Our Journey: by David Wayne Phelps
My name is David W. Phelps from Pamplin, Virginia and I am 37 years old, married and have two children 13 and 6. I am setting out on a journey that not even my experience of Marine Corps boot camp could measure up to. Nothing that I have experienced in life to date can measure up to this monster named Cancer!
This whole thing started out with what most men do, not wanting to go to the doctor. In the recent months before all this happened, I had some pain in my groin area and my blood counts did not look right. I had gone to the doctor in April 2008, and was supposed to follow up but I was in jail school at CVCJA in Lynchburg. I then promised myself that after graduation in July I would go back to the doctor, but life gets a hold on you and you put things like this on the back burner.
Well now it is January 2009, and I thought I had a urinary tract infection. So I went back to the doctor and Dr. Nathan Williams prescribed me an anti-biotic. I took the medicine for eight days, and it had no effect on what was wrong. On January 27, I called my wife, Christine, in the morning and told her that I was staying in Lynchburg after work to go back to the doctor. When I went in to see Dr. Williams again he suggested I get an ultrasound done as soon as possible. On January 29, I went to get an ultrasound done in Lynchburg and before I got back to Appomattox, Dr. Williams was calling me. He told me something did not look right in my groin area and that I needed to go and see an urologist, Dr. Christopher Stands. My appointment had already been made for the very next day.
On January 30, I went to see Dr. Stands and he told me that I have a mass in my right testicle that would have to be removed right away. The surgery was scheduled for Monday February 2, and all went well. Then we waited. On February 4, I went back to see Dr. Stands and he gives me the news that no one wants to receive, “Cancer” or, more specifically, a germ-cell non-seminoma tumor. He had a colleague at Wake Forest University named Dr. Kareem Kader who specialized in this type of cancer that he was referring me to for further assessment.
On February 16, I went to see Dr. Kader at Wake Forest. He informed me that the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes and possibly to my lungs. They had found what appeared to be two spots on my right lung. At that time he recommended that I see an oncologist at Wake Forest, Dr. Mebea Aklilu. The next day I went to see Dr. Aklilu, and he said that it is an aggressive type of cancer and we should go ahead and start chemo immediately. Well that is when our family’s world got turned upside down, and the kids were going to be shuffled from house to house to make it through this. It also affected our extended family who would sacrifice for us also.
On February 23, Christine and I went to Wake Forest to start chemotherapy treatments. The treatments would be Monday-Friday and three hours a day each. We finished up the first week and headed home on Friday, and on Monday went to see my oncologist at home. On March 2, my birthday, I went to see Dr. John MacNeil in Lynchburg and he gave me a shot to boost my white blood cell counts. On March 4, I had to go back and see him because had gone to the emergency room the night before and never saw anybody, after waiting 4 hours we got up and left. At that time he immediately admitted me to the Lynchburg General, and I spent seven days in the hospital. They were going to release me, but Christine told them they were not because I was still coughing and they hadn’t looked into it yet. They then took me down and did an X-Ray and another CT scan and discovered that I had pneumonia.
The next day Dr. Baker, the lung specialist on call, did a bronchoscopy and my lung collapsed afterwards. I had to have a chest tube put in and taken out on March 13, and was finally discharged on March 14. While I was in the hospital they went ahead and put in my power port to administer my chemotherapy through and draw blood from because my veins were collapsing.
My chemo was then delayed by two days and on March 17, Christine and I left for Sandy’s house, my sister, and reported back to Wake the next day on March 18 and stayed through March 22 with no complications, except for the usual nausea. Christine’s mom, Denise, kept the kids for the weekend until we could get back from Wake after my mom had kept them during the week. We went home and at first had no complications, but on March 25 I was admitted to Lynchburg General again with complications. I stayed for six days and finally went home on March 31 after several bags of packed red blood cells and platelets.
On April 12, Christine and I went to Sandy’s house and the kids went to my mom’s for the week. On April 13, Christine and I checked into Wake for another week of chemo. All went well and we headed for home on April 17, and hoped that I have my whole two weeks at home with the kids. I should have figured that was not going to happen and on April 21, I was admitted to Lynchburg General again because of platelet counts. After spending five days in the hospital, I went home on April 26, and after more bags of blood and platelets. Also during this week Taylor went to Ohio and spent the week with Jack and Nancy, Christine’s dad and step-mom, because it was spring break and my mom kept Zack that week.
On May 3, Christine and I went to Sandy’s and the kids to moms for the week. On May 4, Christine and I check into Wake for another week of chemo. By this time you can tell I have cancer, no hair, but this doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. I had lost pretty much all of it the week before and so I got Christine to wash it while in Lynchburg General and most of the rest of it came out. I had some stylish do-rags Christine had bought me from Wal-mart. We finished up chemo on May 8, and headed for home. The only scare I had at Wake happened during this week and I had and reaction to Compazine that made it appear that I was having a stroke. Dr. Aklilu was there and recognized the problem very quickly and got it taken care of.
