CHASING RAINBOWS IN A STORM OF CANCER

"Nobody ever had the rainbow until he had the rain" from a Jim Croce song; I live by this positive outlook, always finding joy and beauty in the midst of adversity.

My name is Leman and I live in north central Iowa with the rainbows of my life–my wife, Eve, and our 12-year-old twin boys, Simon and Mason. Almost 6 years ago, I was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, one of the most complex, deadly, and treatment-resistant cancers. The five-year survival rate for glioblastoma patients is only 6.9 %, and the average length of survival is estimated to be only 8 months. So, yes, I’ve already beat the odds! But, I’ve been beating the odds most of my life.

A Little Bit About Me

I grew up on a farm between Manly and Kensett with my parents and my sister here in Iowa. A quiet, nerdy and shy boy, I didn't have many friends growing up. Throughout middle school and high school, I started having hip problems, which progressed until my first surgery my senior year. After graduation, I got a factory job. But, my hip problems continued and started getting worse. While working at the factory, I met my future wife. Two years later we married, and eight months after our wedding I had my 2nd surgery. I was unable to continue working afterward, and, as life's blessings came knocking when least expected, my wife became pregnant with twins. The twins were born prematurely, so we spent 3 weeks in Des Moines before they were born and then a month after in the Ronald McDonald House while they were in the NICU. When we all got home, my wife and I decided that I would stay home with the boys instead of trying to work enough to pay for daycare. The summer before they started preschool, I found out about a new surgery for my hip. I had it done in September and was finally pain-free in October after almost 15 years! When the boys started kindergarten, I had planned to get back to work. But, when I was burning some weeds in my garden, my pants caught fire, and I spent over a week in the burn unit in Iowa City and ended up having a total of seven surgeries to reconstruct my foot and leg. A year after the fire, after my fourth burn surgery, I began having unbearable headaches. After a week, I went to my family doctor, and he ordered a CT scan which detected a mass in my brain. I was sent back to Iowa City to have surgery. I was diagnosed with Glioblastoma and told to get my affairs in order. I had been living on borrowed time, the sands of cancer quickly slipping through the hourglass of my life.

My Glioblastoma Timeline

My diagnosis was in November 2017. I immediately started chemo and radiation. For 6 months I did chemo and Optune, a funky electrode gizmo that was attached to my scalp. After that, I had 15 months of no treatment or tumor growth!

In March 2020, I got my first recurrence, so I got back on chemo. In September 2020, the tumor tripled in size! Then in November 2020, I had laser surgery (where they accidentally crushed my skull.)

After that, It kept growing, so, I had no choice but to get back on chemo

In May of 2021, I switched to targeted therapy, and it worked well. . . no new growth.

Then this spring, it started growing again. I’m pursuing the 4th generation of a gene checkpoint inhibitor.

I have been on the 2nd generation for the last 2 years. This treatment is offered at MD Anderson Hospital in Texas.

I Need Your Help

I’m at a point where I’ve come to realize that if I’m going to make the several trips needed to Texas this August to receive this treatment, I am going to need some help financially. Every time I go, I’ll need to stay anywhere from 2 to 3 nights at a hotel. With the cost of flights and where to stay, each trip will cost me about $700. I will need to go 7 times to the hospital in Texas, that's close to $5,000. I need help with these costs. Anything you can donate, I'd be so very grateful for.

As you can see, I've had plenty of rain in my life, but some very beautiful rainbows along the way, as well. I'm not looking for a pot of gold, just more time to enjoy and appreciate the blessings.