Mission Monday: Doug

Doug, age 48, was diagnosed in Feb. 2000 with stage 4, small B-cell follicular NHL, a form of lymphoma considered incurable. His daughters were ages 2 and 4 at the time. His third child was born in 2001 after completing that initial round of chemotherapy despite the doctors telling him and his wife, Stacey, there was little chance of conceiving again. He had 7 more chemotherapy regimens after that before he agreed to have an unrelated stem cell transplant since there were no more chemo options available. Because of the all the chemo, Doug's heart was compromised resulting in congestive heart failure. After a two-year search, only one marrow match was found and Doug had a stem cell transplant on Oct. 1, 2010. Nine months post-transplant, he had a severe, acute Graft vs. Host reaction that attacked his entire digestive system followed by a couple of bouts of pneumonia leaving Doug, a former half Ironman athlete, with little strength to even pull himself out of bed.

But, Doug persevered and pulled through and is currently in remission from his cancer. He is now on his way to regaining his strength all the while hoping to one day run, bike and swim again. Doug completed a half iron man in Galveston with TNT in 2007, the Ouachita Mountain Bike Challenge in 2009 and White Rock Marathon as part of the relay team in 2008. He is thankful for every TNT participant and their dedication to helping find cures.