A Care Page for Paul Eyes

Marathon Run for Lymphoma & Leukemia Research. Please Support!

My Good friend, Bill Wheatley-Heckman is going to be running the Philadelphia Marathon in November. Bill recently posted a comment about this run, and his intentions to run for Lymphoma and Leukemia research. Please read the information below and consider a contribution. Bill, post your updates here on this thread as you wish in the comments section. Thanks and good luck! FYI folks, Bill will finish the full 26.2 miles!

By: Bill Wheatley-Heckman

I have contacted the Team in Training folks re. raising money at the Philadelphia Marathon on 11/18. It is not one of their "official" sponsored races so all money contributed will go directly to research of leukemia and lymphoma....that would be 100%. I am not accepting any race fees, hotel fees, etc. from TNT. So here is the plan....

I am asking all interested friends of Paul Eyes to contribute so much per mile completed. Have no delusions by the way....you can count on me going the full 26.2 miles. That is a certainty unless I break a leg and then there is a chance I may still finish!!
I can crawl!

So if you want to contribute a dollar per mile, then you send a check for $26.20 made out to LLS (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society). All checks can be sent to

Bill Wheatley-Heckman,
5711 Old Buggy Court,
Columbia, MD, 21045.

My e-mail is wheatheck@aol.com
My cell phone is 443-838-2257

I will be sending all checks collected by November 10th to:

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Maryland Chapter
11350 McCormick Road
Executive Plaza III, Suite 100
Hunt Valley, MD 21031

If folks want to just send a flat donation, that is fine. But I like the dollars per mile since I can then figure out the $$$ as I go....If I get to $50 per mile, I have raised over $1,300..... I will update the blog regularly and let you and your blogging community know how much we have all raised.

I will also periodically post training info on the blog and let you and your bloggers know how the training is going. A complete recap of the race will be posted when I finish and defeat every Kenyon in the field! (At least all over 53 years of age).

We are putting our Nikes, sweat, bucks and cheer behind you. November 18th will be a glorious day for you and LLS. Keep up the good fight Paul.

Feelin' the Love

One thing with getting sick, you certainly find out who your friends are. Boy we have a lot of friends and a lot of people who care about our family! Caring has come in many forms. I have received a lot of responses on this blog, I have read every one. Some people prefer to express themselves via email, or a handwritten letter, a phone call, or maybe dropping by.  We have received  numerous meals at home. I just had four teenagers from my table soccer club work on my yard for the afternoon. My table soccer friends have been sending me hand painted figures as a show of support. Every act is appreciated. Thank you.

One of our family friends, Angela, has taken on the task of coordinating many acts of help. Amongst many other deeds of kindness, she has been organizing help with meals. If you wish to help with meals, Angela can be reached via her email address: warnic@comcast.net . Thank you Angela.

I know that I have been the subject of prayers from individuals and places of worship of many different denominations. I am honored by these prayers. I am humbled. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Hopefully we have all experienced the love of being part of a caring family. It is clear to me now, that we have so many families. There is our own immediate Family. There is the Church Family. A Family of friends. A work Family. A table soccer Family. A Patapsco MIddle School Family. A Phelps Luck Elementary School Family. A soccer Family. A neighborhood Family. It is a wonderful thing to feel love and caring from immediate family members, but to receive it from so many sources has been overwhelming. Thank you to all our families.

Paul. August 26. 2007.

Physical Changes

I am getting a better idea of what my body is going through on a daily basis. I am definitely going to undergo some significant physical changes in the next 3-4 weeks. I have already shared with you that my hair should start to come out in the middle of next week. I have decided that I am going to have my head shaved as soon as the process starts. I will probably go to my wife's salon to have this done. I do not think I have ever paid more than $15 for a haircut, now my first visit to a "fancy" salon will be to have my head shaved!

I am losing weight. It is unnavoidable. At present I am expending 2000 calories a day just to fight the disease. On top of that, my normal maintenance intake should be about 2500 calories a day. Basically to maintain my current weight I would need to take in 4500 calories a day. Not going to happen. I am eating well, and even snacking in between meals, so I am doing all I can.

