Go Steve - Steve's Updates

Updates from Steve’s cancer-free life

May 25, 2009

Welcome to the new site!

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — By steve @ 2:33 pm

As you can see, we’ve launched the new site!!  Lib has been working around the clock for 2 months (a fib?…maybe) to get this off the ground.

All jokes aside, it is a beautiful site and will allow for the growth of goSteve and all it stands to represent.  It also goes to show how amazing Lib is!

I do have many, many updates and things going on in my world, but felt it a moot point to update the old style.  I have pictures, stories, trips and more to share in the previous and coming weeks and months.

Comment, comment, comment!  I’ve been wanting a comment section ever since I took over goSteve, so now we have it.  Let me know your thoughts!

More to come as we move ever…onward!

Onward!

SDS

March 17, 2009

Lots of exciting news!

Filed under: check ups, living life — Tags: , , , , , , , , — By steve @ 8:39 am

First off-welcome to my new little nephew, christopher glen larson! He’s a great looking little man and I’m elated to have a nephew after 13 years of having nieces [who are growing up!].  Congratulations kathy, chadd, ashly–now a bigger family!

I will be giving two presentations, both free and open to the public, on Monday, March 30th at LAHS! One at 2:30PM with a second to follow at 7:00PM, each about an hour long. I’ve received (and STILL receive) support and well wishes from so many people in Langdon that I want to come and give you my first person account of the struggles and battles my family and I faced while I was sick and fighting for my life. I’m extremely, extremely excited!

The website re-design is coming along, lib is doing a great job! The best feature will be the ability of you all to post comments and create forums…

Work is still going great, we are in the close-to-the-end-of-the-year crunch (our year ends in June), so the team is feeling some pressure. Lib is also enjoying her new job in grand-forks, although I think she’s getting bored with the commute every morning!

If you are in Fargo on April 7th, please please please go out and support GO STEVE JONES as they are in the final round of the Q98 Battle of the Bands.  Good luck dudes!

Oh yeah, lest I forget, in health news: I have scans on April 27th (CT, echo and x-rays of my residual limb)…more good news ahead!

onward!
SDS

January 24, 2009

oh thriving economy, where art thou?

Filed under: living life — Tags: , , , , — By steve @ 8:34 am

It’s been a long time! I hope everyone had a fun Christmas and enjoyed the time with family and friends.

lib and persy, fargo nd, 2008

lib and persy, fargo nd, 2008

As with a lot of families, our life has been a bit turbulent as of late. The company that lib worked for, psa mags, laid off 24 people over the course of a month. After almost 3 years of loyal service, she was a casualty. On to bigger and better things! (The link to the in-forum article will only be active for a few days. They only allow people to view articles for up to seven days.)

I have an interesting update on my leg, and it’s quite comical! Due to the intricacies of the C-leg, it has a warranty. One stipulation of that warranty requires me to send it in for maintenance once a year- an oil change, if you will! Among other things, they replace bearings, swap out the fluid and test the computer chip. The loaner leg I was given (yes, loaner leg-kind of like the dumpy Ford Taurus you get when your car is in the shop!) has massive wear-and-tear, and functions slightly different than mine. It took a few days to get used to the swing and resistance of the new leg, even though all the options were set identical to mine.

I’ve included some pictures.

I’m going to start speaking publicly more often, and I’m going to come to Langdon the first half of this year to tell my story to all that supported me during the tough times. I will advertise as much as possible and it will be open to the public. More info to come as I know more. I’ve booked one more speaking engagement and have started discussions for others. I’m working with lib and Jay Peltier to make this happen–he is a great guy and amazing to work with. I met Jay at NDSU through Blue Key and have stayed great friends since!

Look for a complete overhaul concerning the design and layout of gosteve, as we are going to bring in more functions, different features such as posting comments, more pictures and an overall professional feel. Lib will work her magic and produce a great site. I’m excited!

onward!
SDS

May 2, 2008

starting to write bits and pieces…

Filed under: living life — Tags: , , — By steve @ 8:08 am

After years of thought and slight procrastination, I’ve decided to start writing bits and pieces of my story from my point of view. The ultimate goal would be to compile my anecdotes into one long, arduous and hopefully inspiring tale of pain, hope and persistence.

I am open to writing about anything that I’ve experienced–anything–so if you are intrigued by a certain part of my story PLEASE write me so I know where to focus my attention. If my cancer battle was the mighty Red River, I need your help to siphon it to only the pure and drinkable water as to not waste any of our time.

onward!
SDS

January 30, 2008

The first is always the worst…

Filed under: post chemo — Tags: , , , , , — By steve @ 7:19 am

The speech at Blue Key Nationals went very well. I was very excited, nervous and scared to see how it would turn out. It is emotionally draining to pour over all the pictures and stories, the memories and the pain of what happened. The first time is always the worst, but this one turned out to be the greatest. I spoke for nearly an hour, laying out my struggle, telling others what I’ve learned and answering some amazing questions.

Speaking of Blue Key, the chapter at Truman State in Missouri is holding a blood drive on February 7 & 8 on their campus. If you are anywhere near, please please go donate and help out. Blood is hard to come by and many don’t know the dire need. It saved my life-I alone recieved 42 units throughout my treatments. Without it I wouldn’t be here. Again, if you can, please donate your blood and time to make their drive successful in saving lives!

I was cast for another socket today. My limb is still shrinking, but slower now. If you don’t know, residual limbs tend to hold fluids and get larger. As soon as the stump is exposed to the constant pressure and compression of the socket, it begins to shrink. As it shrinks, the socket doesn’t fit and I can’t walk properly. Eventually the limb shrinks so much that you need a new, smaller socket. I am working on my fifth socket because my limb has compressed itself so much. I will have a new one in a week or so.

