Letter from Les Parsons

Les - nothing new for me, just a wee bit of cancer..."I might have lost my stomach, but, I have lots of guts"!

This letter was written by Les on Nov 3. You need to know that he is now skiing better than most of us could hope, and is planning on a season of guiding! Les coaches Olympic caliber Nordic Ski athletes. Olympic Gold Medal winner, Becky Scott, was one of his athletes.

Losing my stomach to cancer has been one of the more challenging things I have dealt with in my life. The past 4 weeks have been one tough lesson of: accepting reality and learning patience. And, more importantly, I have learned how much my family and friends truly love me. I have received overwhelming love & care & concern & prayers. I apologize for this impersonal group email. It would take me forever to respond to your messages.

Four weeks ago, I was healthy & strong, training 7 days a week with my athletes, and, feeling great! I had just finished a great summer of guiding wilderness Nahanni river trips in the Yukon and Alaska, and, this fall I was competing in cross country running races, pushing my 45 year old body to the maximum, while chasing my young athletes in practices and races. Throughout my life, I have experienced the best health of anyone I know...as my friends often kid me, "Oh yeah, this is Les, strong like bull moose - smart like tractor". On Tuesday I did a 3 hour run with one of my fastest junior men. On Wednesday we had a tough day of running maximum uphill intervals with our team, and I returned home feeling kind of tired. That night, I got up to take a pee and I fainted & collapsed into the shower. I woke up a few hours later and crawled back to bed on my hands & knees. On Thursday morning I was feeling tired, so I did the lazy thing and rode my bike along side the athletes who ran intervals. Thursday night, feeling even more lazy, I drove my car to roller-ski practice and stood on the side of the road to coach. On Friday morning, I got up feeling super lazy so I told the athletes to go and climb the mountain (Mont Sainte Anne) beside my house, while I went to the hospital to see a doctor. It was the first time I had ever missed a practice with the athletes. At our local hospital, the doctor tried to take my blood pressure with a blood pressure cuff, mumbled it didn't work, tried it on my other arm, went and found another cuff, tried to take my blood pressure again, gave up, did a blood test on me, then sent me direct to the x-ray lab, and, then asked me how I was able to get myself to the hospital. When I said I drove my car, he took my car keys from me and put me into an ambulance direct to Quebec City.

Of all the things I remember of that day, I can still hear the birds singing! As they unloaded my stretcher from the ambulance outside of the hospital, there was a tree by the emergency entrance...a tree full of singing birds who were cheeping & chirping & tweeting. As they wheeled me past that tree and into the hallway of the hospital, I closed my eyes and tried to listen to the birds sing for as long as I could possibly hear them, and, as we rounded the corners of the hallways, the echos of their joyful singing slowly faded away from the hallways, but, not from my mind...

Of all the things I want to forget of that day, I can still feel myself choking & suffocating as the doctor & nurses shoved a huge television camera tube down my throat to check my stomach and intestines. I was screaming "arret-arret" as loud as I could, but, they kept on pushing the tube down my throat. Then, they did a number of other x-ray tests and scans, sliding me in & out of big tubes, and, doing lots of blood & poop & pee tests.

The doctors & nurses were not happy when I refused to take a blood transfusion. I put up quite the resistance. Finally my family doctor = who is my neighbor, a national team sports doctor, and, the mother of 3 athletes I coach, told me I need to accept the blood transfusion. Being that her kids are 13, 16 & 18, I trusted her, knowing that she would be thinking long term...needing me stick around for a few more years to coach her kids. Later on, one of the nurses asked me why I donated blood so many times over the years, willing to give blood to others, but, not willing to accept other's blood (read "hypocrite"). Three big sacks of blood later, I felt like Popeye the Sailor Man, ready to run a world record marathon. Now I can understand Floyd Landis (the winner of this year's Tour de France, who was stripped of his victory for being caught adding EPO to his blood) and those other cheaters who do blood doping in endurance sports like cycling and cross country skiing = blood doping works!

I spent Thanksgiving Weekend dreaming of eating turkey smothered in cranberries, potatoes & stuffing smothered in gravy, and, desserts smothered in chocolate. My real meal was a main course of blood transfusions, followed by a dessert of intravenous solution, with no other food or drink by mouth, to empty my insides in preparation for surgery. And, I had to lay in my bed the whole time, I couldn't even stand up for a pee!

