Back to Running My Race

It was 93 degrees and humid... sweat was dripping down my forehead and into my eyes... the kind of sweat that is salty - and it stung... but it was all good. Today was my first run in more than 6 weeks. In the last 40 years I can probably count on one hand the number of weeks that I have not gotten a run in. Six weeks seemed like a lifetime.

I was able to run because today I met with my Urologist for a 6-week-post surgery checkup and he cleared me for unrestricted exercise and physical activity. I am a runner at heart so I wanted to celebrate this news with a run right away. It didn't matter that when I arrived home it was the hottest part of the day and very humid. I am sure that you runners will be able to relate to this. When you are accustomed to regular exercise and it is taken away from you for any reason, it can be a challenge. I have been able to take brisk walks for the last month but it's not like going for a good run!

Recovery from the prostate surgery is going well all in all. The next medical checkup will be a PSA check in late August- 3 months post-surgery to ensure that it is a zero reading confirming that there is no remaining cancer.

Over the last week, when I talk with my family and friends they tell me that they can tell that my voice is stronger. The voice exercises for the paralyzed vocal cord seem to be making a difference. Praise God!!!

It is good to be back to "running my race!"

Great News From the Post-Surgery Lab Report!!

Today has been a long-awaited day as I made another trip to the Urologist's office to have my catheter removed and to learn of the pathology report from the surgery.


First things first... the lab report showed no cancer around the margins of the removed prostate. An answer to prayer... Praise God!!!


And the catheter was removed as planned. I should not drive for 5 days and can very slowly increase my activity level. I am looking forward to a brisk walk without a bag hanging off my side!


I am so thankful for all the people who have been praying for me. Many of my friends and family have told me that people at their church or in their Bible study have been praying for my healing. I imagine that hundreds of people that I do not know personally have kept me in their prayers over the last few months and for that I am grateful. Boy it sure is a beautiful thing to be part of God's big church family!

In three months the doctor will have another PSA test done to confirm that there is no remaining cancer.

If you have read my posts over the last 6 weeks and prayed for my health, I thank you. I have tried to provide others insight about my personal experience with the faith and health connection at a time when my faith was tested with the prostate cancer and my paralyzed vocal cord. Hopefully, what I have shared here has provided some readers with a glimpse into how one's strong faith can get a person through a challenging time.

Still turning to God for my strength and peace,

Dale

Some Insight For Men

OK guys, as I walked around the house this morning on the 7th day after my surgery with my catheter still in place, I thought it might be a good idea to capture some of my recent experiences for the men who will visit here. The literature says that one in every 6 men will have prostate cancer. I thought, perhaps I can share some of my experiences that might be of practical help. Here goes.

Right off the bat I will say that the stronger your faith, the easier it will be to go into the surgery and cope with all that you'll have to deal with and the more peace you'll have even as they roll you into the pre-op and operating rooms. Staying connected to God after the surgery will provide you a source of hope and strength and help you to remain positive.

As I write this I find a pretty good site (MaleCare- Men Fighting Cancer Together)that provides a lot of advice on dealing with prostate cancer. This site also provides lots of practical tips and "reports' from men who share their insight on all the the "how tos" of post-surgery.

Be prepared to remain in the hospital for 2+ days. Everything went really well for me so I was released 48 hours after my surgery began. The site above will also walk you through a discussion about the different types of catheter bags that might be used post surgery. My doctor requires his patients to use the Foley Bag and will not allow me to use the smaller leg bag. It just makes walking around in public a bit more challenging.

I was given a bottle of pain pills to take as needed. I have weaned myself over the last few days and today, as of 12 noon, I have not needed a pill. Throughout the night, I have been pretty comfortable sleeping on my back.

I guess the most aggravating aspect of this is the limited amount of physical activity I should be doing. My daughter, sister and girlfriend have all scolded me for dragging the water hose across the lawn to water my flowers. You see, the nurse told me not to lift anything heavier than a sh owe box for the first four weeks. I'm thinking this is a bit stringent! But I'm trying to be a good patient. I was out and about yesterday with my sister driving to three stores to pick up a few things. The most uncomfortable part of that was getting into and out of the car each stop.

