thedrifter
08-31-08, 06:53 AM
Cumberland County
Brothers share story of survival and recovery
By Joseph Cress, Sentinel Reporter, August 31, 2008
Last updated: Sunday, August 31, 2008 12:08 AM EDT
There was never any question Rodger Hoke Jr. would volunteer for the most important tour of duty he ever faced.
Given the choice, the 47-year-old Marine gunnery sergeant was determined to push through the pain and risk of serious complications.
The prognosis was grim. Cancer treatment experts gave his kid brother only a year or two to live.
Bradley Hoke was in bad shape and needed a risky bone marrow transplant to survive his latest bout with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Inwardly, Bradley struggled with the decision, but he knew he had to call his older brother Rodger in mid-March.
First diagnosed in 1999, Bradley went through three rounds of radiation, eight months of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. Every time, the cancer came back more entrenched than ever to weaken his body, to break Bradley down.
Then around February, he was given the news and went numb at thoughts of mortality.
“It makes you think what you have done so far in life,” recalls Bradley, 38, of Silver Spring Township.
“They told me I only had one to two years ... that chemo could hold it off a little bit, but not even a year.”
Bradley thought of his brother Rodger, a 20-year veteran reserve Marine with the 2nd battalion, 25th Marine Regiment. He knew the gunny would be training in the Mojave Desert before deploying with Echo Company of Harrisburg to Iraq in early September.
Bradley, youngest of three brothers, was worried the transplant surgery could prevent his oldest brother from serving his country and could hinder Rodger in a life-and-death situation.
“I knew Rodger would have pain ... I knew what he had to go through,” Bradley recalls. “The six holes in the pelvis put a hurting on you. I wanted to make sure Rodger would be safe.”
His only hope
A dangerous surgery such as bone marrow removal could not only disqualify Rodger from combat duty but leave him permanently disabled or end his life if complications arose in surgery.
The procedure involves driving a spike into the pelvis to get at the marrow. Most common risks include infection and internal hemorrhage.
“I just called him up and told him this is the only option I have,” Bradley recalls. “Without missing a beat, Rodger said he would do it. I thought it was great. What can you say? I can never repay him for it.”
For Rodger, there was no hesitation. His kid brother would likely die without the procedure.
“I was scared and I was nervous ... I don’t like needles,” he said. “But whatever penalty I had to pay was nothing compared to what Bradley went through. He’s been fighting this for a long time. I was his only hope.”
Mother Leah Hoke feared the worst. The Florida woman was under stress, worrying about both her sons -- both Cumberland Valley High School graduates. The boys’ father died of cancer seven years ago and this was the sixth time the cancer returned in Bradley.
“His body was worn out from everything,” Leah Hoke said of her youngest son. Deep down, she was hoping Rodger would not be able to go to Iraq.
A mason and part-time farmer, Rodger Hoke realized he had to get into peak physical fitness if he wanted to donate his marrow, recover quickly and then depart for California to train for Iraq with his fellow Marines.
After mobilizing for active duty with the battalion on May 17, Rodger began running nearly every day, averaging up to eight miles. He stuck to a high-protein diet and took multi-vitamins.
The birthday gift
“I wanted to give him the best possible quality bone marrow I could,” said Rodger, who is 10 years Bradley’s senior. “I’ve lived a good life in every way. I wanted him to have the same opportunity.”
His civilian job and Marine Corps training prepared him for the challenge ahead. On June 17, Rodger’s 48th birthday, doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital drilled six holes into the sergeant and drew out 1.7 liters of bone marrow.
“It was my birthday gift to my brother,” Rodger said. “I told him, ‘You better tighten down your boot strings, because you’re gonna be full of my energy. It’s going to be like a battery jolt to your system!’”
Indeed, doctors marveled at the rich flow of healthy bone marrow from the gunny, Leah Hoke said. However, Rodger lost a lot of fluids and was so stressed from the procedure, he collapsed.
He went from running miles a day to not being able to walk to his hospital room door.
