After a few weeks we were done with talking and we began Candi's road to recovery. The first thing we did was wait for Candi's head to heal from her brain surgery. Believe me that was a challenge in itself. Candi complained about painful headaches. Once she took the Tylenol with Codeine that the doctor prescribed to her, the pain eased up a bit. She was also taking Phenobarbital to help prevent seizures. Candi felt nauseated many times. All I could do is be there for her with as much support as possible. We couldn't have too much noise around the house for a long time.
After Candi was well enough to move around pretty good it was time to start radiation therapy. I can't recall how many days a week I drove her to the hospital for radiation treatment. As soon as I made it home from work, we'd head to the hospital for treatment. The plan was for the radiation to kill the remaining tumor tissue.
After thirty days of radiation treatment, we continued to the next step, chemotherapy. These two treatments work together to combat the cancer cells. I took Candi to many treatment sessions. It was painful watching her go through the chemotherapy treatments. The chemo was administered intravenously. It was too intense and painful to her, so the doctor had to mix the solution with Novocain. A normal chemo session would last anywhere from forty-five minutes to an hour. Afterward, Candi appeared as if she was intoxicated and very sick. When we arrived home she would throw up and feel nauseated.
She would sleep for three hours and when she woke up she felt worn out and exhausted. This went on for weeks. Once a month the doctors would take magnetic-imagery scans to monitor whether there was still tumor tissue or not.
When the treatment process was over, Candi was beginning to come around and was delighted that she didn't need to go in and get her wrist or her arm poked by a needle, or simply the inconvenience of being there in general -- at least for another month when the next brain scan was scheduled.
When it came time for the next scan we were very nervous because this was going to decide whether to continue the treatment or not. Candi had been praying every night and even making a promise to God that from now on she would read the Bible every night and become a better Christian. I didn't know how much of a better Christian she could have been. I guess reading the Bible every night was a great addition, not just for her, but for me, Jake, and Matt as well.
We were finally given the results. The doctor said, "I have some good news, no tumor tissue showing up." I jumped with joy and gave thanks to the Lord, the doctors, and the nurses for taking part in a successful treatment process. The chemotherapy physician looked at me and said, "Now I'm not making any promises, this thing could come back or it could be gone for good, but for now it's not showing." He concluded to tell me that Candi would need brain scans every three months for one year. After one year, only if she was having problems would they give her a scan. I was so relieved and happy. Candi was thankful for prayers being answered and for the talented physicians.
That night Candi said to me, "David, I'm going to start walking around Chemeketa track just to see how I feel." I answered, "That's a great idea, I'll support you one hundred percent on getting back in shape. We can take the kids out there with us and I'll jog with them while you walk." So it was settled.
Candi trains for the Bush Park Cross-Country Meet.
In May of 1988 Candi began to exercise again. The first month, Candi walked two miles a day and the second month the same. The third month she jogged one mile at a very slow pace. After a couple of months she was jogging two miles. I couldn't believe my eyes, this was more running than Candi had ever done her entire life. Don't get me wrong she was still experiencing headaches and weakness, but the workouts made her feel better health wise. The surgeon had informed us that these kind of surgeries take two or three years to heal provided the medication was taken regularly and the person took care. There were times when Candi wanted to push herself a little more, but she realized she needed to ease back, slow down, and take care of herself.
In the summer of 1992, Candi, Jake, Matt, and myself were training for cross-country runs that took place at Bush Pasture Park close to Willamette University. The races were held every Thursday evening and the final race would be the championship run for the first, second, and third place trophies of several divisions. Candi was training for the 3000 Meter Run. She had never ran it before, this was a good goal for her to reach. Her hard training would hopefully pay off. She was nervous about competing in an event where other runners were around her and people watching in a big crowd. She was used to watching her kids run and compete.
--- To be continued in Part IV ---