When Pete joined Medi-Share in early 2024, he had enjoyed decades of generally good health. He played softball and ice hockey, even in his sixties. So, when a chiropractic appointment led to a cancer diagnosis, the news seemed to come out of left field.
A hitch in his back -- that’s the way that Pete describes his symptoms. It wasn’t debilitating, and it didn’t seem like cause for concern. In an effort to get the kinks worked out, he went to visit an old golf buddy who’s a chiropractor. After six x-rays, the chiropractor told Pete that he couldn’t see his L4 vertebrae at all.
Pete realized that this was strange but still didn’t think much of it. He went out for dinner with his wife, and that’s when everything began to change. The chiropractor phoned, saying that he’d consulted with a few others and he thought Pete should go to the hospital immediately.
But Pete felt fine, so he could hardly believe things were serious enough to warrant going to the hospital. He did agree to get an MRI, though, and through a timely connection from his wife’s Bible study, he got in the next day.
After the MRI scan, doctors discovered a lesion on Pete’s back and advised him that surgery was required to take care of it. He was quickly scheduled for spinal fusion to connect the L3 and L5 vertebras, which revealed an abnormality in the bone marrow that had been eating away at L4. Pete was told he had Myeloma, an uncurable blood cancer.
Upon hearing that reality, Pete was put in touch with Michelle, a dedicated oncology nurse at Medi-Share who began walking beside him through the next steps in his journey with cancer. Myeloma may not be curable, but Michelle helped Pete weigh the pros and cons of the excellent treatment options that are available.
Pete says, “She’s been amazing – mentally, spiritually, and educationally.”
At the same time, Pete also had to recover from back surgery (which meant he couldn’t walk for 2-3 months) and make sure that finances were taken care of. Through that process, he says he was grateful for the dedicated guidance of Pat in Medi-Share’s finance department, who helped him navigate the sharing of the significant bills associated with his treatment. She also took the time to pray over his recovery, his family, and his ongoing treatment.
“It’s been such a blessing to have these people in my life during these struggles,” Pete says.
Now, a year later, Pete is in total remission from cancer. Praise the Lord! While myeloma will always be a part of his life, he says he feels better than ever. With the help of his wife, Pete has prioritized a wholistic health approach, incorporating things like juicing, red light therapy, energy treatments, and other things to help him thrive in this new reality.
He also recognizes that a positive outlook and eternal perspective have made all the difference. “I think 80% of it is mental,” Pete says. “It can throw you off, hearing you have uncurable cancer.” Yet, Pete chooses to look at his experience through the lens of blessing, noting the miracles of being connected with the right people at the right times.
He gets emotional talking about it. “The last year has been crazy, but it’s been one of the best years of my life. What I experienced with Medi-Share was unbelievable,” he says. “It changed my life. Medi-Share really saved my life.”
We rejoice with Pete and his family over God’s goodness in his life through a year of unexpected health issues. His testimony of connection and community encourage us to look for God’s hand at work during the most challenging times and trust that He is near.
