Maddie's Story
I was diagnosed in February of 2001 at the age of 52. I had been experiencing some morning nausea and weight loss during the previous six months and attributed both to a set of challenging life circumstances. Being a single mother of a young boy, working full-time in a demanding job and caring for my elderly parents who temporarily moved in with me to address some of their individual medical needs seemed explanation enough for why I wasn’t feeling myself. But when I fainted on the job and found myself in the ER, I had a feeling something more significant was happening...
Cancer tried to change my life. Once I find something I like doing, I keep doing it. I’ve lived in a small town, Langhorne, outside Philadelphia, with Barbara, my wife of 44 years, since 1979. We have three grown children: two girls and a boy. I’ve been driving the same green 1967 Corvette since 1991.
I was a 49 year-old father of five adolescent kids with a demanding job and a time-consuming commute when I was diagnosed with MM in 2003. That news, delivered clumsily by my hematologist, left me shell-shocked in his waiting room for over an hour. Nothing gets your attention like a mid-life reminder of your mortality.
Since starting our love affair in 1996, my wife Stephanie and I have shared a passion for travel and adventure. In 2017, having been married for 18 years, we visited Shanghai, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. The adventures in each venue could fill many pages, but those stories are for another day.