After constantly being on the move, knowing something was wrong yet ignoring it in typical bloke fashion, my body said enough is enough and I dropped. Within a few weeks of a certain injection my heart gave out and I ended up in hospital, and it turns out it was not just the heart that had given up.
I want to share the story of how this all happened. First of all I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your support and best wishes. The crying, anger and many other emotions are over now, so it is time to own it, be positive and enjoy what I have.
This is a long story but it needs to be heard, and if it helps others then it has done its job. At 33 I have a life threatening issue I need to contend with.
About 8 months ago I started to feel a bit off. I had a few falls from low blood pressure and was generally lethargic and tired all the time. I ignored it and kept working. Eventually I started having severe difficulty swallowing, which got worse and worse until I was barely able to drink a gulp of water, and I started losing weight really fast. I thought it was a complication from a weight loss band I had since 2007, so I left it. The bariatric surgeon checked the band and said it was fine, which I thought was weird. I ignored it and kept working.
I had a few blood tests that indicated a blood leak and anaemia, but I did not chase it up. After months of weakness my body gave up. The night before Australia Day I collapsed at home and ended up in hospital. As soon as they got my bloods they rushed me into a bed. My haemoglobin was life threateningly low and I would not have lasted much longer if I had not gone in.
After a blood transfusion I was taken for a CT scan. The doctor came back and said, I am so sorry, but it looks like you have a large tumour on your stomach, at least half the liver, and in your lungs as well. It hit me like a ton of bricks. An endoscopy found a growth blocking 90 percent of the entry to my stomach that would bleed severely when touched, which caused all my months of misery. The biopsy confirmed a stage 4, highly advanced and aggressive cancer, and a later pet scan confirmed stomach, liver, lungs and lymph nodes. Due to the size and locations it was deemed inoperable at that stage.
Nine days in hospital and several blood transfusions later I was stabilised. They did some intense radiotherapy to stop the bleeding and shrink it, and a few weeks later I was so grateful to be able to swallow a bit without vomiting. Due to my age they put me on a very strong chemo regime. Chemo knocks you about and turns you into a zombie for a while.
I am keeping our plumbing company open even though I cannot physically work, mainly to keep my close friend and colleague Nathan employed and to hopefully return to work one day. I am so proud of Nathan and so grateful to him, because without him we would have closed down entirely.
I was so proud of the company. We worked so hard, even becoming a finalist in the Sutherland Shire business awards, although I was in hospital on the awards night. The moral of the story: please get checked. I know our lives are busy, but please take the time to look after your health. I thought it would not happen to me. It did, at 33.
I will not give up, and I cannot wait to hopefully unblock some drains again. I want to get through this and help as many others along the way. I love you all, please share.