On May 10, I was admitted to Lynchburg General because of (guess what!) low platelet counts. I stayed in the hospital for seven days and on May 17, I went home. I continued to recover at home, and on May 28, I returned to Wake to see Dr. Aklilu for a follow up appointment. He said everything was going well and we would continue with treatment after recovering from the chemo. At that time we needed a break as a family, and so on June 8 we went to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for the week. We had a great time and really enjoyed ourselves for the first time in six months.
On May 18, I went back to Wake to see Dr. Kader and he said that himself , Dr. Aklilu and Dr. Timothy Oaks, the Cardio Thoracic Surgeon, had not spoken yet so that was a wasted trip! So finally the surgeon wants to see me and so on July 7, I finally see Dr. Oaks and he says that he recommends that I have lung surgery because they still see two spots that appear that the chemo did not take care of. On July 12 (here we go again!) Christine, Zack and I are on our way to Sandy’s, and I have to take tests on Tuesday and surgery on Friday.
On July 17, Christine, Zack and I go to Wake for my surgery and mom came down for the surgery and to pick up Zack. The surgery went well, and Dr. Oaks told Christine that it was only one spot and the other was a piece of fatty tissue, and in his opinion “the cancer is gone”. I spent four days in the hospital, and went home on Tuesday 21, and with no complications! I returned to Wake on July 28, to see Dr. Oaks and he told us that the one spot he removed was “benign”, and it appeared that everything is going well.
At that time I returned home to heal from the surgery, and on August 27 I returned to Wake to see Dr. Aklilu for a follow up appointment. We were hoping to hear the same thing from him, but he tells us that there are three lymph nodes in my chest that do not look right. He thinks that it is drainage from my surgery that is causing them to be inflamed and not cancer. At that time, I asked if I could return to work for at least six hours a day and he agreed. On September 1, I returned to work for the first time in eight months and I can honestly say I really enjoyed it.
Well it is October 22nd, and we are heading to Wake for an appointment with Dr. Aklilu. Our hopes are really high at this point because we have had no problems since I returned to work. He comes in for the the visit and tells us that the lympnodes are normal and that my blood work looks normal. Whew!! That is a 10,000 pound weight taken off of my shoulders. He said that he could not say the word “remission” for five years, and that I would have to see him for 5-10 years. He also said if the cancer was going to come back it would in 2-3 years. He also said that I could go ahead and get my port taken out, and I could start working nine hours until next visit in January.
On October 28th, I went to see Dr. Macneil in Lynchburg about getting my port taken out. I am scheduled to get it taken out on November 6th at Lynchburg General Hospital. It is November 6th and I am on the way to get this port taken out. Well it was totally different taking it out than putting it in. While they are putting in you are drugged, and when they take it out you are wide awake watching them “cool huh”. Well all went well and the port is gone. Now it is a waiting game will it come back, or is it gone forever only the man upstairs knows that and only time will tell.
It is November 23rd and my grandmother Vashti Phelps passed away this morning at 4am. What can I say about this woman “she was my rock”. When I went to her in February to tell her I had cancer, I could see the fear in her eyes of my grandfather’s death (John Phelps died Sept. 1980 of cancer). I made a vow to myself that, I would not allow her to experience that pain all over again if it was in my power. That is why anything my doctors ask to do, I allowed them no matter what. When we found out that the cancer was in remission you could see the relief in her eyes.
As I sat here for the last few hours making a video for my grandmothers family night. I have come to realize how fragile life can be. As we lose loved ones and receive new life into the family it will never be the same. I had several nights in the hospital this year alone to reflect on my life and how important family is. We ask ourselves how we are going to live without her. My wife answered, she was never happier than when she had children around her, and so when I look at my children how can I let her down. Her family was the most important thing in her life, and her strong belief in God. A friend of the family said it best “A wonderful lady has stepped out of our sight for a time” (E. Courtney Andrews/ Pamplin, Virginia). The one thing I can say is “Granny this is not good-bye it is just till we see each other again, and WE LOVE YOU”
I ask myself, “when will I wake up from this dream” and then I realize it doesn’t get any more real than this. When I look down at this computer desk, and see granny’s obituary or look in the mirror and see these scars from my port, and lung surgery.
When I was at Wake Forest, I met different people some seemed to be ok and dealing with their disease and others not so well. There was one person who stands out, and we met him while working a puzzle in the skywalk between buildings. I do not remember his name, but he was telling us that he was going home today. The reason he was going home was not because he was doing better, but because his insurance co. was not going to pay for anymore chemo. When I think about him, I realize with all this happening to our family this year, I feel blessed that the outcome has been so fortunate for us.
I myself have learned since February that there is always someone out there that has it worse than you do. We sometimes (me included) do not believe that, but in the last 10 months I would have to say I am a believer.
One last thing, I have to mention Mark Hipps who courageously lost his battle with cancer in May of this year. We used to sit around and talk about our military days, and he loved that or working in the garden with my wife. This man was more than just my neighbor, and like a grandfather to my kids but a friend. No one wishes more than I, that I could hit the rewind button and replay 2009 and it turn out differently. This journey has been life altering, and has opened my eyes to “LIFE”, and I will make the best of every day that I can.

SEMPER FIDELIS,
David Wayne Phelps