“I am not here to be average.”
KEVIN: In January of 2017, I was finally able to move into my house. It was cool to see all the stages of a home being built. It came with A LOT of decisions though.
During the build, I was barely well enough to go to the store to choose things for all the finishes but, I had to force myself to do it. My mom and I got all the things done we needed to do, and the build went relatively smoothly.
Having the house was a giant leap in my recovery. For so long, I was missing a sense of purpose. Losing my job was tough on me. The house, even though brand new, was like having a job.
After about a year, I wasn’t needing care from my mother every day. I started decreasing the amount of time she was here. I still needed her, but not as much.
Once I got settled in my new place, I started traveling a lot by myself. It was a little bit scary the first time but, the airline employees are very helpful (at least with disabled people).
I guess that leads me to today. Right now, I usually walk around in the house without an assisted device, anything longer than 100 ft., I need a cane. I just started driving a little. I do short trips. Nothing long. I go to get coffee (ha-ha) and play Pokémon.
This is A VERY brief version of the past seven years. The book will give all the details (go to MY BOOK).
A lot of things could have gone wrong, but they didn’t, and I am where I am because of my hard work and help from others (especially my mom).
I LIVED!
MOM: Kevin moved into his house in January of 2017. There was a lot of work we needed to do on our end to get everything done for the builder. We spent a lot of our days out and about shopping for finishes and furnishings. Kevin was a real trooper. I’m sure it must have been so hard for him as he had been through so much already and he was still weak from the chemotherapy treatments.
I was so happy Kevin finally had the house because it was a way for him to keep busy and keep his mind off his situation. Even though this was a new house, there were a lot of things that needed to be done.
Kevin settled in well and was itching to go out and travel. He had taken a 10-day sailing trip with one of his good friends to Puerto Rico and I think he was gaining some confidence to travel more. He may have been confident but, I was falling apart. I was so worried something would happen to him but, as usual, he handled everything very well and with the help of others, has been able to travel more.
Today, Kevin is doing AMAZING! He is walking mostly unassisted in his house but, walks with a cane outside of the house. He is driving some with a very safe vehicle that has a lot of safety features like lane assist, auto adjust cruise control, lane change assist, automatic high beams and more. All features which make driving possible for him. Yup, he traded that Ford F-150 for a SUV. He drives into town every day to get his coffee and play Pokémon.
His transformation has been miraculous and inspiring. What the doctors thought would never be possible for him, has been realized. It’s taken a lot of hard work and determination on his part to handle everything he’s been through but, he’s handled it like a true champion.
You can read the full story (go to MY BOOK) to find out how…