he cooked was pizza as evidenced by the pizza pan that he left behind) were like for me -- who never had to clean any of those before in my life!

But I guess it was good, too, that he was single because he never bothered to put anything up on the walls so all we had to do was re-paint the shocking yellow bathroom walls and the psychedelic blue master bedroom to the Zen-like white walls we have in Manila and we were all set to move in -- but not before we had professional carpet cleaners and a cleaning lady tackle the bathroom grime do their thing though.

We are making the most of our life here in the US, but would give ANYTHING to be able to go back home to the life we knew.  When Nadya was given $50 as a birthday present last week, Bianca immediately asked..."Is that enough to buy a ticket to Manila?"

I personally feel that we have been given a second chance to renew our life here.  Not that there was anything wrong with our life before, except maybe that we rarely saw Buddy because he was traveling for work all the time.  Now we are all learning to spend more time together, sometimes I tease Buddy, half-jokingly, if we're going to survive this, since we haven't spent so much time together in all our married life...and now we're together 24/7.

In 2 weeks we'll be going back to Mayo Clinic to see Dr. Gertz.  Bud's progress has been so remarkable that the doctors here at Park Nicollet think he may be ready for a transplant, but that can only be determined at Mayo Clinic which has the facilities to do that.  When he was first diagnosed with cancer on April 18, Dr. Gertz said we were looking at treatment of at least 1 year before we could even consider a bone marrow transplant...that is how miraculous Bud's progress has been!  And there is no scientific explanation for it -- it can only be because of everyone's prayers...

But geez, God, if all you wanted was for us to relocate to the US, couldn't there have been an easier way???  But maybe the answer is NO, because through all this we have all grown and learned so much.  So many things, on hindsight, are making more sense now -- as if God was preparing everything to make our journey smoother...and hopefully, the road stays smooth from now on...

Ria

Moving towards normal life, and loving every minute

Wow, what a couple of weeks!  So much happened, and so much was so "normal".  I look back (again) at where I was a short two months ago and at that time, never would have imagined enjoying normal things.  First some highlights:

• For the first time in 32 years (!) I went to Valleyfair, THE theme park in Minnesota.  The last time I was there, I was the age of Luis.  This time, there was Soak City, right in the middle of Valleyfair.  The kids loved it.  What they may not have seen is that I may have had as much fun as they did simply watching them have fun.

Valleyfair on July 10, 2013

• I took the kids fishing.  I used to love going fishing when I was their age.  Each of them caught a fish. Even Luis, who really didn't want to go fishing at the outset, caught the first fish and he ended up being the "casting expert".  

Fishing at Independence Lake on June 30

• We had our 1st 4th of July celebration, watching fireworks at Lake Minnetonka.  Of course, the location we went to had a Sebastian Joe's Ice Cream stand next to it so Bianca wanted some - she thinks the Raspberry Chocolate Chip is totally worth the 30 min wait in line.  FYI, Sebastian Joe's is wildly addicting ice cream and has been rated the best in Minneapolis.  

• Ria and I have been mapping out the Minneapolis food scene.  We've eaten at some great Thai, Italian and good old American barbecue restaurants and absolutely enjoying them (without gaining any weight, on my part, at least -- Ria is starting to complain though...)

Celebrating our house closing at Famous Dave's

• We've taken up a membership at the local health club, Lifetime Fitness.  Kids like the pools and the water slide.  Ria likes the treadmills and the weights.  I'm using it to get my physical strength back.  

• I get to ride my new bike around.  This is more for the exercise but I used to absolutely love bike riding.  I ride as much as my body will take (20-30 minutes every other day or so) and I enjoy it.

• I'm working more and more now that I have time and really enjoy contributing to Global Sources.  First it was 5-10 hours a week.  This week it's around 20 hours a week.  Soon, it will be 30-35 hours a week.  I agreed with management to cap it as priority 1 is still to get back to 100% healthy.  

