The Cutting Edge of Mediocre: Seeing Is Believing

This is the family at Six Flags in 1996
before the onset of the disease.
(John, me, Angie, Dan, Meredith)

In August 2008, I wrote a blog about the medical ordeal that Angie endured when her autoimmune system went haywire. I recommend that you read it if you haven't already. I'm providing a link for your convenience.

http://pard1959.blogspot.com/2008/08/heaven-must-be-little-like-powdered.html

Well, the reason I remind you of this event is because several people have told me that Angie doesn't look like she has aged since we got married. I wholeheartedly agree. In fact, I think that she has grown more beautiful over the years. But when I wrote the story about her in August, I didn't adequately describe what she went through...which was akin to hell.

She began the first chemotherapy treatment the week before Thanksgiving in 1996. In addition to chemo, Dr. McKinley prescribed mega-doses of steroids. She would take 1000 mg of Solu-Medrol, which is a steroid, every time she had a chemo treatment. And, if that wasn't enough, she also took prednisone orally every day.

She would often tell me that the Solu-Medrol treatment was worse than the chemo. It made a metallic taste in her mouth. Add that to the nausea brought on by the chemo and you have a recipe for feeling miserable. It was painful to watch her take the treatments.

Her doctor told me two things were going to happen because of these medications. First the chemo, Cytoxan, was going to cause her hair to fall out. Since we began the treatments in November, he recommended that we go shopping for wigs. He figured she would be bald by Christmas. Second, he said the high doses of steroids were going to cause her to gain weight. He was right on the money on one out of two. She gained weight. Angie never lost her hair, though. Instead, her hair became coarse...perhaps thicker.

Her weight gain was fast. High doses of steroids can make the body bloat. Not to mention that it increases your appetite. During 1997, Angie would say things like, "I can eat everything on my plate, and I can eat the plate, and I can eat the table." It was so sad. She would go to the grocery store and come back in tears. The reason...no one recognized her anymore. She passed an old friend in Brookshire's one day and the friend didn't know who she was. She didn't look like the Angie most of us are accustomed to seeing. She had the classic pumpkin head syndrome that people on high doses of steroids usually get. If you saw Jerry Lewis a few years back, you'll know what it looks like. He took prednisone for a pulmonary disease and the drugs caused his face to balloon.

Jerry Lewis

Back to Angie. She took prednisone in varying doses for 16 months. Over time, Dr. McKinley carefully and slowly weaned her from the medications. She was so delighted to be off of the prescriptions. Unfortunately, she had gained a lot of weight. But, if there's one thing that God gifted Angie with, it's determination. She made a plan to lose the weight. First, she went on the "Nomo" diet. If you remember, back in the mid 90's, Hideo Nomo was pitching for the L. A. Dodgers. So everyone thought she was eating some low-cal Japanese regime. No, it turns out she made the decision to eat no-mo, er...I mean, no more, food.

Second, she began exercising. At first, she couldn't walk to the end of the street without being winded. Little by little, she increased her walking distance. Then she started running. Run a block, walk a block. Eventually, she was running over 2 miles. Now you know who authored my routine, huh?

The weight started peeling off and she began feeling better as the months went by. Before you know it, she was back to normal. Now I don't want to make it to sound like it happened magically. It didn't. It came by hard work and dedication. But that's Angie. She's no light-weight (pun intended).

As they say, seeing is believing. For those who think Angie looks like she did 25 years ago, you're right. But take a gander at what she had to go through in order to get back to her slender, beautiful self. What a girl!