Welcome to the Worldwide V8 Bikers Forum

I am copying this from the other site...Tim who puts on the Lacrosse Rally posted it over there.

QUOTE "Received a call this morning from Julie Ohs regarding Mike Wallace (mdwdvm here) - it seems Mike was diagnosed last Friday with a cancerous condition and is in the hospital. I'm not anexpert nor do I think I have all of the particulars about Mikes condition, so I won't even got there. But his wife Julie has established a Caring Bridge site for Mike and would appreciate all the visits go there to ease their burden in getting information out.

If you do not have an account at Caring Bridge you do need to establish one - the site is http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mikewallacejourney
Thanks - Tim & Jen END QUOTE

I met Mike and Julie at Lacrosse in 2013...awesome people I truly enjoyed visiting with as are 99.99% of the V8'ers.

Please keep them in your thoughts and Prayers...

Thanks Barry- sounds like Mike has a great attitude and support system to beat this.
Cancer SUCKS

Mike wishing you all the best!!

This is a shock to hear. We saw Mike in Lacrosse but didn't know he was Ill. I can't remember my password to caringbridge to check up on him. Prayers sent for his recovery! Tom and Nancy

Thanks to all for the well wishes and kind words.

I'll provide a quick synopsis of my health challenge here, just so those who may not have the time to invest in going to the Caring Bridge site have an initial idea of the dragon I'm fighting.

Last Friday I was blind-sided with a diagnosis of leukemia related to back/leg pain and fatigue over the past few months. While we had hope for the chronic form of the disease, a bone marrow biopsy taken on Monday confirmed Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, a more aggressive and difficult form to treat. I'm supported by every type of specialist imaginable and yesterday received my first chemotherapy treatment, that being an injection into my cerebrospinal fluid space as this cancer can invade the spinal cord and brain. Today I begin the regimen of intravenous chemotherapy that is the mainstay of the treatment. With the specific cell types involved in my cancer, it is thought that I have a 97% chance of going into remission after the full course of therapy, so odds Very much in my favor up front that it can be kept at bay, even if not cured. It's like ly that a bone marrow transplant will be important later on as well.

In summary, we're embarking on a trip that was not the same as our intended destination of Sturgis this week, but one that more importantly we're confident will allow me to survive to ride another day.

I'll not continue to provide health updates here on the site, but wanted to provide quick context for those who are interested.

Cheers,
Mike

Mike,

Wishing you the BEST of luck with your treatments. It sounds like you have all the right doctors on board to get past this "hump in the road". Best thoughts and wishes to you for a speedy and full recovery.

Don

Mike,

Thanks for the post. Your attitude and approach is admired!

Sounds like a tough journey, but with a good prognosis.

Look forward to seeing you and Julie soon at another V8 function.

tjy wrote:This is a shock to hear. We saw Mike in Lacrosse but didn't know he was Ill. I can't remember my password to caringbridge to check up on him. Prayers sent for his recovery! Tom and Nancy

Tom...just sign in on Facebook instead

Mike,

I'm really sorry to hear of this and wish you the very best luck in treatment. A great attitude, family and friends are essential in helping the recovery process. You have all those covered. Looking forward to positive updates.

Faith and positive attitude, you got both, battle is almost won!!

My prayers go out to you and your family.
Stay strong.

Prayers and best wish's to you and yours Mike

Mike

Mike,, prayers sent for your recovery, also for strength for your family to help you through this.

