"Am I Invisible"
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David's Quotes
"A simple act of kindness is the seed to growing a great world of change. It would be simple to think that one tree may seem insignificant, but if that lone tree drops seeds of its own, it will have no choice but to grow the forest exponentially."
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"David's Legacy"
Beth Palmer
"David's Legacy" was inspired by the courageous spirit of twenty-five year old David Christopher Turner as he battled cancer. Throughout the struggle, David's concern was for others. He counseled with wisdom, brought laughter with abandon, and prayed with devotion, trying to give what was needed to everyone who crossed his path. During this time, the giants David faced fell at his feet- fear, anger, uncertainty, the power of disease to destroy the body. David's spirit remained strong. From a big heart of love and selflessness, "Big Dave" shared a great legacy with the world, one that will not soon be forgotten.
Each
element of the painting has special meaning. The circular African designs in
the heart signify life. Around the
periphery of the heart, flames of love and passion burn. Curved lines extending outward represent growth. Ribbons encircle the heart gift. Through it all, the
river of life flows eternally.
After being diagnosed at age 24 with Stage IV Non-Hodgkin diffuse, large B-cell lymphoma, a blood cancer, Dave received a series of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. In spite of a bleak prognosis, he faced each day with admirable courage and strength, filled with selfless compassion for others.
In the last two weeks of his life, David determinedly battled extreme fatigue, unimaginable pain, and frequent bouts of nausea to reach his goal - to make a way to help others in his same circumstance and offer them Hope. This foundation is David's legacy to those who suffer and ... to the world.
Hello Everyone,
First of all, I would like to thank you for taking the time to visit my website. My name is David Christopher Turner. For those who have been following my story, you know this website was originally created to raise funds for me to obtain a stem cell transplant. Unfortunately, for those same people, you also know that a stem cell transplant is out of the realm of possibilities for my treatment now.
If I was unable to obtain a stem cell tranplant, it was my goal to start a non-profit organization, the David Turner Lymphoma Foundation, but I have put a lot of thought into it and have come up with another idea. I am still going to have the business account set up and raise money, but I am going to be working to form a program in my honor that will raise enough money to allow for one or two (or hopefully more depending on your help!) people to receive stem cell transplants on behalf of the David Turner Lymphoma Foundation, Inc..
As of now, we are only able to accept check donations on behalf of the David Turner Lymphoma Foundation because we are still working on setting up everything the proper way. This should be finished within the next week, and the online store should be starting up around the same time.
I have asked my friends and family to be part of this process because of my current health condition and what it entails. This foundation's goals include raising funds, promoting cancer awareness, and helping with the foundation's responsibilities. I thank you for your time and would greatly appreciate you joining this group and following the success of the legacy I hope to leave behind.
Sincerely,
David Christopher Turner
ROMANS 5:3-5
"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
The verse above has given me an unbelievable strength throughout my battle with cancer and I truly hope it gives you the strength it has given me. ~ DavidWhere to begin my story?
Unfortunately, my life took a tragic turn only a couple of weeks after I got the car and reentered school. I kept getting weaker and weaker every day and didn't know what was going on. It got to the point where I would have to ask a co-worker to watch the store while I took a nap in the back room a few times a day. Since I didn't have insurance, I just dealt with what was going on for over a month and didn't get it checked out. Shortly after that, my dad came into town to visit and we were eating a nice dinner. Well, it was a nice dinner until I had a grand mal seizure in the restaurant. The only thing I remember is waking up in the ambulance ten minutes later. They released me from the hospital in Newport News that night and I went back to work the next day only to have another seizure as I was closing the store. I stayed a night in the hospital, and then they released me again. As soon as I got home from the hospital I had another seizure within 10 minutes of getting home. My roommate called the ambulance and I was back at the hospital. This time I stayed there for a couple weeks so they could try and figure out what was going on. They concluded that there were a few spots in my brain that were hemorrhaging, but they couldn't figure out what they were from. So I was put on anti-seizure medicine and went right back to work. I didn't have any more seizures but the weakness kept getting exponentially worse. I dealt with this for two more weeks, and then my mom came down and said that I needed to go back to the hospital.