• We closed on our new home here in Plymouth, MN.  We'll need to furnish it, but we'll now have a place to call our own during our journey here in the US.  To all our friends in Manila who we never got to say a proper good-bye to, you are all welcome to visit anytime...

Our House

Two months ago, these would not have even been an inkling, but now they are my reality in moving forward as a person.  What I feel is the best part is that all these enjoyable moments are happening and, by the way, I'm still going through Chemotherapy.  Despite this, I've taken the advice of those who have had cancer and changed their lifestyles.  I've learned that one of the most important lifestyle changes a person can have while managing their cancer is to enjoy things and have fun.  I've had a lot of fun in the past 4 weeks and all of it while still still managing my cancer.  

Speaking of which - the medical stuff!  Per my oncologist, my multiple myeloma seems to be under control from the aggressive chemotherapy medication that I've been taking.  My oncologist is very encouraged by the results noting that this is where I should be and now wants to consider the long-term treatment of a bone marrow transplant.  They need to determine the situation with my heart and see if it can take the procedure.  Everything in consideration, we couldn't be happier with my recovery process.  We'll find out in the next couple of weeks with a trip to my Mayo Clinic doctor as to what I need to do next.    

Many people have written that they are still praying for me. I feel wonderful right now doing the normal things in life and a huge reason has been the love and support I've felt from everyone.  I'm a firm believer that cancer recovery and cancer management is only 40% medication and 60% prayers, support and positive attitude.

Before we embarked on this journey, I told many friends and relatives, "Whatever this is, if it's cancer, it's taking on the wrong person".  I need to correct that.   I have so much support from family, friends, co-workers, prayer groups that are all with me in this fight against cancer.  It's not me, it's we.  I know that these are the reasons why we've been able to manage cancer during this journey.  To all of you there, my deepest thank you for your help and support.

Thank you!

Looking back at my past, opportunities going forward

A quick update on my blood tests.  The test for the level of Multiple Myeloma (bone marrow cancer) is by measuring Kappa Light Chains in your blood.  Normal is between .3 - 1.94.  When I was first diagnosed, my scores were over 1000+.  On Thursday June 21, a bit more than 2 months after my diagnosis, the test result with 1.43, in the normal range!  The medication and prayers are working!

This weekend we all went down to visit Mike, Lisa and his family in Chicago.  Today, Mike and I decided to go to Notre Dame, our Alma Mater while Ria and the kids hung out with Lisa and their kids.  I haven't been to Notre Dame since 1991.  Wow, have things changed on campus.  I didn't recognize half of the place.  But, the places that I did remember brought back good memories.  The Golden Dome, the Library with Touchdown Jesus, my dorm Morrissey Manor were all places that I would see every day back in 1986-90.  But one place that I made sure to spend time at was the Grotto.  I made a promise to Mama Mary back in 1990 that I would come back someday.  I didn't expect to be coming back to thank Mama Mary for answering all of our prayers and thanking her for the life I've been living since I graduated from the school.

When I was at Notre Dame, I did struggle a bit.  I changed majors 5x and still graduated in 4 years but my grades were admittedly not spectacular.  However, I would never have had the life I've had if I didn't experience what I did at ND.  Because of ND, I went on to work in Germany, in the Philippines and developed my passion to work in International locations which is how I've developed my whole career.  Eventually, I ended up at Thunderbird for my Masters degree and in Manila where I met Ria.  The rest is history.

Where to go from here?  Due to my unexpected illness, we're in the USA, building our lives with Ria and the kids from a new location.  Life in the USA is much different from the Philippines but it gives our kids more opportunity to learn and  see what I experienced when I was their age.  I realized that despite my struggles at ND, I still made the most of all the opportunities that came out.  By being now in the USA for now, we'll also make the most of all of the opportunities here!

