August 1, 2007

Well, here I am already a month plus after first going to the Dr.'s back on June 28th. I will start prior to even June 28th so any interested parties can walk this journey with me from the very beginning as the invasion of my body became somewhat apparent to me. It was mid April when I first started having difficulty sleeping due to pain/stiffness on the left side of my neck. It only occurred when I was lying down and felt as though I had slept wrong the night before.

Eventually it got to the point where I had to sleep with an ice pack on my neck to enable sleep to come and when she did it was usually about an hour before the alarm went off at 4:00 a.m.! The pain was never consistent as it moved around my head and neck area and into my shoulder area. It ranged anywhere from a lump under my front left jaw area, to tightness in my trapezius muscle to even having the feeling of a wire running inside my lower neck up and over my upper jaw down into my top teeth then continuing from my teeth up to the back of my left retina. I also experienced hard tissue to the touch behind my left ear, which I presumed correctly to be lymph nodes, and also lost full rotation of my left shoulder. All of these symptoms came and went so there was no one large consistent symptom to set off any alarms.

My Dr's appointment was with a Dr. of Internal medicine who did his thing and set me up to have a CatScan on July 2, when he was unable to pinpoint any one thing wrong. On July 3rd that Dr's office called and said they wanted me back in the office as soon as possible, so on July 5th I was in the office again and the Dr. explained that my CatScan showed some abnormalities and he wanted me to go see an ENT Specialist (Ear, Nose and Throat) and they made the necessary arrangements. Dr. Don Headley was the ENT who I went to see and on the first appointment he performed an Endoscopy on my throat and drew tissue from the side of my neck. He said there was significant swelling in the lower neck near my vocal chords, although I was having no difficulty with breathing and slight problems with swallowing but nothing I hadn't experienced in the past.

After a few days Dr. Headley called me at work to tell me that the tissue he had pulled from my neck and sent to the pathologist came back as cancerous. Dr. Headley wanted to do a biopsy on my throat to confirm the initial finding and so the journey began. Dr. Headley ordered a barrage of tests, first a PetScan, and then four MRI's and MRV's which is a study of the veins as the initial CatScan showed my left jugular was occluded. Surgery was scheduled for July 17th to perform the Biopsy and put in place a trache-ostomy to aid in my breathing due to the constriction of my throat. Both procedures were done simultaneously at Scottsdale Health on Shea Blvd.

I spent the following three days in I.C.U. as on the third day a feeding tube was installed as a proactive measure for what would be coming down the road. What a treat that was! In brief the procedure involves a rather large black hose being inserted through your mouth down into your stomach which has both a light and a camera on it. The Dr. looks around your stomach and the light shines through your skin and they make a mark and then another cable-like thing is put down your throat and they actually push that cable from the inside out through your stomach and muscle wall and pull it through to the outside. It's called a peg tube.

Fortunately I was out for this procedure and didn't feel a thing. I was concerned prior to this because I had been coughing up so much blood and mucous from the trauma to my neck and throat, from the biopsy and trach procedure, that I was worried I might choke on it. You have to lie flat for this procedure and that was when most of the build-up would occur. Not to fear though, my angel in the way of I.C.U. nurse Jessica, was there to suck it all out should the need arise. Since the tube in my mouth was rather large the removal of discharge would be done through the trach tube. Another good feeling! It didn't take me long though to realize that as much as I hated having that tube shoved down that trach tube it was far better than sitting there and gagging on all the mucous build up.

Speaking of angels, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the first angel who came to my aide, and she is more like an Archangel, that would be my third of three sister's, Teresa. Teresa lives in Longmont Colorado and when I called and told her of the test findings, she wanted to come down a.s.a.p. I made the necessary arrangements for her to get a guest pass but told her not to come to early as nothing was going to happen until Tuesday the 17th of July. She, without hesitation, left her husband and son and flew to PHX on July 15th and spent the entire next week doing things that not only was I incapable of doing, but also would've never thought to do.

Teresa was an excellent liaison between me and the all the different groups of people who came to see me that week while in the hospital. She gathered information, asked lots of questions, organized all my paperwork and left no "T' uncrossed and no "I" undotted. Teresa, you certainly were a Godsend and I will be forever grateful to you!

