The Present
The last few years have been a rollercoaster for me, needless to say. My wife of 19 years, Susan, died in November 2023, I broke my right ankle playing basketball nine days later and was diagnosed with rare, aggressive cancer in July 2024.
There was a silver lining to the broken ankle: my first wife Michelle, a retired nurse, offered to help me! We grew close again and even talked about remarrying one another. After the cancer diagnosis July 17, and with our original date of July 30 coming up quickly, we remarried 41 years after our original date.
Death of Susan Huelsman (November 2023)
My deceased wife Susan was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 and went through everything – a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy and to be cured of the cancer. However, it came back in 2018, at which point it was stage IV. Nonetheless, she continued with her DJ business and we still did dozens and dozens more gigs throughout Wisconsin. The disease really began to take its toll on her during the summer of 2023, however; she retired in early September, and passed away November 11, 2023 at Agrace Hospice in Fitchburg, WI.
Broken Right Ankle (November 2023)
I had stopped playing basketball regularly in September to help care for Susan. After she passed away, I resumed my regular routine of going 3 times weekly. On November 20th–nine days after my wife’s death–I went up for a layup and while still in the air, another player accidentally kicked my right foot. I came down full force on a rolled ankle, causing a fractured fibula and tearing all four tendons. For 10 weeks, I was in a cast, couldn’t drive, and had to use a portable scooter. The rehab process went quickly, however, and I was back on the basketball court again by early May 2024. I continued even through chemotherapy; my last game was December 11, 2024.
Cancer Diagnosis (July 2024)
In early July, I began feeling tired and sluggish; food wasn’t going down well and I couldn’t sleep. I also noticed that my urine had turned a dark brown color, a symptom of jaundice I attributed to being dehydrated. After my skin turned yellow, I went to the ER and learned I indeed had jaundice caused by a small cancerous tumor that was pushing my common bile duct closed and not allowing my bile to drain properly. Technically, I have small cell carcinoma in my pancreas–not pancreatic cancer–and, unfortunately, it has since spread to my liver and duodenum. I have since retired from the State of Wisconsin so I can deal with the cancer full-time.
Got Remarried! (July 2024)
After I broke my ankle, I needed a lot of help! Fortunately for me, my first wife and junior high school sweetheart, Michelle, volunteered for the job. We realized that our bond had never ended, we were truly soul mates, and we never should have divorced back in the early 1990s. Plus we have a son and granddaughter together. Our families and friends were ecstatic that we were back together! We hadn’t planned on remarrying so quickly, but I knew what it was like to go through the cancer journey. I wanted Michelle by my side as my wife, especially if things didn’t turn out well. Our first wedding was in Fond du Lac, WI, and we wanted this one in Fond du Lac as well. We had a small ceremony at a supper club on Lake Winnebago, and 40 of our closest friends and family.
Living with Cancer
Unfortunately, the cancer journey has not gone well so far. The surgeon originally wanted to wait for some chemotherapy treatments to both shrink the original tumor as well as potentially kill any cancerous cells we didn’t know about. However, after five rounds of chemo, the cancer not only continued to grow but it metastasized into my liver, making it stage IV (and, currently, not something that can be addressed by surgery). For the latest information regarding my journey, visit my CaringBridge page where I post nearly everything happening to me from a cancer perspective.