3-13-2009

3-13-2009

I will be using “baseball terminology” to keep you posted ...

I have had a number of requests to “keep me updated” from family, friends, students, athletes, staff and parents.  I’ve given it a lot of thought, and given my respect for personal privacy, I have decided to keep you updated as to my progress as I deem appropriate in the following way.  I will be using “baseball terminology” to keep you posted as to my progress.  Baseball terminology is in my opinion a universal language, and also, it helps me explain how I will relate the ups and downs of the treatment that lies ahead.  From this point on, Welter will be designated the HOME team, and Cancer will be designated the VISITING team.


It began as I reported to my “Spring Training” routine physical in February.  I was getting my “routine check up” so I could be cleared to report with pitchers and catchers as I do every spring to prepare for the upcoming season.  The Home team doctor and I discussed an unusual bump on the left side of my neck, and he thought it best to refer me to a specialist.  The specialist made a diagnosis and thought the “bump” could be surgically removed with just a few possible complications.  He referred me to University of Iowa Hospitals for the surgery because of their expertise in head, neck and throat issues. As the specialists reviewed previous testing, they noticed some additional concerns on the MRI and ordered additional testing.  At that point, I felt like if I drank a glass of water, I could be used as a “sprinkler system” for the infield due to the amount of holes that had been punched in me.  As the results were analyzed, my Home team surgeon determined I was suffering from Squamous Cell Carcinoma, a form of small cell cancer, and that I had already progressed to stage 3.  She immediately assembled a team of doctors to help plan a course of treatment which I have been preparing for over the past two weeks.  I will pursue both radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the next eight weeks, and if that does not eliminate the “Visiting team” from my body, we will then turn to surgery.  I have the advance scouting report from my Home team doctors, and it indicates that the Visiting team has an arsenal of “nasty” pitches and “heavy hitting” symptoms not only from the disease itself, but from the treatments.  First step was to have teeth surgically removed that “could” present a problem down the road, even though they were currently healthy. I had eight teeth removed last Thursday (4 wisdom teeth and 4 molars) with no sedation as I was fighting a bad cold and couldn't be “put under”.  I am currently healing before I can proceed with treatment as healing will not occur during radiation treatments. I have several appointments in Iowa City on Friday to determine if I am healed and “virus free” so I can move forward.  As the Visiting team “snuck into town” around my 55th birthday, little did it realize the amount of support the Home team had as he announced the upcoming “contest”! The outpouring of support and love from family, friends, students, athletes and parents has been overwhelming. As one of my heroes, Lou Gehrig once said when he was faced with a similar battle:  “Today, I feel like the luckiest man on the face of the earth”.  I truly feel that because of the love and support all of you have generated for me and my family. The Home team has a definite Home field advantage as we move into the next phase of the “contest”.  The Visiting team loaded the bases in the top of the first, but "my" Home team shut them out with a great game plan, while scoring one run in the bottom half of the first!. The score at the end of one full inning of play is:  Welter 1, Visitor 0!  Remember, take each day one at a time and be productive as you can be!  I love each of you and I continue to appreciate your thoughts and prayers.