Early Tuesday morning, Quebec's specialist surgeon for gastro-intestinal cancer, Dr. Marois, explained to me that he would be removing a tumor and part of my stomach, depending on where the tumor was located. This tumor had caused my stomach to tear, which in turn caused the internal hemorrhaging and loss of blood when I collapsed 4 days earlier. The anesthetist gave me a double-double = an epidural on my back in my spine to put my abdomen at rest, and, a general anesthetic to put me to sleep. About 6 hours later, they performed their "waking up routine" on me in the recovery room of the intensive care ward in the hospital...I felt really crummy. Yet, what bothered me most was the most uncomfortable tube you could never imagine, entering my mouth with pressure on my tonsils so that I could hardly breath or talk, and, worst of all, I couldn't swallow my own saliva because of the pain of the tube. And, they had me poked full of holes with needles and intravenous feeds going in my neck and arms and chest, and, drain sacks in my back & abdomen, a catheter tube for peeing, and, an oxygen tubes in my nostrils. It was like a scene from a medical TV drama, except I was the actor playing the patient. During this nightmare, all I could think of was "owww...I feel really bad".

The next morning, still in a daze of anesthetics and pain killers, what I "thought" my surgeon said to me in french was that he removed all of my stomach and a part of my liver, because of a cancer tumor the size of a tennis ball. So, I mumbled "OK, could you please repeat that in english, because I misunderstood you in french." Dr. Marois repeated the same thing in english...it sounded better in french. Then, he assured me, that I would be able to have a full recovery, and, that of all the organs I need in my body, my stomach is one organ I could live without. HEY! Obviously Dr Marois didn't know WHO he was talking too! Despite the anesthetics & pain-killers & choking tubes shoved down my nose & throat, I proceeded to try to mumble & moan to explain to Dr. Marois that a big part of who I am is related to my stomach. I told him I was famous for how much I could eat! Those of you who have seen me eat know that there is no-one with my appetite for huge quantities of food. He smiled, put his hand on my shoulder, told me I was going to be OK, and, told me to go back to sleep. I trusted him and returned to sleep for the next couple of days, pushing the "nurse call button" every couple of hours and begging for another injection of Demerol to control the abdominal pain. It felt like someone was jabbing swords into my stomach.

Being confined to that hospital bed was the longest ten longest days of my life...wondering & worrying about my life without a stomach. And, ten days without taking any drink or food by mouth seemed like an eternity. Meanwhile, Dr. Marois was wondering & worrying about my cancer. On day 11 he walked into my room with a big smile, pulled the tubes out my mouth & throat, and, while I was coughing up my esophagus, he said I could start drinking water that night and start eating liquid foods the next day. He said that my tests were showing that he had cut out all of the cancer, and, there was no trace of other cancer for now. Lucky for me, the tumor was contained and located on the outside wall of my stomach where my esophogus enters my stomach, so the cancer hadn't spread, except to my liver...and, it spread to my liver only by "proximity" where the tumor was physically touching in contact with my liver, but, not in the arteries of my liver. Whew!

Just for fun, while in the hospital, I filled out an organ donor card for my wallet, to indicate that if I was in an accident, they could have my stomach for a transplant. Imagine what some poor doctor & nurses will say when they open me up looking for a stomach?

Two weeks from going in, I walked (slowly) out of the hospital, got in my car, and, drove home to my chalet with my mom & sister, who flew from Alberta to Quebec to care for me. I left the hospital staff scratching their heads trying to figure out how I recovered and bounced back so fast...they under-estimated the power of my mind and my body to focus on getting OUT OF THE HOSPITAL and back home to my mom`s delicious home cooking! Since then I have been eating her home-made food, walking, and, sleeping. I can eat everything that I always ate before, but, I must eat S-L-O-W-L-Y! And, I have learned a new verb in french: "mastiquer" = which means "chew"! My teeth and my saliva will do what my stomach used to do. I will need no special medicine...just the variety of lots of healthy food. I will not need a plastic sack in my abdomen. The doctor sewed my esophagus directly to my small intestine, and, after I chew my food completely, to break it down (like my stomach muscles would have), the food slides right down to my small intestine to continue it's digestion and absorption process. Once a month I will give myself an injection of vitamin B12 just to ensure enzyme absorption of vitamins & minerals. The only real change in my life is to "learn patience" to eat slowly, and, to only eat or drink in small quantities.

They will be testing me continually for the next few weeks. They may decide to give me some chemotherapy in the next few weeks to guarantee there are no free roaming radical cancer cells, but, that would only be precautionary & preventative treatment. I will not be able to work hard or ski fast on the snow to coach for a few weeks, but, I can walk outside, so, that is all I really need to keep happy. Walking is the best medicine.

Please don’t worry about me...I am in the best of hands with some of Canada's best medical specialists here in Quebec. On the contrary, I am more worried about the poor people who are suffering around our world, than I am about me. If there was one thing I would wish, I would want to trade places with some young person who doesn't deserve to have cancer . So, please share all of your love & send all of your energy to others you know who are suffering. I know how important it is to those of us who are sick, to know that everyone is hoping & praying & loving & wishing us the gift of good health.