 

The attitude going forward

It's June 13, 2013. My nephrologist called yesterday morning saying "Your kidney recovery is incredible! When can we schedule your dialysis catheter to be removed?".  This was the call I have been waiting for for 7 weeks.  He wanted to wait one more week to make sure the test results last week were really correct and of all things, my kidney function improved further.  Today at 1pm, the dialysis catheter was taken out!  My life will become even more normal as I don't have to shower with plastic wrap taped to me and I may finally be able to sleep on my right side!  Again little things that I used to take totally for granted.

The route forward?  I've noticed that now that I have a much more normal life now that I don't have dialysis 3x a week and that I feel absolutely great, is that I can't slip into my "old attitude" on life. What many don't know is that prior to getting sick, I was a total hard-driving, schedule locked stress machine.  Too much was focused on where I had to be (to the minute), what I had to do and if anything deviated from that, I would get upset internally.  Many little things that was 'outside my opinion of what it should be' would get a negative comment in my head. Examples, people's driving habits in Manila which didn't suit my liking, government actions, whether they be local or International, other peoples' way of life.  I'll share with you some things I've learned that has helped me to cope with cancer and allowed me in the past few weeks to have a more positive attitude.

* If you accept things that are completely out of your control, you will be happier.  Totally true!  I've accepted that I have cancer, but it doesn't control me.  The way other people drive is totally out of my control.  Let it go! 
* Instead of criticizing something, compliment the good stuff.  You'll feel much better.  Here's an example, I was upset with my insurance company earlier because they needed things done in a certain procedure.  After I thought about it further, I stopped being upset and thought about how much they've helped me get through this.  No more negative feelings!
* Force yourself to have fun.  I know this sounds totally obvious but honestly, before I got sick, everything was more of a "task" rather than to have fun.  I can't tell you how fun it was this week just to sit around watching my kids ride their bikes with no time commitment, not having to be anywhere.  It was (and will continue to be) fantastic.

Studies have shown that many many cancer patients had extreme stress in their lives prior to being diagnosed with cancer.  Those who have shown the best recovery have taken a much more positive attitude. I really have to train myself to continue with this positive attitude and not slip back to my old self now that I'm getting back to much more normalcy and physically feeling better.  I have to continue feeling mentally better and improving it!

Last note for today.  Faith.  I've found that my faith has become much stronger in the past two months than it's ever been.  I've also learned that the faith of my friends and family who have formed my prayer warriors has been even stronger.  I hope all of you who have supported me now see the fruits of your faith.  Your prayers and support WORK!

My Prayer Warriors in Minnesota

What a wonderful day.  I started out with physical therapy, walking for 25 minutes on the treadmill and then doing upper body exercises.  It was a bit of an accomplishment for me to do 20 bicep curl reps with 2 lb weights but my arms had atrophied so much that it felt so good to exercise them.

Ria and I then visited the Davita Dialysis Center and brought Chinese food for all my nurses who took such good care of me during my 3x/week dialysis sessions.  I wanted to say goodbye to them as I had now "graduated" from dialysis.  My nurses told me that my recovery was remarkable.  I also said goodbye and prayed for my fellow dialysis patients. 

Later this evening, I met my mom's Marian Prayer Group at Holy Name Church who have been praying for me since the very beginning of my illness.  I wanted to say thank you to them for all their prayers and for them to know that my recent rapid recovery has really been because of the prayers that they and others have offered. 

I also want to mention the Medina Community Bible Study group led by Patrick Hofkes of 12 who have also offered so many prayers for me.  I also have a group of 120 multi-denominational members (who the group of 12 belong to) who have been so supportive in praying for me.  Thank you.    

I feel great.  Now that my kidneys have healed, the focus now is on addressing my cancer, amyloidosis and dealing with my related heart issues.  Still a long way to go but well on the right path, with God and with all of the help of my prayer warriors.  

Marian Prayer Group, Kathy Snyder, Ruth Bunda, Wanda Sweeney, Claudette Washington and my mom!

My Dialysis Nurse Cheryl

My Dialysis Nurse Dawn

My Dialysis Nurse Robin