Cancer survivor enjoying life

By Dave Helisek
Special Writer
It's been 10 years since I began writing for The Manchester Enterprise, 10 years and a lot of life lived. Ten years ago the owner/editor of the newspaper was Theresa Benedict and I asked her if she wanted to take a chance on a guy writing a column about his personal fight with cancer, while it was happening. Theresa said to go with it and that was the start of my relationship with our hometown news.
I guess I write today to celebrate the fact that 10 years ago you would not have bet that I would be alive today to write this. At the time of my leaukemia, the prognosis for survival without a bone marrow transplant was five years. The prognosis with a transplant was not all that great but, if successful, more than five years.
I took the leap for a transplant and now that all seems so far away in time and yet it comes back at times to seem like it was just yesterday. I am thankfull that I had the support at the time of my family and of many community members who kept in contact thru e-mails and cards.
Members of St. Mary's church like Liz Wallace,Marja Warne and Emily and Betty Cummings kept humorous and inspirational thoughts coming my way. Father Charlie, who was pastor at the time, always had a minute to talk. I guess that time in my life shaped how I feel about the need for everyone in town to feel that they are part of a bigger picture -- bigger than just the nuclear family, and yes a part of a group bigger than just your usual comfortable meetings group.
Many of you remember that I got divorced in the middle of my recovery which added a whole other set of ponderings to my daily life. It was hard to keep the focus but focus we did. First to health then back to work, then where to live. Here we are 10 years later.
I must add that something in our little town must be good for the mind and body because two other transplanters from my time are still around from this area -- Dale Hegewood and Jake K.
It's a small club and the fact is that no one that I knew from outside our area and was involved in a bonemarrow transplant is still around today. We must count our blessings each day. So today I thank every and anyone who has reached out in a hand of friendship into my little space on this planet.Thank you all and thank God for these years. The Lord willing and the creek don't rise we'll have many more.