thedrifter
10-25-05, 02:32 PM
October 31, 2005
On the comeback trail
Marine battles past brain tumors, plans to compete in Corps marathon
Deborah Funk
Times staff writer
A little more than a year ago, 1st Lt. Andrew Priddy was facing what could have been the end of his life: inoperable malignant brain tumors.
This year, he set his sights on the finish line of the Marine Corps Marathon.
The 26-mile trek is one step on Priddy’s road to recovery from central nervous system lymphoma and toward returning to full duty, hopefully as a pilot.
Along the way, the 25-year-old helped other cancer patients by raising money with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training program.
“This is just one thing in a line of many things I want to do,” Priddy said.
At 6 feet tall, 172 pounds and with a muscular build, Priddy’s appearance doesn’t hint of illness. But in the summer of 2004, cancer cut short his flight training at Meridian Naval Air Station, Miss. He was so fatigued he didn’t want to play golf or work out. He suffered through migraines and vomiting.
His initial diagnosis was a sinus infection, for which he was prescribed Motrin and an antibiotic. But when his condition failed to improve, subsequent imaging tests revealed not one, but two brain tumors.
He was taken to a civilian hospital at Jackson, Miss., and then to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
Priddy slid downhill fast, and doctors started chemotherapy five days earlier than planned because “he was going out,” recalled his mother, Kay Priddy, of Annapolis, Md.
Priddy began a 10-month regimen of chemotherapy that continued into June, although doctors declared his cancer to be in remission in March. Priddy took an active role throughout his treatment, working out to rebuild and maintain strength, and even hand-carrying his medical reports between the National Naval Medical Center and National Cancer Institute, also in Bethesda.
“He’s a prize patient,” said Lt. Cmdr. (Dr.) CelesteAnn Bremer, Priddy’s oncologist. “He takes everything to heart.”
In the hospital, Priddy’s weight dropped to 145 pounds. In January, he could barely bench-press 75 pounds a couple of times. Now, he’s doing multiple sets of 225 pounds.
Completing the course
Priddy’s goal is to return to full duty, hopefully climbing back into the cockpit to fly jets. He was three to six months away from earning his wings, in the second phase of jet training, when cancer interrupted his plans.
He wants to join the fight in Iraq to provide support to his buddies, most of whom are grunts already on their second combat deployments.
“I could have taken a full medical retirement,” Priddy said. “I could have gone to any grad school. But I didn’t join the Marine Corps to not do my part. I’ve never gotten a chance to support those guys.”
He definitely does not want to deploy in an administrative job.
“I’ve been doing that for six or seven months,” he said. “That’s about all I can handle of that.”
While Priddy was into fitness before joining the military, he had never been a distance runner. But running in the Marine Corps Marathon is part of his fitness plan.
He began the 18-week Team In Training program before finishing chemotherapy. Training includes running three times a week, with a long run on Saturdays. The program provides certified trainers to help people prepare for walking or running marathons or half-marathons and for 100-mile bicycle tours.
Some 670 runners are on his team and have raised $2.3 million. More than a quarter-million volunteers have taken part over the past 17 years, raising $595 million for myeloma, lymphoma and leukemia research and aid for patients.
“I wanted to start a program, and I didn’t want to do it for myself,” he said.
Priddy credits his recovery to a number of factors — the collaborative care he received from the National Naval Medical Center and the National Cancer Institute; the support from his wife, Patricia, his parents and other family and friends; and the prayers from thousands of people he doesn’t know.
He said he takes the fact that he survived such a serious illness to mean God has a plan for him.
“He’s got me here to do something,” Priddy said. “I’ve got to figure out what it is.”
To make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training program, go online to www.active.com/donate/tntnca04/tntncaAPriddy.
Ellie
On the comeback trail
Marine battles past brain tumors, plans to compete in Corps marathon
Deborah Funk
Times staff writer
A little more than a year ago, 1st Lt. Andrew Priddy was facing what could have been the end of his life: inoperable malignant brain tumors.
This year, he set his sights on the finish line of the Marine Corps Marathon.
The 26-mile trek is one step on Priddy’s road to recovery from central nervous system lymphoma and toward returning to full duty, hopefully as a pilot.
Along the way, the 25-year-old helped other cancer patients by raising money with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training program.
“This is just one thing in a line of many things I want to do,” Priddy said.
At 6 feet tall, 172 pounds and with a muscular build, Priddy’s appearance doesn’t hint of illness. But in the summer of 2004, cancer cut short his flight training at Meridian Naval Air Station, Miss. He was so fatigued he didn’t want to play golf or work out. He suffered through migraines and vomiting.
His initial diagnosis was a sinus infection, for which he was prescribed Motrin and an antibiotic. But when his condition failed to improve, subsequent imaging tests revealed not one, but two brain tumors.
He was taken to a civilian hospital at Jackson, Miss., and then to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
Priddy slid downhill fast, and doctors started chemotherapy five days earlier than planned because “he was going out,” recalled his mother, Kay Priddy, of Annapolis, Md.
Priddy began a 10-month regimen of chemotherapy that continued into June, although doctors declared his cancer to be in remission in March. Priddy took an active role throughout his treatment, working out to rebuild and maintain strength, and even hand-carrying his medical reports between the National Naval Medical Center and National Cancer Institute, also in Bethesda.
“He’s a prize patient,” said Lt. Cmdr. (Dr.) CelesteAnn Bremer, Priddy’s oncologist. “He takes everything to heart.”
In the hospital, Priddy’s weight dropped to 145 pounds. In January, he could barely bench-press 75 pounds a couple of times. Now, he’s doing multiple sets of 225 pounds.
Completing the course
Priddy’s goal is to return to full duty, hopefully climbing back into the cockpit to fly jets. He was three to six months away from earning his wings, in the second phase of jet training, when cancer interrupted his plans.
He wants to join the fight in Iraq to provide support to his buddies, most of whom are grunts already on their second combat deployments.
“I could have taken a full medical retirement,” Priddy said. “I could have gone to any grad school. But I didn’t join the Marine Corps to not do my part. I’ve never gotten a chance to support those guys.”
He definitely does not want to deploy in an administrative job.
“I’ve been doing that for six or seven months,” he said. “That’s about all I can handle of that.”
While Priddy was into fitness before joining the military, he had never been a distance runner. But running in the Marine Corps Marathon is part of his fitness plan.
He began the 18-week Team In Training program before finishing chemotherapy. Training includes running three times a week, with a long run on Saturdays. The program provides certified trainers to help people prepare for walking or running marathons or half-marathons and for 100-mile bicycle tours.
Some 670 runners are on his team and have raised $2.3 million. More than a quarter-million volunteers have taken part over the past 17 years, raising $595 million for myeloma, lymphoma and leukemia research and aid for patients.
“I wanted to start a program, and I didn’t want to do it for myself,” he said.
Priddy credits his recovery to a number of factors — the collaborative care he received from the National Naval Medical Center and the National Cancer Institute; the support from his wife, Patricia, his parents and other family and friends; and the prayers from thousands of people he doesn’t know.
He said he takes the fact that he survived such a serious illness to mean God has a plan for him.
“He’s got me here to do something,” Priddy said. “I’ve got to figure out what it is.”
To make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training program, go online to www.active.com/donate/tntnca04/tntncaAPriddy.
Ellie