November 16, 2006

(mom [carla])

Since so many of you continue with love and support concerning Steve, I felt the need to update. Steve participated in the Relay for Life both at NDSU and hometown Langdon. How exciting to see the support for the American Cancer Society.

Steve continues to doctor in Minneapolis with frequent visits there. He looks like Steve again with good color in his cheeks and a full head of hair (no-it did not grow back curly-we will leave the curls to Libby!!) His last scans shows that he is a NERD! And that is a good thing-NERD stands for no evidence of recurrent disease! Steve does experience nausea and vomiting some days, but as his digestive system continues to heal hopefully that will keep improving. His heart function at his last test was within normal readings.

Steve is taking 12 credits at NDSU this semester and is participating in some Blue Key, ATO fraternity, and GOB activities. He is tired but it takes a lot of effort to maneuver those crutches!! He does have his prosthetic leg but can’t really use it yet until he has the OK for full weight bearing. His stump causes considerable pain as it is still healing.

We are so proud of Steve and his willingness to get back to classes. He has already fought many battles and won! More exciting news is that Steve and our angel Libby set their wedding date for next summer!

We have GoSteve beanies available as well as a new shipment of GoSteve shirts. The beanies are in both Fargo and Langdon and the shirts are all in Fargo but we will have some in Langdon next week.

Words cannot express how much your caring means to all of us. We are so grateful it is NOW and look forward to even better days ahead.

April 11, 2006

(mom [carla])

Filed under: post chemo — Tags: , , , , — By steve @ 6:52 am

Last Friday, April 7 Steve was back at the infamous Fairview and had his port surgically removed. The port is the gadget that was surgically implanted in April so they would not have to start new IV’s each time. It has worked really well for Steve. He had a little discomfort but compared to what he has been through in the past–this was nothing!!!

Some of Steve’s high school class and friends are planning a fish and pork benefit at The Pain Reliever in Nekoma on Friday night April 14 beginning at 6–how wonderful!! I do have beanies and bracelets available if anyone is interested.

October 7, 2005

(lib)

Filed under: chemotherapy — Tags: , , , , , , , — By steve @ 6:20 am

The past two weeks have gone by with hardly a problem. The chemo drug Steve received in mid-September (called Cisplatin) knocked him out, but the last two weeks Steve has gotten Methotrexate, which is pretty easy for him to take – the only side-effect being possible mouth sores and a little nausea. After Cisplatin Steve stared losing the bit of hair he got back after surgery, so his mom got the honor of shaving his head! Not an easy task, let me tell you.

Steve got to spend about 5 days at home, where he got to know our new cat, Persnickity aka Percy. He is the friendliest cat he’s ever seen, and he even likes to play fetch! He likes Llibby best tho. We ate pizza, tacos and ice cream: Steve has been steadily gaining weight back, however he is still 30 lbs less than when he came to the hospital in April.

We’re currently in the hospital awaiting discharge, and hope to spend the weekend relaxing before Cisplatin starts again Monday. We’ve been on a different floor than usual, 7D. This is a change of scenery from bright colors and crying babies that we had before on the Children’s floor. We even had a quiet roomate up here.

Every day seems to be getting more normal, but we still have a long road to go. We’re both excited for the GoSteve fundraiser this weekend and will be with you in spirit on that day. We listened to the radio spot on Froggy 99.com and were impressed that the event is getting such good coverage. Thanks Brandon, Stacy and Liz! And thanks to all those who helped out!

September 3, 2005

(steve collins)

Filed under: chemotherapy — Tags: , , , — By steve @ 8:33 pm

Saw Steve this past weekend. He’s doing quite well. He gets sick from time to time from all the pills he’s taking. The chalky, pill taste builds up and doesn’t agree with him. His leg is healing, but he still has some phantom limb pain. He starts chemo again this coming Tuesday. His mom, sisters, and nieces were also down there visiting for the weekend.

Steve was his usual, witty self and is in great spirits. He’s very interested with what’s happening in Fargo with his friends at NDSU. Please call or email to keep him up-to-date with what’s going on. He’s also curious about the upcoming GO STEVE beanie caps.

May 10, 2005

(from Josh Malnourie)

Filed under: chemotherapy — Tags: , , , , , , — By steve @ 3:42 pm

The endoscopy did not happen today. The doctor felt that Steve’s blood count was not as high as it should be for such a procedure. So we will be holding out for this procedure for a later date.

Steve was looking pretty good today, but still isn’t able to speak much

The doctors are working on administering some different types of pain medication to help the nausea issue.

Steve’s family heard about the radio appearance. Great job to D-Jo and Oyester, as it seems they were responsible for getting this done. Constantly communicating with people outside of ATO/NDSU/Family will do nothing but good things for our cause!

There is a benefit feed for Steve back in Langdon on Sunday, May 15th. If you aren’t already busy, and feel like showing up, do so!

I have just received word that a mini-triathlon that I participate in every year in Spicer (Tim’s sister puts it on) will now be donating this year’s proceeds to Steve!!! This mini-tri occurs in August, so make sure that you are available to come have a great time, and support Steve(tell your friends!). More info to come with details in the next few weeks.

Remember: No task is too small to help out Steve. Nor is any project too large! If it will benefit him, we will find a way to do it, just ask for a little help or guidance from your fellow neighbors! Go Steve!

Older Posts »