When Sherryl Swift and her husband, Mike, talk about the events in their lives they refer to them happening either BC or AC — before or after cancer.
Sherryl was in her 40s when she was diagnosed in 1997 with adenocarcinoma, a type of lung cancer.
The first clue she had that something wasn’t quite right was revealed when she and her family drove down to Barren River State Park to walk the trail adjacent to the main park road.
“I had to stop every few feet to get my breath,” she said. “I knew something was wrong.”
Her family physician thought Sherryl might have a heart condition and referred her to a cardiologist who ordered a cardiac catheterization.
In preparation for the procedure, Sherryl had a chest X-ray which revealed a mass in one lung.
Sherryl’s doctor referred her to Jewish Hospital in Louisville where a portion of her lung was removed and biopsies of her lymph nodes were conducted. The doctors at Jewish Hospital told her the type of lung cancer she had primarily affects non-smokers and women, and is known to reoccur with a vengeance. An MRI also revealed spots on her brain.
“(We were told) she probably had a couple of months to live,” Mike said.
Refusing to give up hope, the couple sought advice from another doctor who referred them to the University of Kentucky Medical Center.
“We’re looking for a miracle,” Sherryl told the doctor at UK the first time she met him.
The doctor thought a procedure called gamma knife surgery, which is actually a special form of radiation, would help.
Sherryl underwent gamma knife surgery twice in 1998 and then had open brain surgery. She’s been cancer-free for five years, but two years ago she suffered a debilitating stroke.
“My whole left side was gone,” she said.
Doctors weren’t sure she had sustained a stroke at first. They actually thought she had a new tumor, but after a spinal tap came back negative they realized she must have had a stroke.
“Of all the things, the stroke I guess has been the most devastating to her,” Mike said.
It has taken Sherryl quite a while to recuperate from the stroke. She has just recently relearned how to walk on her own.
The ordeal she has been through has changed her life in many ways, most of which has been positive.
“I’ve gotten closer to my children,” Sherryl said as she sat in her recliner and looked at the large framed photos of her children on the opposite wall.
She has also grown closer to her church family at Gethsemane Baptist Church, who have provided support in many ways.
“They call me a walking miracle,” she said. “I told Brother Paul it’s kind of hard to live up to the title of ‘walking miracle.’”
When Sherryl was first diagnosed with cancer, she was told she only had a couple of months to live. The news came at a time when the couple was awaiting the birth of their second grandchild.
“They told me I wouldn’t live to see him, but guess what? I helped deliver that baby,” Sherryl said.
Her recovery “is nothing short of miraculous,” Mike said.
Local News
Related Photos
Discussion
Swift: ‘We were looking for a miracle’
Given two months to live, woman has been cancer-free for five years
- Local News
-
-
UPDATE 3:05 p.m.: Fatal wreck on Burkesville Road
A Summer Shade man was identified as the driver in a fatal crash on Burkesville Road early Saturday morning.
-
Jail staff challenges Ober’s report
A long list of allegations made by a private investigator against the Barren County Detention Center is being challenged by a majority of the jail employees, who say they have not witnessed anything illicit.
-
BBBS honors volunteers Bell, Click
There’s no doubt about it. Tamara Click and Price Bell love spending time with their “little sister and little brother.”
-
Magistrates defend decision
Almost a month after a private investigator presented his summary report about the Barren County Detention Center and nearly five months since the initial vote for an investigation, the members of the Barren County Fiscal Court are standing by their decisions.
-
Park, students form partnership
Barren County Middle School and officials from Mammoth Cave National Park (MCNP) began a partnership in 2009 through a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, according to a district news release.
-
Cemetery dedication planned Sunday
On Sunday, a dedication ceremony culminating efforts of several concerned citizens who restored the cemetery will take place at 2 p.m. at the D.F. West Cemetery on Ky. 70 near Hiseville.
-
No swimming allowed at lake for Memorial Day
Don’t visit Barren River Lake this Memorial Day weekend and expect to go swimming.
- 2:10 AFTERNOON UPDATE: Hart Co. man arrested for trafficking
- 9:03 a.m. Morning Update: Glasgow firefighters and Barren-Metcalfe EMS respond to wreck with injuries
-
Late Night Update: Investigation continues regarding injured teen
Very little is known about the circumstances surrounding a 15-year-old Barren County boy who was found seriously injured and lying in a ditch alongside his bicycle on Dripping Springs Road late Monday night.
- More Local News Headlines
-
UPDATE 3:05 p.m.: Fatal wreck on Burkesville Road
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
