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4/2/2010 7:46:00 PM
Stanton resident recovers from face cancer surgery
Elisabeth Waldon
Staff Writer
STANTON - Daniel Falconer Rudd is facing down cancer - and winning.
The 26-year-old Stanton man was diagnosed in April 2008 with rhabdomyosarcoma, also known as high-grade undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma, a disease in which cancerous cells grow in muscle tissue. He's been through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation and in February he underwent another major surgery to remove a tumor and reconstruct his face.
Two months later, the Lakeview High School graduate is doing well and hoping for the best.
"Everything's really, really good," he said. "Cancer takes a lot out of you. It grows rapidly and takes a lot of energy out of you. Ever since I got home from the hospital I've been getting up early in the morning and staying up later like I used to. I don't take afternoon naps anymore."
Rudd's surgery took 18 hours at University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. Doctors removed the left side of his face, including around his eye and half of his nose and mouth, and replaced everything with a skin graft from his thigh. They also removed his teeth and the roof of his mouth and put new muscle in the roof of his mouth.
Rudd remained in the hospital 10 days after the surgery, then was able to return home to Stanton, where he lives with his father, Harlow Rudd. He is only able to eat through a feeding tube. He will learn whether the cancer has successfully been eliminated when he has a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on April 22.
Despite the loss of his teeth, Rudd is able to talk, albeit with some difficulty. He attended Greenville Community Church last Sunday and enjoyed getting out.
"I do believe and pray that the cancer is completely gone," he said. "I have faith that it's not coming back. I feel the next step has been taken to move on in my life, to get involved in church, whatever I can do to get out more."
Rudd said community members responded with prayers and financial assistance since The Daily News published a Feb. 1 article about Rudd's situation.
"I got a lot of responses from people," he said. "It was really a blessing."
Rudd's father, Harlow, and grandmother, Mary Ellen Rudd of Crystal and Florida, remain hopeful for a good outcome.
"He's coming back, healthwise," Harlow Rudd said. "The cancer should be gone, hopefully."
"He's just doing wonderfully," Mary Ellen Rudd said. "He still tells me, 'I am excited to know what God is going to do with me.' I am proud of him."
For more information about Rudd, call him at (989) 352-7080 or write him at 2500 N. Greenville Road, Stanton, Mich. 48888.
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Posted: Saturday, April 17, 2010
Article comment by:
Dennis Rudd
Daniel's acceptance of this life threatening and life changing event is an inspiration to us all, that miracles at God's hand happen daily. Daniel's story is a subtle reminder that perhaps some of our daily challenges are but a small bump in the road when compared to the huge challenge that he faces each day. We pray daily for Daniel's ongoing recovery and his positive spirit.
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