The care I received at Scottsdale Health Care was nothing short of top rate and that is a phenomenally run facility. I honestly felt like I was the only one in that whole place. It seemed everyone knew of me and why I was there, there was no need for me to introduce myself to anyone as they already knew my brief but expansive medical history. When Teresa went to the on site library to get information on my cancer, she was greeted by a representative to whom Teresa asked for a particular individual that she was referred to and before she knew it the representative said to her "Are you Tom Kokoski's sister?" Well, this blew her and me right out of the water! What a phenomenal communication system they have there.

Well, after spending Thursday night, all day Friday and Saturday up until around 8:30 pm in a regular room, I was finally discharged and sent home to my residence in PHX. During the week though, it had been decided by Teresa, me and my Father who also flew in on the day of the surgery, Tuesday the 17th that I would be better off by returning home to Pittsburgh to receive further treatment and recovery as I have a better family support system there than in PHX.

Once again my archangel Teresa, made all the necessary arrangements for me and my Dad to fly out the following morning to PIT, and this could not have been done without the aid of PHX Admin Mgr Cheryl Smith who worked with my sister to coordinate my departure. A great big "THANK YOU" goes out to Cheryl and also to my good friend and co-worker Tim Jones who also worked with Teresa in getting some other things accomplished for us. Cudos to you as well, Tim!

My departure on US1574 on Sunday the 22nd of July was an experience I will never forget. I was met at the curb by Jo Jacobsen and Patty Young, luggage tags in hand and a wheelchair to expedite me to the gate. Jo took care of the bags and Patty took care of getting me, Dad and Teresa through security. At the checkpoint we were greeted by Eddie Davis, Garry Christensen, and Matt the mgr of ramp operations. The send-off at the gate was overwhelming. Agents were coming up and offering their well-wishes as I was being wheeled to the gate. Once there I was surrounded by several of my co-workers from POC, gate agents and managers as well, it was quite touching. I was given a very nice gift from the gang at POC and I know that it will all come in handy during the next several months.

The flight home was uneventful, Thank God, and the reception in PIT was just as nice as the send-off I got in PHX. I truly work with the greatest group of people I could ever hope to be associated with, and I mean that in all sincerity. The outpouring I got and continue to receive of Thought and Prayers and well wishes is just beyond belief!

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Now the battle begins: Monday, July 23rd, an early morning meeting with part of the War Department, Oncology, who recommends that treatment begin a.s.a.p. However the other half of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, radiology must also be involved, so an appointment with them is set for Wednesday July 25th. General Dutta presides over that meeting and explains everything in great detail and the need for a "Plan" to be struck up between all the Generals on how to proceed in attacking the insurgent and dispelling him from within.

After an analysis of the intelligence gathered by the forces in PHX, it is determined that an aggressive attack is to be used on the insurgent consisting of both chemo and radiation, so now the Joint Chiefs of Staff will layout "The Plan". Thursday July 26th: The Joint Chiefs of Staff wants to have an extraction of a fifth wisdom tooth, delaying the insertion of the 1st Chemo Division into the outer perimeter. Also, a port must be surgically implanted for all future deployment of combat troops into the insurgency's neighborhood.

Target dates:
July 30th - Port implantation.
July 31st - tooth extraction.
Target date for insertion of 1st Chemo Division now set for August 2nd.
August 1st - War department delays insertion of 1st Chemo Division for 1 more day, now scheduled for Friday August 3rd. Troops are getting restless. 1st Chemo Division will get support from 2nd, 3rd and 4th Herbal Airborne Divisions. 2nd Division Red Clover which will support the Circulatory system. 3rd Division Lymphomax supports detoxification and mobilization of Lymphatic system and 4th Division Polonex helps inhibit the division of abnormal cells. Department of Defense has now scheduled a CTScan and face masking procedure for Thursday August 2nd.

This is to prepare for nuclear bombardment when the time comes, and will help finalize "The Plan" so that once the onslaught begins it will be continuous until only one side is left standing. Port implantation and tooth extraction are both successful. So after four surgical procedures and one extraction the area now appears to be primed and ready for the battle to begin. 1st Chemo Division is expected to inflict some collateral damage to some normal healthy cells through the area so a juicing regiment has been started to aid in the rebuilding of the damaged structures in the shortest time possible.

A nutritional program to alkalize the body has also begun as it is well documented the insurgent cannot thrive nor survive in a non - acidic oxygen rich environment. Stay tuned for further updates - I promise they won't be as long as this one. Remember this one covered approximately 1 month. Thanks to one and all who send their thoughts and prayers, you are extraordinary!

God Bless you all!