When I arrived at the emergency room, they notified me that I was completely anemic and my white blood cell and platelet counts were low so they hospitalized me and I received a blood transfusion. The hospital ran a lot of tests on me over the next two weeks but still couldn't find out what was wrong with me. They narrowed it down to either cancer or a disease from a tick bite. Since I hadn't been out much in the recent months, I had a good hunch what my fate was to be. The doctors did a bone marrow biopsy and sent me home until the results were back. The three or four days I spent with my mother in her hotel room are probably the worst days I've ever experienced. I couldn't think straight, was vomiting every 20 minutes, had enormous stomach pain, chronic coughing. I just remember that I wasn't even able to take a shower because I couldn't be on my feet that long. In fact I couldn't even sit in the shower without almost passing out. I went to visit the doctor to find out about the results of the bone marrow biopsy only to find out that my life had just taken the worst turn that it's ever taken. He informed me that I had Lymphoma and that it had already advanced to Stage IV and there was a growing tumor on my spleen. I was immediately admitted back to the hospital in Newport News and started chemotherapy right away. The first time they tried to administer the chemo I had a very bad reaction and was on the verge of cardiac arrest. I spent the next three weeks in the ICU receiving chemo and blood transfusions trying to get my blood counts back up and shrink the tumor. The chemo seemed to work as my counts went back up and the tumor shrank. I was released and immediately headed to Durham, NC the day I was released to start getting treatment at Duke.
I started my treatments at Duke, and went through 18 weeks of outpatient chemotherapy. The two weeks after every chemo were very rough because they were using a pretty strong form. I was pretty much isolated to my room for 5 months and it was a very trying time mentally and physically, but I persevered despite the overwhelming odds against me. After my chemo was up, I was supposed to get a stem cell transplant, but I was waiting on Medicaid to okay the transplant, which they never ended up doing... About a month after ending chemo, I started experiencing intense pain in my back and groin. I also had to get treated for an ulcer in my eye with a staph infection and made numerous trips to Urgent Care and the ER for various problems. Over the next 1 1/2 months the pain in my back and groin worsened and I lost partial mobility in my right leg. I knew something wasn't right at that point. I had my 3-month checkup with my oncologist, and that's when I found out that the cancer had come back very aggressively again and I had another tumor in my back that had grown onto a nerve. I was admitted to the hospital that very day to start a new regimen of chemo. This time it was to be inpatient chemotherapy and a lot stronger regimen. I just completed my second cycle of this new chemo and right now I'm not feeling well at all from it. I have one more cycle to do starting the 23rd until the 26. As if the cancer hasn't already affected my life enough, I will be spending Christmas in the hospital, but I will persevere knowing I have people in my life that love me and will be there in spirit. That's the whole point of Christmas anyway, right? Christmas is a lot bigger than gifts and get-togethers and I hope a lot of people realize that this year and in the future.
Around the middle of January, I will have a lot of tests run on me to see where the cancer is and what is needed to do. If the cancer has been pushed back at this point, I will need the stem cell transplant then for the best chance of survival. This should be sometime around mid-January and I am in desperate need of raising the money to get the transplant. I only had a 40% chance of the cancer getting pushed back and a 20% chance of surviving the transplant in November. Also, remember this: God has made miracles out of 0%, so I'm sure he can do a lot with 20%. :) With those percentages, along with an invisible hourglass hanging over my head, trying to organize and raise the funds is quite overwhelming. The one thing that gives me the energy and motivation right now, is that not only am I going to help try and save my life, I will be saving many lives in the future through this website and my foundation. I don't want anyone in the world to suffer as much as I have suffered through all of this and I will do anything in my power while I'm alive to make sure I can help everyone I can in a similar situation. I don't want those people to have to deal with the pressure and heartache I'm dealing with right now. I ask you not to donate just for me but to donate for the purpose of giving to others. If you don't wish to donate to this organization, I beg you to donate to another organization that will help someone in need.
I have had a TON of updates over the past few months on "my struggles" I could put on here to share with you. But I don't feel my struggles are the important things to be sharing with you right now. I don't view these as "struggles" anymore. I view them as bumps in the road that try and distract me from keeping my eye on the road that is leading straight to Heaven. These "bumps" may seem larger to a lot of people, but I don't feel them anymore. God has allowed me to learn from the bumps. He's allowed me to learn about perseverance, which I had none of before. I was a lost depressed soul. He's allowed me to learn how to become a better man and spread my character, my beliefs, and my strength to all of those I care about, even those I don't know... and He's allowed me to learn about hope. Too many of us misconceive what true hope is and try to use it for our selfish wishes here on Earth. The hope He speaks of is beyond comprehension to anyone in this world. I am only beginning to understand a little of what lies within this Hope, but I do know where I will find the answer. Romans V:III I will live by this verse until I can't quote it any more: "Rejoice in our suffering, suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope..." If this verse can get me through dying of cancer at this age, I'm sure it will hold great power in your life it you allow it into your heart.
