Sink or Swim: Surviving the Odds by Design

By Leona Howard

Major health issues and catastrophic illnesses can affect everyone at some point in their life. No matter what the setback, this book offers great insight into some of the hurdles you may need to overcome as well as those issues that you can no longer put off but need to deal with. Whether it is navigating the health journey, defining family and friends, dealing with depression, being a caregiver, selecting a medical team, strengthening your spirituality, working through insurance, building your life after recovery, and becoming the new you, there are tools in this book that will assist everyone faced with these challenges, no matter what catastrophic illness has befallen you. Leona recognized early on the deficiencies in the health care and fitness industries and was alarmed because of the accelerated growth in the aging population. She knew with certainty that change was needed. In order to elevate the status of fitness professionals in the health industry, there needs to be transparency and accountability. It is her goal to bring both elements to the fitness industry in the state in which she resides. By doing so, other states would hopefully follow. This book not only chronicles Leona's cancer journeys but also sheds light on the medical and fitness communities as well. A must-read as you embark on this uncertain journey. www.sinkorswimthebook.com

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9781644685648

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Sink or Swim

Surviving the Odds by Design

Leona J. Howard

ISBN 978-1-64468-563-1 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64468-564-8 (Digital)

Copyright © 2020 Leona J. Howard

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Who I Am

The Beginning

The Road to Perdition

Whipple Surgery

Life After Whipple

Chemotherapy, Counseling, Medical Marijuana

Right Lung Cancer and Radiation Treatment

Left Lung Cancer and Radiation Treatment

Genetics Testing

My Role as a Caregiver

Spiritual Journey

Your Private Space

Exercise or Not?

Reflections

About the Author

Acknowledgments

To my husband, Dave, for his love, support, caregiving, and unending dedication to me.

To my sister, Sandy, for her love and support in my healing journey.

To my extended family, especially Evelyn, Richard (and Joanie), and Rick Jr. and Carol for their prayers and for keeping in close touch with me. Your offers of assistance did not go unnoticed.

To cousins, Linda, Karen, Janet, and Marcia. You stayed on this roller-coaster ride with me and supported me.

To my dear friend Sandy for tirelessly visiting me at the hospital and assisting me with my personal hygiene.

To my dear friend Melanie for your prayers, concerns, and commitment to traveling this journey with me and making sure I had transportation to chemo.

To my dear friends Mary and Sue for your prayers and phone calls in spite of the fact you had your own journeys to deal with.

To my friends at Grand Haven for their prayers, cards, and kindnesses.

To the management and members at Orland Park Health & Fitness and at Tinley Fitness. You were all so supportive and kind.

To the members of my Parkinson’s class who provided so much inspiration to me.

To all those not named individually. You know who you are.

And last, but not least, to my medical team to whom I owe my life.

A big thank you. I am truly blessed!

1

Who I Am

Have you ever gone to bed excited about an upcoming event or party and find that when you wake in the morning, you dreamt about the fun things that happened at that event or party? Or maybe you just experienced a terrible day, went to sleep angry, and then woke up from a nightmare that involved an incident from that previous day. But it had a very different spin from what reality was. Our lives are like our dreams. We never know what we will dream about just as we never know what life has in store for us. And no matter how hard we try to control our lives, nothing is at it seems just like in our dreams. This is so true of my story.

It is hard to believe that in a matter of twenty-seven months, I have endured three primary cancers, one Whipple surgery with complications, chemotherapy, radiation, all the while continuing in my role as a caregiver and dealing with deep spiritual unrest. These twenty-seven months have felt like an eternity. So, when a friend suggested I write my story, I really didn’t know where to begin. I realized that in order for you to understand my journey and, in some small way, relate it to your journey, you would need to understand who I am. I am not offering medical advice or asking you to substitute what I say for that of your medical professionals. As a lay person with no medical experience, I had to rely on the information provided me by my medical team and the Internet. My goal was to better understand all that was being thrown at me. My hope is that in some small way, this will serve as one of many tools in your health journey toolbox so that you can advocate for yourself.

As a youngster, I became very independent at an early age. I think I always knew that I needed to be self-sufficient. We were not rich, and my parents worked hard. I attended Catholic grammar and high schools, and so religion was a very important part of my upbringing. My parents were my example and inspiration. In my senior year of high school, my parents were unable to pay my tuition. So I worked part-time and did what I had to do to complete high school successfully. I was driven and goal-oriented.

We all look for that chapter in our life where responsibilities decrease, disposable income increases, our life becomes our own. Or at least I thought. So let me take you back a bit before my journey began because how I approached my life and the expectations would ultimately play a very important role in how I navigated my journey.

Throughout my life, I enjoyed good health, except for the occasional cold or flu. I was truly blessed. My father lived to one month shy of his ninety-third birthday. My mother was eighty-six when she passed. They lived in their own home until the end and never lost their ability to think or remain mobile. It certainly appeared longevity was in the cards for me, which was all the more reason I wanted to stay active and fit. In the last couple of years of their lives, I stepped in to oversee their medical care. I’m sure there were several medical professionals who were not happy with me during that time, but I needed to make sure they received the care they were entitled to. I would later learn that by being their advocate, I was preparing to be an advocate for myself. At that time though, I merely thought of myself as a good daughter.

In October 1972, I turned nineteen years old. One month later, my husband and I married. Throughout our marriage, we worked hard. Many years, both my husband and I worked long hours and even two jobs. We were focused and never gave up on our goals and dreams of enjoying life in our golden years. It was not easy by any means, but the focus and drive would serve us well later in so many aspects of our lives. We were owing to no one, and everything we had, we worked hard for.

Like many people, by age fifty, I already had my sights set on retirement. I always knew that I wanted to be in the fitness industry when I retired. But I also knew that there were hobbies I wanted to enjoy when my time belonged to me. At age fifty-two, I became a certified scuba diver. At that time, scuba diving was the force behind my ability to quit smoking. And I was an avid smoker for forty years. At age fifty-six, I found my niche in life. I obtained both an aqua aerobics instructor certification followed by a personal trainer certification. My goal was to work with the senior population because I was entering that era of my life. I began teaching classes and training clients part-time in preparation for my retirement. It is such a rewarding feeling to see my hopes and dreams coming to fruition. Everything fell into place as I was certain it would. And I found that I loved working with the senior population.

My husband had retired a little early, and I was jealous. At almost sixty years of age, I decided to take that leap and retire early. There was a penalty for doing so; however, we were both comfortable with the change in income. Besides, I had already established myself locally in the health fitness industry. My new venture not only kept me active but fit as well. What more could I have wanted? I was retired, working part-time in a field I absolutely enjoyed and was passionate about, and scuba diving to my heart’s content. I was living the dream!

My sister, who is eleven years older than I, was born with cretinism. As I understood it, an iodine deficiency hindered the development of her brain, and so she was classified as learning disabled. Since I was the only sibling and eleven years younger, my parents always assumed that I would be her caregiver when they passed. Who else was there? It was doubly difficult because my sister wasn’t severely learning disabled, yet she did not have the skillset to live on her own; she had no coping skills nor was she able to obtain gainful employment during her lifetime.

Mom passed first on Christmas Day 2008, and