In about 3-4 weeks, I should turn the corner with my weight, and hopefully start to put weight back on.

I am sharing this with you knowing that I have been preparing myself for these changes for a week or so. I am ready. If you see me in the next few weeks you may feel I am not doing well from my physical appearance. This is not the case. I cannot get better without these physical changes occuring, so try to think of it that way, that is certainly the way I am looking at it.

Paul. August 24. 2007.

Clearer Road Ahead

OK, some very important news yesterday. Last week amongst many many tests I had a bone marrow biopsy performed. A large (very large!) needle was used to remove a core sample from my hip. I got the results back yesterday, my bone marrow biopsy has come back clear. If that had not been the case my course of recovery would have been much more complicated. It is very very good news.

I now know that I have had this cancer for at least 9 months. That is when I started to complain of back pain and stiffness. All the time there was an enlarged lymph node pressing on a nerve root round a portion of my thoracic spine. Because the node has been inflamed for a long time, it has been pressing on portions of bone in my spine. I do not have cancer in my spine, but I have weakening of the bone in some areas. As a result, I will be receiving a drug called Zometa to help promote bone healing. I will start receiving this drug on Friday by an infusion. Eventually I will need to have a procedure performed to strengthen my back.

Right now, the route is becoming clearer. I will receive Chemo every 21 days for 6-8 treatments. I had my first one last Friday, next treatment is September 7th. After my third treatment, I will have another PET Scan (probably mid October), that will give my doctor a very good idea of how I am doing. So, in my mind, until mid October it is just time to concentrate on getting plenty of rest, taking care of myself and my family. After the whirlwind past two weeks I feel like we can see ahead a little now, a pattern to life is emerging, we are feeling more in control every day.

Paul. August 21. 2007.

Moving Forward...

Got through the weekend in pretty good shape I think. Today I go and see Dr. K. I may get some IV fluids if he feels I have not been taking enough liquids in. I have been drinking as much as I can but I am starting to dislike the taste of water! I am also trying to pace myself with the drinking so that I can still eat good meals. I feel full sometimes from drinking and that makes food less appealing. So I need to find the right balance. My tastes are also changing as a result of the chemotherapy.

I can see that fatigue is going to be a hurdle. I have been sleeping pretty well, but still waking with a tired feeling. Overall though I am feeling strong. If you see me in person, you may not notice too much of a difference right now. One positive physical change is that I have been losing a little of my "pop" belly. For months I have been feeling and looking like I was 3-4 months pregnant ! I just put this shape down to middle aged "spread". I now know that it is the mass of the tumors. My "pop' belly is dissapearing before my eyes. Without getting too excited I am taking this as a sign that the chemo is doing its job.

Tomorrow school starts for teachers. It is preparation week for teachers. I am going to work. I really want to work as much as I can. It is important right now to get into a normal pattern of life. I need it, but also my family needs it. In the last two weeks all the focus of the family has been on me. This is so tough on my wife and kids. Louise is as mentally and physically exhausted as if she had had the chemo herself. I need to get out of the house, Louise needs to get me out of the house! The kids need to get back to school, and we need to achieve a level of normalcy.

So, it is going to be a day to day thing, but I intend to work, keep up with my interests etc. I will continue teaching, seeing my friends, playing table soccer, selling table soccer supplies through my side business etc. Life goes on, that is not just an empty saying, so we will all keep moving forward together as a family.

Paul. August 20. 2007.

First Chemotherapy Treatment

One down! I will receive a total of 6-8 of these treatments every 21 days. I arrived at the oncology center around 8:45AM  yesterday morning and left 7 hours later, feeling good, no adverse effects. The first drug was Rituxan,and this took 4-5 hours and I was watched very closely for signs of bad reactions such as chills, shaking etc. Nothing. Hopefully I will tolerate the medication just as well each time.

