5 year anniversary

It has been 5 years since my last cancer treatment. No more cancer checkups at Vanderbilt. Now I hope to enjoy spending the rest of my life with DeAnna and my parents and my family. I want to have children and watch them grow old, make great music and friends, and enjoy a long life from here on out.

I don’t think anyone can say that cancer treatment does not change them. Hopefully their self transformation can be for the better. I know mine was.

One in two males will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime; one in three women will hear the diagnosis as well. Shocking numbers and shocking statistics; there are people like you out there, people who are survivors, they are people like me.

I am living proof that going through cancer treatment can bring some difficult challenges but they can be overcome if you stay positive and stay focused.

Thank you to everyone who supported me during my treatment and those who continue to support me. You know who you are. I will sign off this blog with a poem I found while undergoing cancer treatment.

The Story of the Butterfly
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.
One day a small opening appeared.
He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours
as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole.
Then it stopped, as if it couldn't go further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly.

He took a pair of scissors and
snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon.
The butterfly emerged easily but
it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch it,
expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge
and expand enough to support the body,
Neither happened!

In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life
crawling around.
It was never able to fly.
What the man in his kindness
and haste did not understand:
The restricting cocoon and the struggle
required by the butterfly to get through the opening
was a way of forcing the fluid from the body
into the wings so that it would be ready
for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles are exactly
what we need in our lives.
Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us.
We will not be as strong as we could have been
and we would never fly.

May 2010 Update

Lots of updates! I had my last checkup on March 31st, 2010 and everything checks out OK!

I was informed that the radiation to my chest area may have left me hormone deficient (damaged thyroid?) so I will need to start taking some hormone shots soon.

The biggest news is that Deanna and I were engaged on February 27th and the wedding is May 28, 2011. Exciting!

I also traveled to Miami this Spring (pics attached) to see my friend Nick.

I won the John Lennon song contest in Country Division and I have a new book chapter being published!

http://www.amazon.com/Play-Again-Cover-Popular-Ashgate/dp/0754668096

I am getting ready to finish up school and then Deanna and I going on a great cruise around Mediterranean and to the Holy Land! We also get to see Rome, Athens and the Pyramids/Sphinx. The lineup is as follows:

Rome, Italy-2 days
Sorrento, Italy - 1 day
Taormina, Sicily- 1 day
At Sea - 1 day
Mykonos, Greece - 1 day
At Sea - 1 day
Alexandria (Cairo)- 1 day
Port Said, Egypt - 1 day
Ashdod (Jerusalem)- 1 day
Haifa (Nazareth)- 1 day
At Sea- 1 day
Santorini, Greece - 1 day
Athens, Greece-2 days - 1 day

Besides that just producing several projects including a pop project for Deanna and myself. Bueller is also staying real busy with weddings and corporates.

I will update this blog after our trip. Until then!

Scan update 6/11/09

I just got a scan this Wednesday at Vandy. My first scan in 7 months or so. Dr. Morgan said everything looked fine. It was very relieving as I had had some shoulder pains and a lingering cough over several months this winter. I guess it was just pains from working out and a viral cough!

I am really excited this summer as I am finishing up my dissertation for my doctorate. I am also embarking on writing and producing an album with Deanna of some really cool stuff in the vein of artists like Imogen Heap and Goldfrapp.

Deanna and I went to go see some great friends in Portland this spring and I have posted some pics of the trip!

Finally, I got really excited because I think I will be writing and recording some songs for the Songs of Love foundation http://www.songsoflove.org/. This ties in with my experience with lymphoma and lets me help others in this predicament.

Please donate to the LLS!

Just a quick note. Two more CTs and everything still looks great. I have my next checkup at the beginning of February 2009.

The LLS helped me immensely in my fight against cancer 2 years ago. I ask that you help my friend Meghan as she runs the marathon for the LLS by giving a little. The link to give is below. Even a small donation will help.

Here is the note from Meghan:

I am raising funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as a participant in their Team In Training program and I'm asking you to help by making a donation to my fundraising campaign.

Please use the link in this email to donate online quickly and securely plus learn more about my progress. You will receive a confirmation of your donation by email and I will be notified as soon as you make your donation.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/tn/cmc09/mhall

Each donation helps accelerate finding a cure for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. More than 823,000 Americans are battling these blood cancers. I am hoping that my participation in Team In Training will help bring them hope and support.

On behalf of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, thank you very much for your support. I greatly appreciate your generosity.

P.S. I would appreciate it if you would forward this email to as many people as you can to encourage them to donate as well. Thanks again.

Another Negative PET

Another negative PET scan. I feel blessed to be here. It is hard to believe just a year ago I was going through chemo full force.

I have been finishing up a bunch of recording and songwriting projects before school starts. A lot of my friends have come to Nashville to visit this summer; I have been very happy to see them!

I also have finally begun my thesis research after being approved by the IRB at TSU.

Here are some books I have read and enjoyed this summer:

Life Is A Gift by Bob and Judy Fisher
The Power of Intention by Wayne Dyer
Critical Choices That Change Lives Castro
You Call The Shots Cameron Johnson
Making Records Phil Ramone
Mad Money Jim Cramer
How We Got The Bible Graham

My illness has helped me simply life a lot. I learn more and more each day that this life is about people and relationships. Relationships with people you respect and admire. I have gotten to the point where I don’t want to do any activity in life by myself; I want loved ones around me. That is why I enjoy Nashville so much, both Belmont and the music industry are primarily communities of great people that love and respect one another.

