Sep 25, 2012: "The current state of my lungs... is they will not sustain my life. So I'm hooked up to a machine to assist my breathing. If there is any further deterioration the machines will not help me. So while death is not the desired outcome it is only wishful thinking to think it is not the most likely."
Fast forward 14 months and it is heartwarming to see Michael Free running again in Sydney Summer Series events and getting fantastic scores (around 70-80% in the highly competitive veteran men's class).
Unbelievable is really the best descriptor because Mike's recovery - from being on the verge of respiratory arrest just getting out of his hospital bed to go to the toilet, to running (let alone walking) competitively - is nothing short of miraculous.
It's also a great advertisement for remaining fit, healthy and active because it is undoubtedly Mike's previously very high level of fitness (a former Mens Masters SSS champion) that enabled him to survive.
Mike now runs with a fingertip monitor that tracks his oxygen levels, and he has to slow down whenever it goes off (curiously, it sounds just like an SI unit beeping).
Mike was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer (lymphoma) early in 2012 and after 6 months of chemotherapy his prospects were good. But the long course of taking bleomycin induced pulmonary fibrosis, which is when things got really interesting... for lack of a better adjective.
His situation in late 2012 was so bad that doctors gave him little chance of surviving, and no chance whatsoever of being capable of any physical exertion. And when Mike asked how we was progressing compared to others with similar woes, he was usually met with an uncomfortable silence. As he explained months later in an email to Garingal members, "My cohort in the medical studies that had the same numbers as me are all dead."
With kind permission from Mike, we reproduce here some posts from his blog during 2012.
Sep 1: "Good news. Very likely a blood clot on the lung. (Yes possibly 3 things affecting my lung function currently). But two of them will fully resolve over time."
Sep 21: "Another tough night last night. I will be in the hospital for a while. I can not function without
(administered) oxygen. I can not exert myself."
Sep 25: "The current state of my lungs... is they will not sustain my life. so I'm hooked up to a machine to assist my breathing. If there is any further deterioration the machines will not help me. So while death is not the desired outcome it is only wishful thinking to think it is not the most likely."
Oct 2: "Status quo. X-rays showed no improvement. Showed slight lung collapse. I'm now able to walk 10m dragging my oxygen tank, so that means I can do a couple of things by myself I couldn't do before (then rest for 30 minutes!).
Oct 4: "On suggesting that I had just about enough of it being a major effort just to breathe, the hameotologist let me know that there have been cases where it has taken 50 days for a gradual improvement to reach the point where oxygen was not mandatory."
Oct 15: "Functionally there is improvement. I can get by most of the day without oxygen (not first thing in the morning).
Oct 25: "That a process should cause damage all the way from 100% function down to 20-25% function and then stop at 2 minutes to midnight really does seem unlikely to me. That seems to be what has happened though. I think it is now unlikely that I will die this year (and increasingly unlikely thereafter).
Nov 7: "There is functional improvement since I came home. I have been doing 1km walks, that take a bit over 20 minutes, using 1 litre of pulsed oxygen. After talking to the doctor today, I am going to
start doing it without the oxygen, so it will take a bit longer."
Nov 29: "On Saturday I walked my 1km loop in 11:45."
Dec 29: "At home. Immune system suppressed. Will be on cortico-steroids for another 3 months - best case. Lungs that are probably about 30% of previous function. Unlikely to be able to do orienteering/athletics/road running/rogaining again. (Unless I become eligible for lung transplant)
Going to try and do some hang gliding.
June 5, 2013: "Cancer. No sign of recurrence. 20-30% chance of recurrence in the next 10 years. Lung diffusion has levelled off. Assumption is that's it, my lungs will remain at about 45% normal ability."
Aug 3, 2013: "Rehabilitation has gone much better than expected. Although my lung function seems to have stabilised at about 45%, my practical functionality is much better than was expected. Excluding athletic pursuits, there is nothing I can't do. Just this week I ran 4km for the first time (i.e. without stopping to walk)."
Nov 2013: Mike is now running 6-7km several times a week in the 45-minute format of our summer score events as well as some of his former athletics track work.
Welcome back Mike.
