Joey

Joey spent four years in the military, beginning his career with the Air Force in 1990. Despite being deployed to Saudi Arabia and Turkey, he does not consider himself a “war Vet.” His role was working with aircraft parts, at one point being sent to “fix some inventory issues.” He is uncertain of any exposures that may have occurred during his time in the Air Force concluding that being, “where the jets are taking off…would be the only toxic thing I would probably think of.” Joey felt healthy during his deployment and following his service “…I was the same, I was normal I was perfect, just me being me.”

In 2002 he began to experience a cough and then back pain. His cough worsened and at times he was unable to hold down food. He ended up in the Emergency Room where “they had to force oxygen into my lungs ‘cause I couldn’t really breathe on my own anymore.” After bone marrow and lymph node biopsies, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “I remember when, being in the ICU and him telling me this is what we see, we’re going to do this CHOP chemotherapy, it has 50% chance to work…” Although the treatment worked, he was sent to a cancer care center for further treatments. Due to the aggressive nature of his cancer, doctors performed an “oncologist stem cell transplant.” The intensive nature of these treatments, “limited the ability of my pancreas to produce insulin,” which led to diabetes. He later went on to be hospitalized for sepsis in 2013 due to a “weak spleen and weak immune system.”

Since his hospitalizations, Joey has focused on doing what he can to control his health. Part of that includes applying for benefits through the VA. When he was sick, he had not considered seeking care at the VA because he was unaware of the health services. “My idea of being a Veteran at the time was to help me find a job.” He speaks favorably of his subsequent care at the VA. “I got to be honest, at this point it’s been great, it really has.” He has taken other strides to improve his health, especially his diabetes, such as setting a goal of, “doing at least 10,000 steps a day” and trying to “limit the greasy foods and limit the amount of bad carbs.”

After his cancer diagnosis and throughout subsequent treatment, Joey reflected on his life and belief systems. “I had a period where I kind of questioned what it is I believed in.” He is inspired by Buddhism, especially the idea that, “you just have to accept things for the way they are.” He speaks highly of his support system that includes his wife, her children, and his parents. His mom played an active role in his cancer recovery. “You know she came down, and took care of me, and kept me in line, and made sure that everything kinds worked out…” His wife, who is a nurse, supports his lifestyle changes “to promote more healthiness to try and combat the diabetes and other things as much as we can.”