I passed the time watching movies on my labtop. I had asked Louise to go out and get some fun, uplifting movies for the long day. After watching; Where the Red Fern Grows, Beaches, and Old Yeller, I have decided that I will be in charge of choosing the movies in future.

In the evening I ate a good dinner. Late on I experienced some heartburn and a general hungover feeling, but that was it. With everything thrown at me I am happy and feeling strong. Killing time (and cancer cells) watching soccer and and tapping away on the computer.

I put up some pictures of our first day that can be accessed in an album in the left margin. Now back to the soccer...

Paul. August 18. 2007

Ready to Kick some You Know What….

I first arrived in this country November 5th, 1987.  I arrived at my Manhattan SRO apartment with one small suitcase and the equivalent of $200 in cash. I had a job set up as a nurse at Mt. Sinai Hospital. So I knew I would be OK for money, but I felt I am sure just like the many millions of immigrants that had come before me.

On my first morning I set out walking from 75th street and Amsterdam Avenue, and went all the way down to Battery Park to view the Statue of Liberty. I was struck by the scale of it all, the vitality, the energy, the people moving full steam ahead. I can see now a guy on roller skates traveling up the middle of 5th avenue in traffic with headphones on, in the opposite direction to the honking cabbies! This was America baby! The first impression was wow, this is some place!

After that first day, even though I missed my family and friends in England, I knew I was not going back. Around the world, and even now amongst Americans themselves in these strange times of self doubt and fear, it is a pastime to knock this country. Now let me be the first to admit, I can be as big a Euro snob as anyone out there, I can see some faults. I still have a deep affection for my British roots. That said, after 20 years, I believe I know the strength of this country.

To me it comes down to Americans themselves. You may not know, but I am full of admiration for the ability of Americans to ignore barriers in their way, they climb over or around barriers to move on. They still dream, they dream big, Americans pursue their dreams without glancing back. No fear. This is the norm.

In this country, if you want to start your own business next week, nobody blinks an eye, everyone wishes you good luck, and off you go. If you are 35 and decide to make a career change and go back to school at night while working two jobs, no problem, good luck to you my friend, keep dreaming. This is not the same in other countries, where you train for a job, and you are expected to have this career for the next 40 years. Safe and secure, don’t take risks.

It is the vestiges of that pioneer spirit that saw families travel out West and start their homestead in Nebraska fighting against tremendous hardship. Life is an open ended adventure here, and this attitude is the thing that has affected me most about living in this country. I am also blessed with an inbred British bulldog determination, stiff upper lip and all that, chin up, and face up to adversity with your head held high, and fight. My mum was shipped off away from her family as a young teen in WWII. My dad did his time in the army and is dignity and strength personified.  I come from good British stock,my parents brought me up right

So I am a mongrel of sorts. British-American, American-British whichever way. Cancer, You are not getting in the way of my dreams. I will step around or over you, but I will emerge a better person, father, husband, teacher. I will guide my kids to reaching out for their own dreams and push them out on their way to supporting themselves and reaching their goals .  I will bounce my grandchildren on my knee. I will walk my girls down the aisle. I will share a beer or two with my son - after age 21 :-). I am ready to fight with a British bulldog spirit, stiff upper lip and all that, but there is a barrier in my way, and in the finest American tradition, I want to say, Cancer, I am going to Kick your Ass!

Chemotherapy starts today. Bring it on :-)

Paul. August 17, 2007.

Eyes on Steroids!

OK, so they are not the anabolic type that are in the news so much these days. I do not need those as you all know I am just a rippling muscled adonis with less than 1% body fat. Rumors that my torso was used in the Promos for the movie "300" are competely unfounded by the way! However I can confirm that I did once step in as a body double for Brad Pitt. If memory serves, Angelina was not displeased.

Now back to reality! (the stuff about the 1% body fat is untrue). When I first thought that I just had a "bad back" in early May, I was put on oral Prednisone for 5 days. The dose was 10 mg day one, 8 mg day two etc... Even on this regimen I felt better the very next day. Now I am on Chemo regimen steroids and the dose is 100mg a day for 5 days. Big thing is, I woke up this morning and felt little to no pain at all. Wonderful. I have to remind myself that this only masks my true state, but it is great  all the same to be feeling  something like myself again.