My desire for food and eating is slowly returning. A tepid German beer tasted pretty good yesterday!

I have a good friend, Bobby, who had the same surgery almost a month before mine. It has been very helpful for him to share his experiences with me as it has helped prepare me for what I have ahead of me.

Any man that reads this and would like to ask me any question, feel free to send me an email.

Have a great day!

Dale

Waiting on God as I Try to Understand

How do you handle gaining your voice back for a day or two and then seemingly lose it again?

What do you say to people who read your post about a miracle healing and then call you on the phone and you're not able to talk with them in much of a normal tone of voice... you're whispering again because your vocal cords aren't as they were when you "boasted" about how God has healed you?

You pray. You ask God to help you understand. You remain steadfast in claiming that you're healed. You tell your friends that God is at work even though it is really difficult to understand. You grow in your faith.... and grow, and grow. And you wait... on God.

Drawing even closer to Him...

Dale

A Miraculous Healing

We do have an awesome God!

So here I am sitting upright in my room at the hospital. Yesterday was surgery at 12 noon... and it lasted 3 1/2 hours. The doctor came in on his rounds this morning and told me that it was a pristine surgery. It could not have gone any better according to the doctor.

I took my first walk around the floor at 9 AM and after a VERY slow start I gingerly picked up the speed. No doubt this was the slowest walk of my adult life. My daughter is here with me and she'll be taking me for my next spin at 10 AM. It's pretty cool that she can "train" me here on my walks as she is a personal trainer at a large club in Baltimore.

Now I know for sure the reason why circumstances were such that my surgery had to be postponed because of my vocal cords. My faith has deepened in a way that I suspect most of us only read about happening in other people. Without a shadow of a doubt my belief(deep in my heart) in God's marvelous power to do anything is solid as can be. "With God, all things are possible." Matthews 19:26. This verse is on a helium balloon in my hospital room.

This two week delay for my surgery has been all about me drawing closer to Him. It's also been about giving me time to begin to understand Him and also to know Him personally as a healer. I've been able to read a booklet by Charles Capps, God's Creative Power for Healing. This book teaches about the importance of speaking the Word...speaking scriptures out loud. I read a newsletter by David Wilkerson on Binding God to His Own Word. In reading this article, I learned how to apply the principle of "binding precedent" which enabled me to pray more boldly than I ever have before. My prayer life over even the last two weeks has been taken to a different level. I especially have begun to pray for God's healing in a way that I did not know how to do before.

On Tuesday morning I had a brief teaching from and was prayed for by Jim, a new friend from church. In addition to praying for the healing from cancer, he prayed for healing of my vocal cord. After his prayer he told me that my voice would return faster than I would think.

When I awakened yesterday, the morning of my surgery, my Dad called me. I was speaking in a strong near-normal voice! It continued to improve during the morning. As I lay in the recovery room it was even better. As I sit here now in my room, I am talking normally. Praise God, I have experienced a miraculous healing from Him!!!

Trials give us a chance to grow spiritually and I certainly have grown tremendously these last two weeks. The doctor indicated that I probably will be able to go home tonight. I feel great!

Keep running your race... as I walk mine for a while!

Dale

Growing Closer to God Every Day

So the surgery for prostate cancer is back on again. Thursday May 17th.

The laryngitis I have had for 31 days has been diagnosed as a paralyzed left vocal cord. The ENT doctor will begin to treat that problem after I begin my recovery from the surgery. He tells me that it may take 6-9 months for the vocal cord to heal..... and that about 75% of patients can expect this type of result.

Who could believe that a significant surgery would be postponed because of laryngitis and then be told you have a paralyzed vocal cord!! This series of events has brought me closer to God... for sure. I have been reading more about how God heals people. The last four days I have been very intentional about trying to be in His presence to be as close to Him as possible.

It's during times like this that I have experienced the loving touch of God. As I write this, I realize that I have a choice, a free will, to turn to God and be with Him more, or to turn away from Him and to try to do this on my own. I've chosen the first path. And I know I have been better off for it.

