So...Why Are We Asking For Help?

Let me introduce myself and my family first. My name is Michael. Pictured to your left we have Kyoko (my beautiful wife), Gabriel (the cutie destroying that sushi roll), Josiah (sleeping like his mom does), Grandma Lori (picking my nose), Grandpa Fred (25 years ago) and our dear Jiji (grandpa) Tsuneo! There are also many friends and family pictured with us as well.

Here is our lengthy story. Kyoko and I have known each other for around 7 years. We didn't even become friends until about 5 years ago...I move fast and we were married 4 years ago this October. This story starts in April of 2013. 

April 3, 2013 was the best day of my life. It was the day my twin sons were born. It was also this same week that I was laid off from my union job of three years due to a lack of seniority. For the next six months I tried to find a job anywhere I could! I tried car dealers, prisons, kitchens (that's where my expertise lies), government jobs, tutoring...you name it I tried for it. Finally in mid september I was hired at a really great fine dining restaurant with the promise of benefits (unheard of in most kitchen jobs) and a raise 3 months in. 

3 days after starting my job at this restaurant I received some troubling news...I had a fist sized tumor growing on the outside of my colon! It was literally bleeding me to death (I had been frequently passing out) so they booked me for emergency surgery. The day before my surgery I almost died from blood loss. They were in the middle of doing my screening and bam! I was on the floor. I blacked out and they stuck a needle in my arm and pumped me full of blood. It is worth noting that a blood donor saved my life! 

Needless to say I had to quit my job and start chemo. Chemo was the most difficult experience of my life and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Among the laundry list of my side effects were: extreme nausea counteracted by three different very strong medications that cause restlessness (so I'm fatigued by the chemo, but can't rest because of these three drugs), hiccups for days...literally, antipsychotics took care of the hiccups but then they made me comatose for an entire 3 days, extreme aversion to cold (lukewarm water felt like fire) and this was the dead of winter! Cold also caused a feeling like my throat was swelling shut, food and drinks obviously were less enjoyable and the list goes on for quite a while. 

Well after four months of that ordeal I was having dinner with a good friend. He mentioned how chemo seemed to be changing me in more ways than one. I was bitter and hate filled. I became reclusive and did not wish to be around people. He also mentioned he hated seeing me suffer so. Then he posed a question to me. He asked "Michael, do you understand that you have a choice? There are other options out there besides chemo." That had never occurred to me. I immediately went home and asked my wife what she thought about that. She didn't know what to say. 

The next few weeks were fraught with research and questions. I asked my facebook friends if anyone knew of any cancer survivors that had gone alternate routes. I got a lot of articles which I had no interest in. I needed to hear it from someone's mouth.  I eventually found many many many people who had succeeded in removing their cancer in unconventional ways. So my wife (who is a certified nutritionist in Japan) set to work on learning what kind of foods to make me and where we could find reliable resources. I feel it important to mention that in my case (everyone is different, and every cancer is different) the chemo was ineffective. I would even go as far as to say it made it worse. During chemo my cancer was incredibly aggressive. They couldn't stop it. After I decided to stop the chemo and started eating better the cancer slowed to a dead halt and the cancer level in my blood plummeted. 

Everything I've learned about cancer (to the best of my ability) will be posted on this website in the cancer corner, so if you are interested in finding out what has worked for me please go look at it! But I digress...

In 2014 I saw a Facebook post from a mother of three asking "Can anyone make my children a healthy organic lunch for school? Is that too much to ask?" (Paraphrasing) I had an idea! What if I could do that for parents? What if I could start a business doing that? Where I live there is a huge demand for this. And so the dream began! But I was in no kind of mental state to be starting a business. I was still angry and bitter so an idea it stayed...for a little while.

One day my pastor came by my house (I am a proud Christian and believer in Jesus) to see how we were doing. We were not doing well. During our conversation, he asked us if we were prepared for my passing. I was outraged. How could he ask us that?!?!?! After a long pause, I managed to force out a quiet "no." I thought about my boys and how if I died I'd miss EVERYTHING. I burst into tears. That was the beginning of my spiritual healing. Just a little side note, my pastor is a bit of a business guru and has also been there with me every step of the way! He has known me since birth and he is the only person in the world who could have said that to me and not been thrown out hahahahaha.

Fast forward to present day and  you see what our need is. 2.5 years without any income (save the disability pension) is taxing on a family. There were some points where if family hadn't reached out at the exact right moment, we'd miss our rent payments. It's embarrassing to have to take so much all the time, but I'm not so full of myself that I can't accept help.

Now I am working to ensure my family is safe...no matter what. I am confounding the doctors. They had me pegged for dead a year ago, and  yet I am working full time now, planning this big event, working on my business, spending every Saturday with my family and my friendships and relationships have never been so strong! I am closer to my God than ever before, closer to my wife and closer to my parents. It was a horrible experience I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, but it was and is also the best experience of my life. It caused me to learn who I am. I am 31 years old and am only just beginning to figure myself out. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope that this not only helps me with my goal, but also that I may be able to offer some hope to someone who may be feeling hopeless.

Michael