Steve's Cancer Journey. Watch him #Knockitoutthepark
At only 41 years young, Steve was diagnosed with Stage IV Rectal Cancer. Follow him on his journey to cheer him on and watch him
02/25/2021
I want to share a message I received from a childhood friend of mine last week. Aside from knowing my friend was able to catch this early and is ok now, it makes me cry tears of joy. To know that Stevie literally saved a life makes me smile and shows me that his diagnosis and his journey was not in vain.
So many people have asked "why him." Of all the people he was absolutely the last person to deserve a cancer diagnosis. Not that cancer discriminates but if it did, he should have never been on that list.
I do believe in my heart that he was sent to us to carry this burden to save lives. Stevie was a man that touched many. He alone brought so many back to their knees to pray and to pay attention to their own health. That is the only rational thing I can convince myself of that allows me to stop asking "why him."
Because of Stevie, my friend was able to catch colon cancer in its early stages and have it completely removed during a simple colonoscopy. If caught early, colon cancer is one of the easiest cancers to cure. If left untreated, trust me, its a son of a bitch to get rid of. I urge you all to pay attention to your health. You dont realize how important your health is until you dont have it anymore.
This is the message I received. the husband and wife are in their early 40s. (names have been removed)
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We been watching and keeping up with everything on Stevie. about 2 years ago my husband started bleeding when he would go to the bathroom. Well after Steve was diagnosed he made an appointment to get a colonoscopy but later chickened out and put it off. After Stevie passed he made it a point to go and have it done.. We went yesterday and what they originally thought was internal hemorrhoids was actually colon cancer. but they caught it early enough to remove it all so he doesn’t have to do chemo and radiation. Doctor said if he would have waited another year it would have been a different outcome. Your husband saved my husband’s life. I know this doesn’t bring back Stevie but I want to thank you and him from the bottom of my heart for sharing his journey because it saved my husband's life.. I am forever grateful for you and him.
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I CAN NOT STRESS TO YOU ALL ENOUGH - go get checked!! What they found and removed was 25mm in size and had a stalk attached to it, ready to spread out to everywhere. Please pay attention your body.
01/11/2021
Saints #72 Terron Armstead continues to stay true to his word and prove he is an outstanding guy on and off the field!
As you all know, Baileigh was a recipient of his Christmas target gift card give away and we were able to have a zoom call with him accepting it while Steve was still with us. During that call Terrron promised to wear #14 on his cleats and send Steve some saints swag as well.
We all saw in the game on Christmas day, Terron wore #14 on his cleats. He could have stopped there but instead he stayed true to his promise to Steve.
I just received a package from him. He gifted us those exact cleats, some turf even still on them, and a signed game jersey with a special message to Steve!
I cried like a baby when I opened this. This is so special to our family. I can't wait to get this framed and be able to display this in our home 💕
#72
12/31/2020
Thank you to everyone that came out tonight and/or sent flowers, plants and cards. The outpouring of love that is always shown to him and our family is truly overwhelming at times.
So many of his childhood friends, co-workers past and present, the softball community, neighbors, friends and family..wow. I never thought the line to pay your respects to him and his family would end tonight. It truly was beautiful.
I have been blessed to have had him for 22 years and the legacy he has left behind for his daughter is inspiring.
If you have any pictures of Steve that we can include in his photo memorial for his funeral, please forward them my email or post them in the comments of this post.
This is our zoom call with #72 terron Armstead. If yall know steve, you can imagine how much this meant to him.and our family
Terron is a class act. Small gestures on your part can mean the world to someone else
12/25/2020
I am truly saddened to say my handsome, sweet, kind, funny and compassionate husband has now gone home to the heavens as of 11:15pm on Christmas eve.
Thank you for the amazing support, prayers and love you all have shown to my husband and our family. I am truly humbled by all of your graciousness.
He went surrounded by me, his daughter, mom, dad and sister. It was truly beautiful and everything I'd hoped his last breathe would be.
Thank you for following his journey. You all helped more than yall will know.
2 Timothy 4:7 ~ ...I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith...
Matthew 25:21 ~ Well done my good and faithful servant....
Steve's body is continuing to transition into the final stages. The nurse was unable to read his blood pressure yesterday.
We have been telling him as of yesterday afternoon that it is ok to let go. This boy is a fighter though
12/23/2020
Steve is still with us as of now but I'm not sure if he will make it to the end of today (Wednesday) . I am however still holding out for a miracle that he will be with us on Christmas morning to see our baby girl open her presents. He has proven how strong he is time and time again.
Steve asked to stay on the sofa yesterday so this is where he will take his last breath. I plan on having the medical bed that was delivered through hospice moved from our bedroom tomorrow morning and placed right next to him. I just need to hold and love on him. I just want to crawl.up next to him and snuggle him and caress his hair and hold him and tell him how.much I love him. I will remind him of the beautiful life he has created for me and baileigh, how much better he makes me, how he is the Ying to my yang and how he will forever be my always.
