Gary Greene’s Memories from an Old Hunter…….#25
I’m not looking for sympathy, but I wish to share my battles with Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML). Hopefully, I will present a unique perspective as an outdoorsman and a cancer battler.
I was diagnosed in early 2013 with this rare form of Leukemia and with it came an average life expectancy of 34 months. For over three years, to keep me stable, I had been fighting my battles using an ever changing, eastern medicine, herbal treatment formulated by a mountain top based, Oregon doctor. Recently, the cancer is winning the war.
As of late November, my battles have been switched to a western medicine offensive. On a monthly cycle, I am receiving seven consecutive days of three chemo therapy (Vidaza) injections into my stomach area. The theory behind this treatment is that it will kill the cancer and then hopefully my chemo damaged healthy organs will rebuild.
To briefly summarize my condition, I also need red blood cell transfusions to keep me alive. The one unit of blood now has become two units and I also need platelet transfusions to keep me from bleeding. To counter those high iron transfusions, I need to supplement with an anti-iron drug (Jadenu) which comes with many possibly severe negative side effects.
This past September, my cancer doctor suggested I start chemo treatments, but I requested that we delay until after the bird hunting seasons. My thought process was that there was a high probability that this would be my last hunting season and I wanted to share it with my son Nate, my hunting partners and of course my five Labradors. I almost made it through the season, but my body lost too many battles to the cancer. I like to say that I hunted this season using: “Magic, Mirrors and Superglue.”
My son Nate and I made it out to our spot for the last Saturday duck hunt of the season. We missed our lone chance on a fair shot at a drake Mallard. The weather has not cooperated this fall, as the northern Mallards have not arrived in our neck of the marsh, but it was a great time none the less. I got to spend it with my son and my lab Schmiddy. It very well could have been my last duck hunt, but hopefully, the first of many more.
Always prepared, here is my self designed headstone displaying my passions.
My granite headstone is prematurely in place where my ashes will be scattered on our hill overlooking our lake. The stone includes my personal sketches of our Labradors plus a meaningful verse. This past August, we celebrated my Boothill Tombstone party with 80 friends. Though the theme was death, we celebrated my life with many humorous signs, games, vultures and the grim reaper. All quests had the opportunity to shovel dirt onto my gravesite. It was fun, unique and I was thrilled to be there.
This fall, by delaying my chemo treatments until absolutely necessary:
- I participated in our traditional father/son Horicon goose hunt. We were fortunate to harvest our six man limit of Canada Geese.
- I had the opportunity to hunt from a layout boat in the waters of Green Bay, and again we were fortunate enough to harvest a three man limit of Bluebills.
- The entire duck season, as least once a weekend, I hunted with my son Nate. Poor weather aside, we harvested a solid number of ducks from our honey hole.
- I limited my pheasant guiding to once a week and my labs still retrieved over 220 pheasants.
Finally, my public grounds’ pheasant hunting season was cut short as I had real difficulty just carrying my eight pound shotgun. I still harvested enough birds to make gallons of my pheasant, vegetable and rice soup.
Though I plan on experiencing many new memories, as I look back on my life, I wish to mention just a few thoughts.
Two year old Schmiddy during the 2016 duck season.
Being an outdoorsman is my way of life. Daily, health permitting, I spend time in the field, woods or wetland. It truly has been a slice of heaven.
As an outdoorsman, I still had to continue school and find a career. I was a good enough athlete to play my way through college and I taught Physical Education for 32 years. I always felt I gave it my best effort, attempted to make class fun and cared about my students. Though I am sure I could fill a row of bleacher seats with contraire ex-students.
My two sons Ty and Nate have become successful adults and have married well. Ty is a Special Education teacher in Whitefish Bay and his wife Libby is a Pharmacist at Froedtert Hospital. My son Nate was a Special Forces Army Ranger with five war time deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is currently a Veterinarian student at UW-Madison and his wife Shainah is an advisor for the UW Online Engineering Dept. Ty and Nate along with my wife Chris are my best friends.
Chris and I are happily married and I believe I am a good husband….as we seem to hug a lot, sneak in a kiss or two, share a laugh on a daily basis and sincerely enjoy each other’s company. I’m fairly certain I could find my sons’ mother (ex-wife) sharing the front row of the bleachers with those unhappy ex-students.
Finally, I told Chris that I am world class at something. It may not be important, but none the less, it is nice to be world class at something. What is this skill I possess? I am a world class pheasant hunter. In the world, I am not the best shot, not the best hunting guide, not the best dog trainer and my five labs are not the best dogs, but if you combine me with my dogs, we will hunt as well as anyone that stalks birds on this earth. Now that is a bold statement, but it is true. I work hard and anticipate where the birds will be. My dogs, while under control, also work extremely hard and I read my dogs well, as I position myself to get a decent shot.
I will never get tired of seeing a flushing, cackling rooster in the air with the sunlight illuminating those vibrant colors. Through these cancer treatments, even if I were to lose my eyesight, I will always see my dogs and the roosters.