By : Marc McMahon

I fell ill almost 3 months ago and let that go on for about six days until the pain in my stomach was so bad I was curled up in the middle of my living room floor, alone, screaming in pain for somebody to kill me because the pressure in my stomach had grown so intense.

I must have passed out due to the pain and as I awakened a few hrs later near daylight. I should have called an ambulance but I didn’t want the scene at my door like that so I walked, stumbled, the three blocks to my friends house and they rushed me to the hospital. My skin color at the time glowing yellow, I was sick and I knew I had almost waited to long for doctors to be able to help. I was scared for me!

They did a endoscopy with ultrasound and found the culprit and I still tear up when I say this. It’s Aggressive, Class B Cell Lymphoma a.k.a. Cancer. I about passed out. They transferred me to Sacred Hearts Riverbed Medical Center where I was rushed into emergency surgery, 2 in the first 24 hrs to try and relieve pressure building in my stomach and to put in a drain off my liver to release all the bile that’s building up in me causing me to go Jaundice, and then septic, then dead. That’s just the first 24 hrs in hospital, it got worse.

With both surgery’s done things are looking much better, accept the pain.

The pressure/pain in my stomach by the first night had come back and the pain was worse than it was at my house. There seemed to be no relief insight. Instead, insanely, excruciating, pain that for the next 30 hrs my doctors could not get me out of. I did not think that it was possible in a state of the art medical center, but it’s real, I was there 30 hrs. I.V. everything for pain hanging out of me and no relief.

For those thirty hours I had the two kindest nurses I have ever met especially the young girl, so much love they gave me. I had one on each side of my bed for those thirty hours, holding my hand, listening to me cry, and telling me over and over again how brave I was and how everything was going to be ok. They showed me an endless love, that’s deeper than the ocean. Putting cold rags on my head, over my eyes, like my Grandma used to do. They should be paid a million dollars a year for what they do because the love and compassion they give is priceless.

It’s a love not from this world it’s almost angelic. I couldn’t have made it without them.

I just wanted to share what has been going on with me this past few months and let you all know that I am and will beat this cancer and return a stronger version of me and use this illness as another tool to help heal the broken and let them know they are truly not alone and that I love them as well as you all. So remember my friends;

“Alone we don’t stand a chance, but together, we can change the world”

About The Author: Marc is a 53-year-old Author, Speaker, and Soldier in a war to loosen the grasp that Substance Abuse has on our society. He is a Father, Son, and friend to all those seeking refuge from this incorrigible disease. Marc resides in the beautiful Pacific Northwest where he enjoys writing, hiking, and kicking the disease of addiction in the teeth every chance he gets. As Marc always likes to say, be blessed, my friends.