Now I am learning to accept the reality that I will need to take my time to recover...it is going to be a long process. I guess I need to accept the fact that I am just as human as one of 6 billion fellow human beings, and, these are the cards I have been dealt. I have witnessed first hand the suffering of our world's poorest during my travels around our planet, suffering people who are ill and who have no medical system available to comfort & ease their pain, and, my brief encounter of being ill "pales in comparison" as "next to nothing" to the pain & suffering that our world's poor endure for months or years. I understand the big picture: my life is no more precious than any of us 6 billion, and, my experience has been very fortunate so far, with no real suffering. What comes next is not a big worry of mine. I ask you not to worry for me, at the expense of caring for others in our world, whose lives are worth as much or more than mine. We are all equal = some poor villager suffering of AIDS or malaria in Africa; some young child suffering from water-borne disease in Asia; some innocent civilian victim of war in Iraq-Sudan-Afghanistan-Colombia-Palestine-Kashmir-Sri Lanka-Lebanon-etc; some starving person suffering from malnutrition in a world over-flowing with an abundance of food; etc, etc.

We received over a foot of snow here at my chalet north of Quebec City last weekend, so I have been outside, walking along the ski trails, with my winter parka & snow boots, and, having fun coaching my young athletes. I feel great. I have no pain and no fatigue. I can' t sleep during the day, but, I sleep like a rock at night. I have absolutely no interest in TV. Walking outside has been great for fresh air & to aid in the digestion between meals. I eat a small meal every hour. I have been eating non-stop, and, trying to gain back 20 pounds that I lost in the last few weeks...so I have a LOT of chewing ahead of me. Like my best friend Walter Scott says: "Les, you don't have a stomach, but, you have lots of guts!"

One of my heros is Terry Fox. He & I are same age. One of his quotes is: "I believe in miracles...I have to." So far my recovery has been a miracle, according to my doctors. They have told me to keep my plans for this winter and the future, but, to take my time to rest & recover.

I have a lot of mountains yet to climb: I am still in pursuit of a new record in Canadian politics. John Diefenbaker set the bar very low with 7 consecutive losses and defeats before finally winning a federal election and becoming Prime Minister. I am well on my way to lower that bar. I have lost the past 5 federal elections in my campaign to be elected as a Member of Parliament: three times in Alberta with the Progressive Conservative Party, and, twice in Quebec with the Green Party. My passion for politics has been fueled by my world travels, and, the fire in my bones is to offer my leadership for two causes: to help the poor in our world, and, to protect our environment.

I decided to leave the Conservative Party and join the leadership of the Green Party 3 years ago. For those of you who questioned my decision, think about the two headline world news stories this week:

If ever there was a time to get involved in federal politics to make your difference in Canada's role as a world leader, it is now. Simply click on: www.greenparty.ca or call 1-866-868-3447 and pay $10 to buy your Green Party of Canada membership and then do our green thing = "think globally & act locally." You can make a real difference starting today.

Something caused my stomach cancer. I included my Green Party message to complete the full circle of my story. I have done much studying to educate myself about my cancer during the past week. There are cancer causing substances in the food we eat = chemical contamination of herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, chemical preservatives, artificial flavors, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, chemicals in the packaging, etc. You can expect to see me continue to do my part in our Green Party leadership, not only in the areas of global poverty and environmental protection, but, also on food safety.

I am sure I have given you something to chew on. I don't want to chew alone! To quote my dear mother from one of her messages to our river guides: "Having grown up on a farm, Les knows that cattle graze all day long, so having seen our cows patiently chew their cud, Les will learn to follow their example."

Nahanni River Adventures, Nahanni offers exceptional expeditions by raft and canoe on the great rivers from Alaska to Nunavut including: South Nahanni River, Tatshenshini River, Alsek River, Firth River, Snake River, Wind River, Stikine River, Burnside River, Coppermine River, Horton River, Mountain River, Yukon River, Taku River, Gataga River and Sea Kayaking and whale watching at Point Adolphus, Alaska, over-looking Glacier Bay National Park.

Our expeditions encompass Nahanni National Park (South Nahanni River), Kluane National Park (Alsek River), Ivvavik National Park (Firth River), Glacier Bay National Park (Alsek River), Herschel Island Territorial Park (Firth River).

Nahanni River Adventures operates in Alaska (United States of America), Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and British Columbia (Canada).

Nahanni.com is the online presence of the company, Nahanni River Adventures Ltd.

Nahanni River Adventures works with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society to ensure the environmental integrity of our wild places.

Neil Hartling, founder of Nahanni River Adventures, is also the author of: Nahanni, River of Gold...River of Dreams. Alaska to Nunavut - The Great Rivers. Nahanni River Guide. These books may all be purchased through Nahanni.com.

Common misspellings of the name are Nahani, Nahannie, Nahanie, Nahoni, Nahonni.
Nahanni River Adventures.