An Australian Story

jameshoustonturner · Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 7:10 pm Post subject: An Australian Story

The last sound I remember was the metronome of the heart monitor. "Count backward from ten," the doctor told me. I don't remember how far I got before the beeping faded away. What would life be like on the other side?

The news had not been good and, thankfully, I didn't know the half of it. A lot of big medical words had been thrown around, along with some normal words that I understood. Or thought I did. Neck dissection? That means a doctor wielding a scalpal will operate on my neck. Okay, here we go.

I had been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, or what is typically the second most common form of skin cancer (according to the Skin Cancer Foundation), who say "most SCCs are not serious." Mine was, because mine had been festering in the socket of an impacted wisdom tooth, where it was able to penetrate the surrounding tissue and bone of my jaw. By the time it was correctly identified as more than a tooth needing to be pulled, I was in trouble.

But my troubles were just beginning, because like millions of other Americans, I had no health insurance. I had just quit a job where I had been insured for free, with complete coverage for my wife for the low price of $15 per month. We then decided to open our own business. So I quit my job and became self-employed. I applied for insurance with the same company but was told it would now cost us nearly $500 per month. Which of course we could not afford, starting up a new small business as we were. And I was one of the millions who fell through the cracks into a very dark pit.

So when the cancer specialist in San Diego discovered I had no insurance - nor the $200,000 needed for an operation - he said, "Sorry, buddy, can't help you," and walked out of the room, leaving me alone in the examination chair. We waited, thinking he was coming back, or was at least sending someone else who [i]could[/i] help us. No one came.

My wife and I cried all the way home. But because my wife was Australian, so decided to phone home to see if help was available in Australia. There was. But as a non-Australian, I would not qualify for government funded Medicare assistance and would therefore have to pay. "How much?" we asked. "Seventeen thousand dollars," we were told. Seventeen grand would break the bank, but not as hopelessly as $200,000 would have. And so, with weeks to live, we boarded a Qantas jet and flew to Adelaide, not knowing what awaited.

I awakened from my anesthetic in what seemed like minutes. In reality, the operation had taken over eleven hours. My wife, Wendy, had sat alone that entire eleven hours in the hall of the Royal Adelaide Hospital. She remembes every frightening minute. I don't.

When I regained consciousness, I learned what a neck dissection was. My neck had been cut from behind my ear down and around my throat and up to my lower lip, with my face then being peeled open like a book. My jugular vein was removed, along with my temporomandibular joint, half of my mandible (and teeth), nerves, and other tissue, including the lymph glands. Bone from my hip was then excised and used to fashion a new jaw bone. Titanium plates and screws secured it in place. Skin and vessels from my arm were then grafted into my mouth where teeth and gum used to be. Skin from my leg was then grafted onto my arm. My face was then laid back in place and my skin was stapled back together. Once I had healed sufficiently, I was scheduled for radiation treatment. For that, a specially-molded clear plastic mask covered my entire face, with a tiny nose hole for me to breathe. With this mask, I was bolted on my back to a table so that I could not move. It was scary, because my lungs were still clearing out the viscous residue of my anesthetic. Sometimes, I thought I would choke.

In essence, I was told if I lived eighteen months, I would probably live to be 100. That was in 1991, so I am happy to report I am well on my way toward that goal. I jokingly tell people today I feel like a Legos man - interchangeable parts.

Part of the reason I survived was the excellent medical treatment I received at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. The doctors, nurses, and orderlies were absolutely brilliant. I remember one occasion when I was having a panic attack at all of the new sensations and post-operative changes that were going on inside me. I phoned my doctor - Dan Hains - and he could tell I was scared. We were living a good hour from the city, out in "the boonies," and he said he would be driving past our house in a couple of hours. The chief of surgery making a house call out in the boonies? I couldn't believe it. But he showed up and gave me a quick examination and then opened his briefcase. "I've got some medicine here for you," he said, taking out a bottle of Jacob's Creek South Australian red wine. He placed it on the table and said, "After I leave, I want you to relax, open this bottle and have a glass. You're going to be just fine."

I will never forget Dan Hains.

Or the Qantas flight attendants on our flight back to the US.

My face was pretty hacked up, was still swollen and disfigured, and I walked with a terrible limp from losing part of my hip to make me a new jaw. People on the street always stared. I sometimes frightened little children (seriously!). But those flight attendants made me feel like a million bucks. One of them said, "Mate, you're going to beat this stuff, I just know it." He then organized a group photo with several of the other flight attendants.

Dan Hains and those flight attendants gave me hope, friendship, laughter, and the conviction I could win this battle. So did my wife. She was the first person to touch my face. I was afraid to touch it but she wasn't. That affection she felt then is still there today.

Another reason I beat the odds were the lifestyle changes I made. I never smoked, so I didn't need to change that. But I used to hold grudges. I then learned emotional trauma - especially unresolved bitterness or anguish - can affect the immune system. I had gone through an emotional trauma and was overdoing it on the booze to try and ease the pain. In other words, I was doing all the wrong things.

So, after my operation, I made some changes. I had a lot to live for and valued myself. I've met a lot of cancer victims who don't seem to value themselves, at least not enough to make changes. Many of them go on to have relapses or recurrences. I didn't want to be among them, so I made the changes I thought would give me the best chance of beating this stuff.

I virtually eliminated the booze. I began taking supplements to boost my immune function. I began eating better. And increasing my exercise to a consistently moderate level. I also knew I had to deal with my emotional trauma, which involved a bunch of people I felt had betrayed me in a crisis I had gone through. I phoned every one of them and asked their forgiveness. I also forgave them. I had read what the Bible said about mercy and forgiveness but didn't really take it seriously. I did now.

And I am here - seventeen years after knowing I may not last eighteen months - to tell this story. We do indeed reap what we sow. I did enough of the right things to bear the "fruit" of life and health.

So if any of you are in the midst of your own fight, or have friends or family who are, please know there is hope. Do enough of the right things. Value yourself enough to make the changes you need to make. There are people who love you and want you around. And others who need to hear your story.

If you'd like to see photos, or read more about of my ongoing story, please visit my website.

Blessings and good health to you all.

James Houston Turner

ksplat · Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 9:06 pm Post subject: An Australian Story

Dear James

Thank you for your "inspirational story". I'm sure it will be a catalyst for many of our members here.

Australia really is the LUCKY COUNTRY! "Australians all let us rejoice!!"

Cheers, Angie.
_________________
Brother diagnosed with GBMIV Feb 07
Treatment: Radiotherapy, Temodal, Gliadel Wafers, Dexamethasone, Keppra, Dilantin, Clexane
Went to our Heavenly Father after a 19mth battle,, 47 years young.
23 Sep 2008
http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=19227

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