“After I got my transfusion, I sat with Rodger in his recovery room,” Bradley recalls. “He was groggy, sore and tired. He is one tough son of a gun. He is not only a tough Marine, he is pretty generous to go through with it.”
Nine hours after surgery, Shih-Mei Hoke, Rodger’s wife of 14 years, guided him out of the hospital in a wheelchair. Leah Hoke was touched by how Bradley helped Rodger out of the truck, up the stairs and into the apartment where the older brother was staying while in Baltimore.
“He made Rodger comfortable,” Leah Hoke said. “The one who has cancer was taking care of the one who helped him.”
Fast track
The gunny was on the fast track to recovery. Within two weeks, Rodger was able to walk a mile.
By mid-July, less than 30 days after the surgery, Rodger was running up to four miles a day. On July 25, just five weeks after the operation, he arrived at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center to begin training for Iraq.
It has been a challenge to build up his endurance under the desert sun in the middle of summer.
“I tire more easily, but I’m getting stronger all the time,” Rodger said. “Marines push through, adapt and overcome. That is pretty much what we do. You have to have a strong mental attitude.”
Despite all the risks and worry, the procedure was a complete success.
When a person receives bone marrow from a donor, the recipient’s body chemistry changes, and they actually acquire the donor’s DNA over a period of time.
Most people are only at 30 to 40 percent DNA by 60 days after surgery, Bradley said. Based on preliminary blood tests, Bradley had 100 percent of his oldest brother’s DNA in just 30 days.
Now Bradley can turn to Rodger to help fend off the cancer and infections from having a weakened immune system.
“I’m feeling very good ... Everything looks good,” said Bradley who may return to work in a month at his towing business.
The brothers had a motto growing up on the family farm in Silver Spring, Bradley said.
“We can mess with each other, but no one can mess with our family,” he said. “We stick together and look out for each other.”
The experience has drawn Bradley and Rodger even closer. They live as neighbors with the middle brother, Stephen, on part of the family farm. Gunny Hoke is thankful for both his family and fellow Marines.
“Brotherhood is a broad term,” Rodger said. “It’s a strong bond between individuals that could never be broken.”
Ellie
Brothers share story of survival and recovery
By Joseph Cress, Sentinel Reporter, August 31, 2008
Last updated: Sunday, August 31, 2008 12:08 AM EDT
There was never any question Rodger Hoke Jr. would volunteer for the most important tour of duty he ever faced.
Given the choice, the 47-year-old Marine gunnery sergeant was determined to push through the pain and risk of serious complications.
The prognosis was grim. Cancer treatment experts gave his kid brother only a year or two to live.
Bradley Hoke was in bad shape and needed a risky bone marrow transplant to survive his latest bout with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Inwardly, Bradley struggled with the decision, but he knew he had to call his older brother Rodger in mid-March.
First diagnosed in 1999, Bradley went through three rounds of radiation, eight months of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. Every time, the cancer came back more entrenched than ever to weaken his body, to break Bradley down.
Then around February, he was given the news and went numb at thoughts of mortality.
“It makes you think what you have done so far in life,” recalls Bradley, 38, of Silver Spring Township.
“They told me I only had one to two years ... that chemo could hold it off a little bit, but not even a year.”
Bradley thought of his brother Rodger, a 20-year veteran reserve Marine with the 2nd battalion, 25th Marine Regiment. He knew the gunny would be training in the Mojave Desert before deploying with Echo Company of Harrisburg to Iraq in early September.
Bradley, youngest of three brothers, was worried the transplant surgery could prevent his oldest brother from serving his country and could hinder Rodger in a life-and-death situation.
“I knew Rodger would have pain ... I knew what he had to go through,” Bradley recalls. “The six holes in the pelvis put a hurting on you. I wanted to make sure Rodger would be safe.”
His only hope
A dangerous surgery such as bone marrow removal could not only disqualify Rodger from combat duty but leave him permanently disabled or end his life if complications arose in surgery.
The procedure involves driving a spike into the pelvis to get at the marrow. Most common risks include infection and internal hemorrhage.
