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Tom's Vegetarian Life-Saving Story
Please read Tom's vegetarian life-saving story!
I have a background that I have shared with others already -engineering degree, food industry product development, petroleum industry laboratory testing and instruments - and finally retired in the 90's. But during this time, I was married four times; yes, 4. The first was 10 years and yielded 4 children, all now in their 40's and successful (but not do to my bringing up - their good mother did the work.) Then, I married an another great lady, and that union lasted 20 years. We traveled everywhere (on business, mostly), but I got to see Europe and much of the U.S., anyway. Then tragedy hit. I think my wife was going through menopause or its early stages (I didn't know), and we were not communicating. So I became interested in my administrative asst., and we went off together. But that relationship only lasted about 3 years including a year of marriage following my divorce from wife #2.
Now, I say all that to get to this: my third wife was vegetarian. I decided that was okay, and lucky I did. About that time, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. I soon had the surgery, and coincidentally lost my vegan wife, my career and most of my "stuff." However, I found a new lady on the internet as I was wallowing in my defeat. She was my "Jersey girl" (I was in Texas), and after a couple month courtship, we decided to give it a try. Heck, she had to be okay - I was born in NJ. I flew back, picked her up and brought her home to Texas.
We hit it off well, and almost immediately decide to try church. We did, but happened to hit a Pentecostal church, and the rest is history. God took over and changed our lives. And He has been running things ever since.
But one critical aspect was my cancer. After surgery, I did fine, and in one of the follow-up checks, an oncologist told my wife and I that the biggest single cause of colon cancer is the eating of meat. Well, we were vegetarians now (I had converted my Jersey girl), and then I thought back. Before my cancer, I had as many as 6 polyps in my colon at an exam. After the surgery and becoming vegetarian, I had never had another one. And now after 16 years, I just had another colonoscopy (every three years), and still no signs of any growths in the colon.
Finally, the sad part - this year, my second wife who was the one who "fed me meat" all those years, died of cancer. My kids were very sad because she had been almost a second mom to them. But I now realize - if I hadn't left as I did, I might never have known, and might very well have eventually gotten an inoperable cancer, too, like she did, and died. Turning vegetarian, very likely saved my life, and I didn't even know it at the time.
It's not the whole story, but perhaps it will help someone who is doubtful. Don't let 'em talk to me - I'll have them convinced in no time, or is that, "know time"?
I have a background that I have shared with others already -engineering degree, food industry product development, petroleum industry laboratory testing and instruments - and finally retired in the 90's. But during this time, I was married four times; yes, 4. The first was 10 years and yielded 4 children, all now in their 40's and successful (but not do to my bringing up - their good mother did the work.) Then, I married an another great lady, and that union lasted 20 years. We traveled everywhere (on business, mostly), but I got to see Europe and much of the U.S., anyway. Then tragedy hit. I think my wife was going through menopause or its early stages (I didn't know), and we were not communicating. So I became interested in my administrative asst., and we went off together. But that relationship only lasted about 3 years including a year of marriage following my divorce from wife #2.
Now, I say all that to get to this: my third wife was vegetarian. I decided that was okay, and lucky I did. About that time, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. I soon had the surgery, and coincidentally lost my vegan wife, my career and most of my "stuff." However, I found a new lady on the internet as I was wallowing in my defeat. She was my "Jersey girl" (I was in Texas), and after a couple month courtship, we decided to give it a try. Heck, she had to be okay - I was born in NJ. I flew back, picked her up and brought her home to Texas.
We hit it off well, and almost immediately decide to try church. We did, but happened to hit a Pentecostal church, and the rest is history. God took over and changed our lives. And He has been running things ever since.
But one critical aspect was my cancer. After surgery, I did fine, and in one of the follow-up checks, an oncologist told my wife and I that the biggest single cause of colon cancer is the eating of meat. Well, we were vegetarians now (I had converted my Jersey girl), and then I thought back. Before my cancer, I had as many as 6 polyps in my colon at an exam. After the surgery and becoming vegetarian, I had never had another one. And now after 16 years, I just had another colonoscopy (every three years), and still no signs of any growths in the colon.
Finally, the sad part - this year, my second wife who was the one who "fed me meat" all those years, died of cancer. My kids were very sad because she had been almost a second mom to them. But I now realize - if I hadn't left as I did, I might never have known, and might very well have eventually gotten an inoperable cancer, too, like she did, and died. Turning vegetarian, very likely saved my life, and I didn't even know it at the time.
It's not the whole story, but perhaps it will help someone who is doubtful. Don't let 'em talk to me - I'll have them convinced in no time, or is that, "know time"?