And then eventually I will tell him its ok to go. That he has done such a wonderful job here with us its time for him to rest and rejoice in the heavens. I will remind him that when he gets there to give my mom the tightest hug from me and tell her I love her.
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This is the story of our little family of three and how Steve came to be diagnosed with Stage IV Re**al cancer with extensive liver tumors and bone metastasis.
Steve and I started dating when I was 16 years old (he was 20....shhh, don’t tell my dad!). We became engaged when i was 19 and we married, as babies, at 20 and 24 years old. We bought our first home right before our wedding and lived there for 17 years. In June 2018, we finally moved out of our “starter” home and into our forever home in Acadiana Trace. We are blessed to live in a such a beautiful home surrounded by Steve’s cousins (and neighbors that have quickly become family) in the same neighborhood. It’s a great place to put down some roots and stay forever! We love our little community.
Steve and I struggled to have kids and never thought we would get to experience the joys (and frustrations!!) of parenthood. On our 10th Wedding anniversary, we were surrounded by close friends and family and found out we were expecting a baby girl!!! Baileigh Grace came into this world on April 4, 2012. We could not be happier and she is truly a blessing to our family. This November, Steve and I will celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary.
In July 2018, with the help of Steve’s sister and mom, we finally convinced him to go see a doctor. I had been on him for a while to go to the doctor. I knew something was wrong with him. Steve had changes in his bowel movements, blood in his stool, he was always tired and he had rapid weight loss. On July 19, 2018, he went to see Dr. Keidia at Metro GI for an exam. During the exam, Dr. Keidia felt a large mass in his re**um. He was scheduled for a colonoscopy the next day. I will never forget the doctor’s words to me that day. After the exam, he came outside of the exam room where i was waiting and said “Your husband is not well” the word mass and tumor was thrown around but i was still focusing on what he said first. I knew Steve had not been himself lately but I never expected him to say he was so sick. The thought of cancer never crossed my mind. Even while sitting in the waiting room to schedule the colonoscopy, neither of us could have ever imagined what was to come.
The next day, July 20, 2018, Steve had the colonoscopy. Once the test was finished Dr. Keidia came out to talk with us. It was then he said the tumor in his re**um was malignant. I knew what malignant meant but hearing the words, I had to ask him to explain it. I couldn't wrap my brain around what he was telling us. In my mind, my husband could not have cancer.
Steve has always been an energetic, outgoing and healthy person. He was active in sports, loves to play softball and has an amazing work ethic. He is a package car driver for UPS and is always on the go. Even on his off days, he would cut grass and do things around the house. Keeping him inside to rest for any reason was nearly impossible. Steve didn't even have a primary care doctor because he literally never got sick. This news was out of the box for him.
The following Monday he was sent for an MRI. The MRI results reveled that the cancer had spread to his liver. Not just a small spot on the liver but extensive tumors in the right and left lobes of the liver. Again, we were not expecting this news. Once we got him in to see an oncologist on August 1, 2018, a PET scan was ordered. On August 3, 2018 he did the PET scan and those results reveled the cancer had also spread to his right Ilium (right hip bone). It felt like he was being hit over and over again.
On August 9, 2018, Steve underwent surgery to have a port placed in the right side of his chest. The incision from the outside looked like it was healing perfectly. August 17, 2018, The day the last bandage came off of the incision, he started to run fever. We brought him to the hospital and found out Steve had sepsis. A staph infection from the port surgery would set his treatments back with a 5 day hospital stay. On August 18, 2018, Steve had the port removed. It felt like he would never get his chemo treatments started. We were all so upset.
Currently, Steve is receiving antibiotics to help clear the infection. He has a PICC line that was put in his left arm where he receives IV antibiotic infusions every 8 hours at home. Dealing with his current oncologist (or should i say lack thereof) and the on call oncologist while in the Ochsner Hospital system, it became even more evident to me that these doctors we selected were not the right ones to help Steve fight this terrible disease. The day after Steve was discharged from the hospital, I got to work on finding him new doctors to set up a new treatment plan. He was clearly not getting the best care from his current doctors.
Steve has switched oncologists and so far we are impressed at what she is willing to do for him. She is aggressive and wants to see Steve begin treatment immediatly. She has offered several different treatments options and we are optmistic she will find the right one to help heal him. She has also suggested he take treatments from the National Cancer Institute in Washington. We are still gathering more information but it looks like this will be in his very near future.
Steve is a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a pari, an uncle and a friend to all. He is also a fighter. I asked him recently if he thinks about the fact that he has cancer. His response was “No. Not at all.” He is only reminded he has it once he uses the restroom. This is amazing to me. He has a positive attitude and he knows he will #Knockitoutthepark . I have no doubt that as long as we keep him in front of the best doctors possible, he will be healed. God will heal him and his positive attitude and willingness to fight this will help him through it.
We invite you to share in his journey. Steve is loved by many people and they all want constant updates on his progress. I have created this page to help share his journey. Feel free to post your words of encouragement at any time. Steve will read them all. It will continue to help him along the way! Please continue to pray for his healing.
