Greene County's Relay for Life was delayed due to the April tornado
that tore through the entire county and left a wide path of
destruction. With all the damage, it would have been next to impossible
for any reasonable celebration, much less, any attempts to raise money
for cancer research when so many were still reeling from the losses they
had.
So, it was postponed till October. Little did we
know, we would still be recovering from the tornado and more recently,
Hurricane Irene.
When I received a call from the editor of
the local newspaper asking for an interview, I hesitated. Having
served on our local board of education for 17 years, most of that time
as chair, I have had my share of media interviews, difficult encounters,
and unfortunately, many misquotes, even when the response was in
written form. But I couldn't let an opportunity pass that may help
others facing difficult times. And the past two years have been
difficult times for me. One of my friends recently told me he was
surprised I wasn't in a mental institution after all I had been
through. Sometimes I think maybe I should be. Anyway, I have persevered and try so hard to keep a smile on my face and remember my many, many, blessings.
Below is the article that was published in the local paper.
Despite obstacles, life is a journey to be enjoyed
October 5, 2011
Standard Laconic Newspaper Margaret Fisher - News Editor
SNOW HILL—It would be bad enough to be diagnosed with cancer, but how
would it feel to be undergoing cancer treatments when suddenly your
spouse is diagnosed and dies within a matter of months?
Pat Adams, a vibrant and cheery mother of grown children and chairwoman
of the Greene County Board of Education, remains positive and upbeat
despite having gone through just such an ordeal and she continues to do
so.
Her great-grandmother had colon cancer, which can be inherited.
In 2004, Adams' doctor found a small growth during a colonoscopy and
removed it.
She continued to have annual checkups and everything seemed fine,
but in 2009, things changed one morning.
"I woke up and had a horrible pain in my leg and it's like, you
know something is terribly wrong," she said, explaining the pain down
her back and leg.
It went away, Adams said, so she went to work. The next night,
it came back.
Her doctor sent her to a specialist who said she had an
intestinal infection, but she continued to have pain. Eventually, she
got an MRI where her doctor could see she had a growth on her tailbone
that was pressing against her sciatic nerve - something the doctor had
never heard of.
"Everybody said this just shouldn't be happening. It was just in
a bad, bad place," she said. "Of course, you're horrified by all this
because you don't know what's going on."
The tumor was made up of colon cancer cells. The pain was so
bad, Adams began a series of 30 radiation treatments five days a week to
reduce the tumor and pain. The risk of paralysis was great because of
the tumor's position.
The treatment center was frightening because of seeing so many
people, including young adults, in such a bad state and because of the
equipment and being strapped intightly so she couldn't move, Adams
said.
While the pain lessened, there were side effects. She lost a
third of her thick blonde hair.
"(The laser) destroys a
lot of good tissue, too. It passes through the intestines and the
bladder," she said.
The burns hurt and she couldn't get
comfortable. Eventually, she began to feel a little better. At some
point during treatments, she started on chemotherapy pill all the while
being subjected to a barrage of tests.
A team of doctors were deciding what they should do. One idea
was to cut off the tip of her tailbone and remove the growth, but that was
later rejected.
"The doctor said, 'I can't guarantee to get all the growth and
you could be paralyzed. The risk is too high,'" she said.
In March 2010, Adams went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.,
for a second opinion. The doctor said removing the tumor would be like
tearing up the foundation of a house to get one potato underneath it.
In April, she was taking chemotherapy intravenously. They had put
a port in the left side of her chest to administer the chemo. The
effects were terrible.
"It was an absolutely horrible drug
to take. I couldn't take any cold. I had to put gloves on to get
something out fo the refrigerator," she said, likening the cold to
getting an electric shock.
The tumor was growing to the size of an orange, so they switched
to another drug.
All the while, Adams kept having pain in her arm and shoulder and
thought she had pulled a muscle so she began therapeutic massages and
accupuncture. The pain worsened to her jaw and ear, she suspected the
port, but the doctor said the port was fine. When she threatened to
pull the port out, the doctor removed it.
"When I woke up from surgery, I knew it didn't hurt. My arm was
fine," she said. The doctor told her she was right - there was a
pinhole leak in the port. They put another port in on the other side,
which has caused no trouble, she said.
But chemo was taking a toll. Her fingernails thinned, she was
having nosebleeds and she got a terrible case of thrush, or yeast
infection, in her mouth and esophagus.
She deals with the side effects of high blood pressure and
neurological problems in her hands and feet, and can't have any more
radiation because of the tissue damage.
"Just when you think you've had all you can have, another problem
pops up," she said.
Meanwhile, in June of 2010, her
husband, John, who had been lovingly taking care of her, was diagnosed
with lung cancer. He hadn't smoked in years. When a lymph node
swelled up, the doctor thought he had an infection. A few weeks later, a
tumor was discovered in the passageway to his lung and it couldn't be
removed. Pat was now taking care of him. In November 2010, he died.
He was talking and on no pain medication, Adams said.
"It was probably the hardest time in my life. John was such a
strong and vivacious person. I'm just glad that things went as quickly
as it did with him," she said, as she broke out in tears. "I think the
trauma of my illness possibly caused him to be sick. Stress - we really
underestimate what stress does to the body."
Her husband's sickness began about the time things were really
getting difficult for her.
Today, she continues unending chemotherapy every two weeks. Her
tumor is dead on the outside, (damaged by the radiation) but still
active in the center," she said.
"The chemo cocktail is working right now. It's keeping the tumor
controlled, but the cancer won't go away," she said.
She is hopeful, that a doctor at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Md.,
might be able to help.
As she relaxes in her living room against the backdrop of huge
plate glass windows displaying a picturesque view, Adams said she is
happy to look at nature, the sky, and to have good friends and family.
"I thinkI have always looked at life as not a destination, but a
journey. I enjoy every day," she said. "It just makes you more
appreciative of all these things(to look at)."
Along with everything else, her house was damaged in the April tornado
and her dog died. And she very much dislikes listening to complainers.
"You start looking at all these (bad) things, but I still feel
very blessed because I have my faith, family, and friends," she said.
"As strange as it sounds, I'm still a very happy person."
Adams has set up the John Quincy Adams V Agricultural Scholarship
to begin next year for a Greene Central High School student. It's hope for the
future.
"Somebody asked me, 'How long do you have?'" she said, "I wanted
to say, 'how long does anyone have?'"
End of article....but not the end!
PCQ