Darryl

A cancer diagnosis is life changing. Suddenly, you become aware of your mortality. There's the initial fear. Am I going to die? What about my family? Are my affairs in order? Then there's the waiting. Why won't the doctor call and tell me what's going on? Finally, there's the sit down with the doctor. I have a rudimentary medical background, so the explanation of what was next was easy to follow. "Do what we tell you to do and you should be OK". So I did. The chemo was pretty bad. The radiation wasn't much fun, either. I think the surgery was the easiest part. You soon learn the value of friends and family. The visits, the meals, the group that showed up with rakes and hoes and cleared 2 1/2 acres of weeds and brush while you were barely able to walk. I am fine, now. Five years in and no problems, except for lingering, minor, pain in my feet. I also have more empathy for those suffering from the disease.
All I can offer is to keep yer chin up. I have no clever memes or heart warming little vignettes, that I cut and pasted from the web, to cheer you up.
Oh, and be a patient not a doctor

Mike I too have been diagnosed with a type of leukemia, CML, and with todays targeted therapys the outlook is so much better than a few years ago. Mine hit me when I had just retired at 55. I know the feeling of "what the hell" and the "let me off in front of the next train" but as with all of us the will to live is the strongest. Back when I was diagnoised, 2002, they told me to get my shit together I had approx. 6 months. But fortunately there was a new targeted therapy that was just coming out. So here I am 13 years later, still a pain in the ass as my wife calls me, going strong. From what I have read about yours the outcome should be the same. Keep on truckin and maybe we will bump intop each other in another 20 years...

Best of luck Mike, sounds like you got a good shot at beating this.

Sorry to hear about your illness,Mike. Good luck with the treatment. You will be fine. I fought an advanced case of prostate cancer from 2002-2005 and am still here to talk about it so I know you can beat yours,too.
Treatment ain't no fun,though.

From Julie 3 hours ago..RIP MIKE

QUOTE

By Julie Warren — 3 hours ago

Dearest friends and loved ones it is with an indescribable heavy heart that I share this post.


Last night at approximately 9 PM, very unexpectedly the love of my life lost his galant battle against his cancer.


An infection set in yesterday afternoon and his heart just couldn't withstand it. His passing was very quick and I'm sure an amazing, custom V8 motorcycle was waiting to speed him to better roads.


I'm not sure how I will trudge forward without my prince but I know you all will be there in spirit and love as you have been.


Please do not send flowers. I will post future celebration of life plans in the near future.


All of Mike's children and two of his four grandchildren are on their way to me as I type this.


We had an amazing love story, just way too short.


Ride on for Mike, he would want us to.


Lovingly,

Julie aka Cricket END QUOTE

PS..I just added a picture..not great but it puts faces to the names

Wow - so unexpected my heart goes out to the family!! Thank you Barry for posting.

Keeping everyone in the loop.....

Mike's Celebration of Life Invitation
By Julie Warren — 38 minutes ago

Mike’s Celebration of Life Ceremony

October 17th, 2015

3:30PM CST

4330 Buck Lake Road, Watertown MN 55388

Flow of Ceremony

3:00 –3:30pm: Arrivals with Non-alcoholic beverages and snacks available

3:30 -5:00pm: Formal speeches and open mic sharing of memories and stories

5:00 pm: Open beer & wine bar

5:30pm: BBQ dinner and desserts

9:00pm: Conclusion of celebration

This will be a casual event so please wear comfortable, warm clothes as our average temperature in the middle of October is 55 degrees. We will be celebrating Mike’s life under a large tent in our backyard. Due to the restrictions of our septic tank, we will also have outdoor restrooms. You will need to travel 1.9 miles on a gravel road to reach our home, but motorcycle parking will be available in our driveway. Car parking will be available along the southside of Buck Lake Road as well as in our neighbor’s field, located immediately northwest of our home. Hotels by the Minneapolis Airport (apx. 45 miles away) are plentiful (Hyatt, Marriott, Westin chains) and the there is an AmericInn in Waconia, MN that is apx. 10 miles from our home. Tent and/or RV camping space is available. If interested, call me for details.

Please no flowers. Donations can be made in memory of Mike to CaringBridge (which was an incredibly meaningful tool for Mike to be able to communicate and share with everyone) or the Leukemia Society.

Please, please RSVP by October 3, 2015 with the number of people in your party to me via one of the following avenues:

Text to: 612-964-9586

Email to: mtgsetc@aol.com

Looking forward to sharing tears and laughter with all of you!

Julie