Just a quick word on all the comments and messages of support. Howard Girls, I miss you! I remember you all and proudly have pictures of our teams on my wall at home. Thanks to everyone around the world as messages are now coming in from afar as the word spreads. Thanks for the idea of sending the table soccer figures Gregg. Now I am looking forward to the mail everyday! Please know that I read EVERY message. I am sorry I cannot respond individually to everyone but I want you all to know how much it means. This is a challenging time, but it is a special time in many ways.

Paul. August 16. 2007.

Some Good News!

Time for some good news! Yesterday afternoon we got a definitive diagnosis. I have Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Specifically a large B-Cell type. It is cancer, but of the 3 possibilities available from the day before it is the best one.  The other two possibilities would have been nothing short of a death sentence with the amount of tumors present. This Lymphoma is treatable, the oncologist even used the magic word “curable”.

This morning I went for a PET Scan, basically a fancy CT scan with radioactive dye that isolates the areas of cancer. The results are in and the great news is that no new areas of cancer where shown than those already known. I then had a bone marrow biopsy taken from my hip. The results from this will not be in for a week, they are important, because if there are problems with cells in my bone marrow that will complicate my recovery.

So with the diagnosis in, we now know what we are dealing with. I will receive my first chemotherapy treatment this Friday. It may sound strange, but I cannot wait to get started. Bring it on! The medication regimen is known as R-CHOP, an acronym for the different therapies involved. I will have chemothereapy every 21 days for 6-8 cycles.

The H  in CHOP stands for Hydroxyrubicin, also known as Adriamycin. This is the medication that has a side effect of hair loss (I will likely lose my hair in 2-3 weeks), it is a red color, and is referred to as the “Red Devil” within the medical community. For those of you who do not know, the Red Devils is the nickname for Manchester United in English soccer circles. Needless to say as a lifelong Manchester City fan I will be wearing my sky blue City shirt this Friday when getting my chemo.

Thanks again to all for your thoughts, prayers and messages. It does feel better to know what you are up against, and that we stand a fighting chance of coming through this.

Paul. August 15, 2007.

Meeting Dr. K...

Yesterday I had my morning appointment with my oncologist Dr. Koutrelakos at the Maryland Oncology Center in Columbia.  Going into the appointment my hope was that I was going to be diagnosed with a curable form of Lymphoma and that I would be starting Chemotherapy in the next few days, with an excellent prognosis for full recovery etc etc.

Those dreams were quickly shattered, after my physical exam and a review of my CT scan from the previous week. Lymph nodes are located all over the body, and in my case they all seemed to be grossly inflamed, taking up large pockets of space throughout my abdomen and around my spine. In addition I learned that I have something called a Pleural Effusion in my right lung, which means that the lung is one third smaller than usual and there is fluid filling the space taken up by the lung. My Spleen is very large and almost taken up by tumor. There is also concern about my spine, with a possible "lesion" there.

Dr. K is a very straight talking business like person. As he was talking I had to get a seat to sit down as I felt like all the news was much worse than I had anticipated. I have great faith in Dr. K, he works in this field every day, and I have known of him for several years. After a day of reflection, I know that it is his role to lay it all out in front of the patient, good and bad. I can deal with it, but I will not pretend that I was not shaken and frankly scared. Basically I have been left with three scenarios .

1. Lymphoma - best, still depends on type as there are many varieties
2. Melanoma - very poor prognosis
3. Cancer of no specific origin - not treatable

I left in as low an emotional state as I have ever been in. I called my parents for the first time as I felt I had something concrete to share. It was so tough, they are both in there 80s and do not need such news. I love you mum and dad, I am sorry it hurts so much.

I also started this blog. Thanks to everyone who has posted a comment, I check very frequently for the new comments, and I was very moved by the response from everyone. It means a lot.