I have also tried to remain in touch with friends and professional associates during the last few months... to remain connected and to receive support from them, which has helped tremendously. I am a blessed man because of the people I know, many of who have reached out to me with their support and prayers.

No doubt the closeness I have felt to God has helped me write yet another article on Spiritual Exercise for Faith and Fitness Magazine. Amazing how that happens isn't it!

Praise God.

Keep running your race...as I run mine,

Dale.... aka Coach Fletch

Surgery Postponed

On Friday I went to the hospital for my pre-surgery visit to have lab work done and to talk with the anesthesiologist. I had been wondering whether he would say that surgery is a good idea with the problems I have been having with my vocal cords. When I met with the anesthesiologist, he was not too keen on the idea of surgery, specifically, having a breathing tube down my throat for 3 hours. He conferred with another anesthesiologist and the decision was that surgery was not in order as scheduled. It was to be today, April 30th.

You can imagine how this rocked my boat somewhat. My sister was to fly in the next day from Dayton and my daughter was driving in on Sunday and another sister had flight reservations for later in the week. I quickly made calls to them so they could cancel plane reservations and change plans.

I wondered and asked God, "What is going on? What is your purpose in all this? Is it so you can stretch my faith? Is it through the delay and in my stretched faith and asking for healing, that your plan is to miraculously heal me?"

Throughout the weekend, my thoughts have been that God is in control and He does have a purpose in all this..... it's just that I do not yet know His purpose.

So here I sit on Monday morning, at a time that I was to be in surgery... or just getting out of it and in the recovery room and am wondering what God has in store. I'm unemployed, have laryngitis, and now a new surgery date of June 14th. Unquestionably, God is at work... He always is...and I am trusting that His plan in all this is greater than I could imagine.

Over the last three months I have moved forward in my ministry of the Faith and Health Connection in a huge way. Last week I gave two workshops and I am preparing for one in June. I have written two articles about spiritual exercise as well as a first draft of a booklet on that topic. I am sure that the enemy has not liked what I have been doing. He does not want me, or anyone for that matter, talking about Biblical truths and how they impact a person's health. So quite possibly, Satan is playing havoc with my personal health. He knows that if he confuses me and could cause me to become depressed over my situation that I could become ineffective in what I am trying to accomplish with my ministry.

What I have done is to try to be as humble as possible and as dependant as possible on God through all this. I am praising Him for His love for me and the faith and strength that He is providing me. I am reading more about healing and trying to maintain the mindset and disposition of my spirit the way I understand God would want me to so that I will be victorious in all this. All for the Glory of God.

Dale

Trust God

It's three days before my surgery...and I admit it is a challenge to keep a clear head and to juggle all that is required mentally to keep an even keel. Don't know where I would be without my faith in all this.

I'm a thinker not a feeler. As a rule of thumb, I tend to keep my mind, (and my body for that matter) busy as a coping mechanism in tough, stressful times. More and more I am learning how to turn things over to God. Spending enough time with Him in His presence is key for me to be able to do that. One of my favorite Bible verses is from Isaiah 40:31: " But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Turning over things to God at a time like this and trusting that I am in His hands keeps me from being weary. It provides me strength and resolve. It gives me assurance and hope that everything will be okay. I am asking God to help me go through this with His strength..... go right through it emotionally and spiritually...... not around it.

For the last two weeks+ I have had a bad case of laryngitis, not having a normal voice is bad enough, but having this condition going in to surgery is even tougher. It can wear on you..... yet another reason to lean even more on God to provide comfort and peace.

God does not promise that we will be free from illnesses and disease.... but it sure is good to have the personal relationship with Him in times like this.

My 2-3 mile runs have been special to me during this last few weeks. Looking forward to a run with my daughter on Sunday when she arrives the day before my surgery!

Keep running your race!

Dale

Prostate Cancer Surgery Scheduled

After meeting and talking with four Oncologists/Urologists, I have made a decision to have surgery to remove my prostate on Monday, April 30th here in Charlotte.

My challenge now in the next week is to prepare my spirit, mind and body for this operation. I am blessed to have the support and prayers of my family, my girlfriend and many close friends during this time. A current bout of laryngitis( 9 days and counting) has me concerned but my doctor believes it will be gone by my surgery date.

