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
-
-
Ambulance board OKs outsource billing
After a thorough discussion during Wednesday’s board meeting, the Barren-Metcalfe Emergency Medical Services decided to outsource its billing to AMB-MARS (Medical Accounts Receivable Systems doing business as AMBulance Medical Billing), contingent on AMB-MARS adding a guarantee clause on its work.
-
Teen named local youth of the year
Rayne Triplett has been practicing the speech she will give at the end of the month when she travels to Frankfort to compete for the Boys and Girls Club’s 2012 State Youth of the Year title.
-
Howard lauded for G/T work
Glasgow Superintendent Sean Howard was presented the Kentucky Association for Gifted Education’s Michael Caudill Educator Award on Monday at the annual KAGE conference in Lexington.
-
Teens to be tried as adults
Barren Circuit Court released the names of two juveniles charged in an armed robbery in October, after the court decided to try the teens as youthful offenders in adult circuit court.
-
Payne pleads guilty to lesser charge
A Glasgow man who had been facing a felony charge of custodial interference pleaded guilty Tuesday in Barren Circuit Court to a lesser charge.
-
Rowland will take Comer's seat for now
A Monroe County businessman will fill the unexpired term of former state representative Jamie Comer, according to the results of Tuesday’s special election.
-
County struggles to provide EPA report
Barren County Road Department Head Johnny Kinslow called his bi-monthly report to the fiscal court his “gloom and doom” report Tuesday night. After five years of letters and discussions, the Environmental Protection Agency has informed Kinslow that he must produce a closure report for underground fuel tanks that were removed 13 years ago, or face unnamed consequences.
- MORNING UPDATE: Two juveniles charged as adults in robbery
- MORNING UPDATE: Tebben blogs from New York
-
Chamber names Travis ‘Outstanding Citizen’
Winning the Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award Monday night came as a complete surprise to Dr. Bill Travis.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Ambulance board OKs outsource billing
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