“I just called him up and told him this is the only option I have,” Bradley recalls. “Without missing a beat, Rodger said he would do it. I thought it was great. What can you say? I can never repay him for it.”
For Rodger, there was no hesitation. His kid brother would likely die without the procedure.
“I was scared and I was nervous ... I don’t like needles,” he said. “But whatever penalty I had to pay was nothing compared to what Bradley went through. He’s been fighting this for a long time. I was his only hope.”
Mother Leah Hoke feared the worst. The Florida woman was under stress, worrying about both her sons -- both Cumberland Valley High School graduates. The boys’ father died of cancer seven years ago and this was the sixth time the cancer returned in Bradley.
“His body was worn out from everything,” Leah Hoke said of her youngest son. Deep down, she was hoping Rodger would not be able to go to Iraq.
A mason and part-time farmer, Rodger Hoke realized he had to get into peak physical fitness if he wanted to donate his marrow, recover quickly and then depart for California to train for Iraq with his fellow Marines.
After mobilizing for active duty with the battalion on May 17, Rodger began running nearly every day, averaging up to eight miles. He stuck to a high-protein diet and took multi-vitamins.
The birthday gift
“I wanted to give him the best possible quality bone marrow I could,” said Rodger, who is 10 years Bradley’s senior. “I’ve lived a good life in every way. I wanted him to have the same opportunity.”
His civilian job and Marine Corps training prepared him for the challenge ahead. On June 17, Rodger’s 48th birthday, doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital drilled six holes into the sergeant and drew out 1.7 liters of bone marrow.
“It was my birthday gift to my brother,” Rodger said. “I told him, ‘You better tighten down your boot strings, because you’re gonna be full of my energy. It’s going to be like a battery jolt to your system!’”
Indeed, doctors marveled at the rich flow of healthy bone marrow from the gunny, Leah Hoke said. However, Rodger lost a lot of fluids and was so stressed from the procedure, he collapsed.
He went from running miles a day to not being able to walk to his hospital room door.
“After I got my transfusion, I sat with Rodger in his recovery room,” Bradley recalls. “He was groggy, sore and tired. He is one tough son of a gun. He is not only a tough Marine, he is pretty generous to go through with it.”
Nine hours after surgery, Shih-Mei Hoke, Rodger’s wife of 14 years, guided him out of the hospital in a wheelchair. Leah Hoke was touched by how Bradley helped Rodger out of the truck, up the stairs and into the apartment where the older brother was staying while in Baltimore.
“He made Rodger comfortable,” Leah Hoke said. “The one who has cancer was taking care of the one who helped him.”
Fast track
The gunny was on the fast track to recovery. Within two weeks, Rodger was able to walk a mile.
By mid-July, less than 30 days after the surgery, Rodger was running up to four miles a day. On July 25, just five weeks after the operation, he arrived at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center to begin training for Iraq.
It has been a challenge to build up his endurance under the desert sun in the middle of summer.
“I tire more easily, but I’m getting stronger all the time,” Rodger said. “Marines push through, adapt and overcome. That is pretty much what we do. You have to have a strong mental attitude.”
Despite all the risks and worry, the procedure was a complete success.
When a person receives bone marrow from a donor, the recipient’s body chemistry changes, and they actually acquire the donor’s DNA over a period of time.
Most people are only at 30 to 40 percent DNA by 60 days after surgery, Bradley said. Based on preliminary blood tests, Bradley had 100 percent of his oldest brother’s DNA in just 30 days.
Now Bradley can turn to Rodger to help fend off the cancer and infections from having a weakened immune system.
“I’m feeling very good ... Everything looks good,” said Bradley who may return to work in a month at his towing business.
The brothers had a motto growing up on the family farm in Silver Spring, Bradley said.
“We can mess with each other, but no one can mess with our family,” he said. “We stick together and look out for each other.”
The experience has drawn Bradley and Rodger even closer. They live as neighbors with the middle brother, Stephen, on part of the family farm. Gunny Hoke is thankful for both his family and fellow Marines.
“Brotherhood is a broad term,” Rodger said. “It’s a strong bond between individuals that could never be broken.”
Ellie