What’s going on? Why do we need this?
As you may be aware, Captain Seth has had back pain for quite a while (about 9 months now). I was diagnosed with an L2 fracture (Spondylolysis) in my spine early in 2013. Shortly after I had healed from that (around the beginning of June), I got symptoms of what we thought was a bulging or herniated disc (a totally different beast). I was diligent with physical therapy and our conservative treatment plan, but the pain was still increasing. When the pain moved from the left side to the right side, we knew it was something more than a simple disc injury and called for more investigation. I had an MRI on Monday and was almost immediately called in for abnormalities they observed. I had a CT scan on Tuesday and was referred to a neurosurgeon at OHSU. I have also had a second opinion from a St. Vincent neurosurgeon.
The spine surgeons have reviewed the X-ray, MRI, and CT scans. The bottom line is that I have a tumor in and around the S1 vertebrae of my spine and the vertebrae itself is badly degraded. Today (Sunday) I am being admitted to the hospital at OHSU for a few days of additional tests, imaging, and a biopsy. The biopsy results will be ready by next Friday 8/30 and then a treatment plan will be established. What we are being told is that this could be most likely a primary bone cancer or another type of cancer that has metastasized into the spine. There is still a small chance of a more benign diagnosis and we are praying hard for that outcome. We won’t know for sure what this means until next week. What we find out then will determine what the treatment will be, but at some point very soon a surgery will be involved to remove the tumor and/or reconstruct my spine in this area.
I am a man of faith and I know that the God I serve is amazingly powerful and is walking with us through this. I would appreciate your prayers for the biopsy and for my family as this will be a critical week for us. Many thanks to our friends and family who have already pledged their support through this time.
-Captain Seth