It is true that everyone needs reflective time by themselves as well, but I find I need less and less. I want to give more and take less. Perhaps this is a sign of growing older, perhaps it is a lesson from my illness.

And in some ways, my illness has shaken up my life a lot. You will notice in this blog that there are no pictures of Meghan. I still care for her very much and will always cherish her light in my life during a very trying period. She is on my mind and heart every day and she deserves the best in this life.

Another PET scan down...and my trip to NYC

I went in to Vandi this Thursday 4/10/08 for my 2nd follow up PET/CT scan. The preliminary results look good. I still have a few small spots in my left lung, which the doctors think is residual from my pneumonia infection. All spots have disappeared on the right lung.

God has chosen to give me another 120 days until my next PET scan and I am thankful for that.

I have included some pictures in this blog from my recent Spring Break trip to NYC. Meghan and I went shopping, saw a musical, saw the town and even went to Cleopatra’s needle where I sat in on drums with the band and did a drum solo Davey T style (the first pic)! The last pic below is me with Dr. Oteal. Dr. O was the first person that diagnosed me in the Emergency Room last March. God's hand was on him that day...the other pics besides NYC are in the studio with Jody's group last month.











As I have mentioned before, this whole illness makes you think a little differently about life. Life for me has become more about the moment than the past or future. Family and friends are more important. I am trying to see some old friends this summer instead of working the entire time. Post illness questions that I still struggle with include...Is life short? Is life long? How should I plan?

I have really been inspired by Randy Pausch. I bought his DVD "Achieving Childhood Dreams". I can relate to a lot of what he says in his last lecture.

We only have 26,280 days or less in this lifetime. Eighty years goes by fast, the older you get, the faster it moves.

I recently spoke to a very warm friend on myspace. I have included my response here not to be self-righteous, but because it helps me document my evolution as a human being. Here it is:
--------------------------------------
XX-

How I did I get to the person I am now?

First of all, I always think of the picture that the astronauts took of earth from the moon. We (and all our problems) are very small in the scheme of things. So that’s the first rule, don’t worry and enjoy every moment.
www.geography4kids.com/.../moonearth.html

Secondly, I attribute my success to God in my life. I pray all the time to ask his will for my life. God put us all on this earth for a mission, it might be small or large, but he gave us a purpose. Many don’t believe this, but I don’t believe anyone’s life us just an accident.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” - Nelson Mandella

From your pictures, it looks as though you have respect for beauty and God’s creation, which is the first step to success!

I believe I have succeeded in music because it is one of the things left in life that is still a mystery. Science has taken the humanity and feeling out of a lot of things, but not authentic music (yet). What makes a good piece of music good or have feeling? What is the formula? Etc. These are the kinds of things that challenge me to keep exploring God’s universe.

I love creating. True, many times there is nothing “new” under the sun, but creativity is one of the unique gifts given to humans. Animals can communicate but not create, that is man’s domain. Think of the cave paintings at Lascaux. That is why it is a gift to explore everyday.

Your job has to be your passion. Once again, life is too short to do otherwise. You need to feel like you wake up everyday and go to “play” (as opposed to going to “work”). This ties into your purpose again.

I always ask new people I meet, “what would you do on a daily basis if you won 50 million in the lottery?” and/or “What would you do if you were given 4 weeks to live?” Nine times out of ten you can tell people’s true passions from the way they answer these two questions. As an aside, this, in my view is why society is so ill, 1) people don’t follow their intuition and passions and so they never self-actualize (Maslow) and are basically lying to themselves and 2) people don’t put their problems and life in the hands of God and others and try to do everything themselves, i.e. selfishness.

I also set goals. I have a list of daily, short term and long term goals. Each dovetails into each other. If I knock even a few items off my daily goals during the week, it gets me closer to my l/t goals. It is akin to working out…if you work a muscle just a little bit everyday you will have amazing strength down the road. This gets me closer to God’s ultimate purpose for my life. I believe practicing an instrument daily gave me this kind of discipline, which you are also aware of.

My parents also encouraged me and supported me through my process of exploration and education.

Books-wise I would recommend:
The Bible
Critical Choices That Change Lives – Daniel Castro (I just finished this one, it rocks!)
7 Habits-Stephen Covey
Unstoppable by Cynthia Kersey
Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The Power of Now (Lorena got me onto this one)

Thanks for letting me explore, this was also helpful to me. I wish you luck and send you prayers on your journey.

Dave

My first checkup

Happy New Year! I am writing again to update everyone on my status in case I haven't emailed you back. Meghan and I met with both my oncologist and radiation oncologist on Wed 1/9 and they have given me a negative on my first PET/CT scan! I do have an abnormal PET Scan because of a inflamed spot near the bottom of my right lung, but the doctors have indicated that it is most likely due to swelling caused by radiation and not from cancer.

My next doctors appointment is in March and then I will have another scan in April.

Meghan and I would like to give praise to Our Lord and Savior for the incredible healing that he has done. I know that we have had a lot of prayers for us and we are so blessed to have such a community of family and friends. I can not say this enough, thank you for everything you have done for us this past year. You have been an incredible gift.

Dave and Meghan