Joseph - ProfilesArchive

About Me

So, what is there to really say about me? I entered this world on June 3, 1969 in Marshalltown,Iowa before moving for a brief time in Illinois(1982)then finally Michigan(1983). I graduated from Hastings High School in 1987 then attended Davenport College. Then I did the usual. Started a career, got married and had a kid. Today I'm a Director/Paramedic for a rural EMS system.
I am also a cancer survivor. In 1997 I rapidly became seriously ill and was diagnosed with stage IV small non-cleaved B-cell non-Hodgkins lymphoma with bone marrow involvement and lesions in the brain. How I did it, or why I survived is nothing short of a miracle. I hope others look at me as an example of what can happen when you find peace and acceptance during an impossible situation.

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My Interests

My interests are many. From Seidokan Aikido, writing, photography,lounging around, road trips, catching colds, trying new, exotic and sometimes dangerous foods (When in season with a fair market price).

I'd like to meet:

The person who has the answers to all my questions.

Music:

My musical interests vary from country, blues, metal, and classical.

Movies:

Field of Dreams- Maybe it's because I'm from Iowa and you've only heard about it.
Others: The Godfather trilogy, Dances with Wolves, Schindler's List, Last Samurai, Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2, Animal House, Caddyshack, Hannibal, Evil Dead I&II, Army of Darkness, This is Spinal Tap, From Dusk Till Dawn.

Television:

I love History Channel, Discovery, and once in a while House, CSI Las Vegas. Other than that, I can live without it.

Books:

Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere, Tao, Shogun, Leadership by Rudolph Guiliani. Favorite Authors are Poe, King, Lovecraft, and Blake (The Holy Road-the sequel to Dances with Wolves).

Heroes:

As a cancer survivor, I have perhaps a different view on what a hero "is". I admire and respect people who have made a difference in my life. Experience has shown me that the most admirable heroes are the ones we see every day and take for granted.

My Blog

To all my friends

The past few months have been very busy in which I've worked a lot, played alot, loved and lost a lot. To some degree this is typical life; yet as we all know life goes on with more in store for us bo...
Posted by Joseph on Sun, 30 Sep 2007 12:36:00 PST

September 12, 1997

9/12. Ten years ago on this date marked the beginning of my fight against lymphoma. Ten years have passed in what seems to be a blink of an eye. It's not easy to put down what or how I fee...
Posted by Joseph on Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:15:00 PST

What a dream I have...

Warren Zevon said it best- "Life'll kill ya" Insanity is repeating things expecting a different result. Ok, if you work a ton of hours, keep the stress level in the red zone, what happens? Some...
Posted by Joseph on Tue, 21 Aug 2007 09:33:00 PST

Anyways...

What takes a lifetime to be built can be destroyed overnight. Build anyways. You can be accused of untoward motives in doing something kind. Do good anyways. The road to Hell is paved with g...
Posted by Joseph on Wed, 08 Aug 2007 05:13:00 PST

Congrats to Tina

Congrats to Tina for being a recipient of the 2007 "Everyday Heroes Award" for EMS. She's come a long way in her career in a very short time and I can't think of anyone else who more deserving. Joseph...
Posted by Joseph on Fri, 13 Apr 2007 11:24:00 PST

Lymphoma Part V, Ten Years Later (REVISED)

2007. It is difficult to comprehend an entire decade has passed since I was diagnosed and treated. Recently I've been stressing over the little things that I swore I would never fret over ...
Posted by Joseph on Wed, 31 Jan 2007 09:50:00 PST

Lymphoma part IV, Fear.

We deny it, dilute it. We try to ignore it although it's obvious to others. The most asked question remains "Weren't you afraid?" My answer is a resounding HELL YES I WAS AFRAID! The...
Posted by Joseph on Fri, 18 Aug 2006 04:41:00 PST

Lymphoma part III

The previous two blogs haven't contained any humor whatsoever. After all, what's so damn funny about lymphoma? It wasn't particularly funny at the time, but there were a few situations and circu...
Posted by Joseph on Thu, 17 Aug 2006 09:04:00 PST

My Lymphoma Bio part II: Survival

I'm often asked about life after lymphoma. How do I deal with certain aspects of survival? Does it drive me crazy? Am I afraid? I use a metaphore to address this: Even today there are old ...
Posted by Joseph on Wed, 16 Aug 2006 02:20:00 PST

My Lymphoma Bio Part I

The most defining moment of my life besides the birth of my daughter was my diagnosis, treatments, and recovery from late-stage non-hodgkins lymphoma. I started experiencing symptoms in the early summ...
Posted by Joseph on Wed, 09 Aug 2006 12:37:00 PST