I have a close friend who had his prostate removed just this week here in Charlotte and he is filling me in on all the details of his operation and recovery. I was able to visit him in the hospital on Monday and accompanied him on his first walk. :-) We have enjoyed many runs together over the years...... but never a walk like this one in the hospital. It was a special time for us both to experience together.

Not sure if I will have the wherewithal to post another note here before the surgery...... My faith is carrying me through this... and I'm so glad that I have God in my life in a huge way at a time like this.

If you've read this and are a praying person, I thank you for your prayers and may God bless you.

Have faith and be in good health!

Dale

Trust and Faith

This past Thursday I visited with another Urologist/Oncologist to receive another opinion about treatment for the prostate cancer. He was up front and direct. He told me that it was a no brainer... surgery is the way to go. I told him of a tentative date I had secured for surgery... June 20th, and he strongly advised me to move that up to be much sooner. Although the cancer is currently contained in the prostate, he reminded me that it only takes one cell to get out of the organ to spread into other parts of my body.

He also told me that he would recommend sparing or saving only the left nerve bundle, not the right. He is concerned that there is too much cancer right up next to the right edge of the prostate and he would want to ensure that during surgery all the cancer cells are removed. At the end of the visit the doctor prayed with me. He reminded me that God will guide me in the decisions I make. The next two days, I prayed a lot and asked Him for guidance and wisdom.

Saturday, a friend called me to say he learned of my condition and told me he had been praying for me. I learned that he also has prostate cancer. We talked for about an hour. His doctor is a man that others have suggested I visit with and consider using as my surgeon. I believe that God orchestrated this phone call and so about an hour ago I placed a call to this doctor's office asking for an appointment.

I am placing my trust in God that He WILL direct my path and guide me in the decisions I must make and that He will cause the timing of surgery to take place as it is necessary for my complete healing.

In the Presence of God

Happy St. Patty's Day!

The more time I spend alone with God, the more clearly I hear His small voice whispering to me. I was reminded of this today towards the end of my quiet time with Him.

As I move forward in my life, and in my Faith and Health Connection ministry, it remains critical for me to be in His presence as much as I can so that the decisions I make, what I write about and the materials I put together all come from Him, not from me. I want to make sure that my writings are true to the nature and truth of God, so that as people read what I have written, they are learning God's truth, not my opinion.

Two weeks ago I made a decision to stop my job as a career coach. Yesterday was my last day. I will now have much more time to devote to teaching others about the relationship between the Christian faith and health. It should also allow me to post more of my thoughts here... thoughts that hopefully are strongly influenced by the time I spend alone with God.

I'll also have more time to devote to researching my options to treat the prostate cancer. That will be hugely important as well!

Spring is right around the corner as we had two days of 80 degree weather this week in Charlotte. My daffodils are in bloom and the tulips are not far behind. Many trees are in full bloom with their flowers. God's nature is great!!

Blessings,

Dale

A Personal Health Battle with Prostate Cancer

On Friday, March 2nd I received a call from my Urologist with the results of the biopsy of my prostate. He told me that 50% of the 12 core samples taken had cancer cells. I have prostate cancer.

Today I visit with this Urologist to learn more specifics and to learn about what my next steps need to be. Wow! I am sure glad that I have God in my life to guide me and give me strength and courage.

When I last visited with the doctor to have the biopsy performed, he asked me what my profession was. I had brought into the office the book I was currently reading- Faith, Health and God, by Jeff Levin. I shared with him that I am most passionate about the faith and health connection and of my work in that arena. He shared his insights on how his patients that have a strong faith were more resilient and handled the battle with cancer in a stronger way. Now I will have an opportunity to experience this journey personally.

I know I will be strong with God's help and I hope that God will be glorified in all the circumstances surrounding this personal journey. It's something... my motivation to teach others about the faith and health connection has primarily come from my experiences, knowledge and education with a health promotion perspective. Now I will have first hand experience as to how God works in the life of someone who trusts and believes in His healing power.

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." Romans 8:28