{"id":1952,"date":"2017-10-05T22:10:22","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T03:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/?p=1952"},"modified":"2019-02-16T14:41:09","modified_gmt":"2019-02-16T20:41:09","slug":"terry-sartin-cancerwarrior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/2017\/10\/05\/terry-sartin-cancerwarrior\/","title":{"rendered":"Terry Sartin #CancerWarrior"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Terry Sartin #Cancer Warrior<\/b><\/h1>\n

by Joshua Heston<\/strong><\/p>\n

Terry Sartin remembers his diagnosis of stage four colon cancer with the clarity reserved for life-changing moments. He was 42 years old, recently training young police cadets in defense tactics. His wife and a corporal had talked him into a colonoscopy after he mentioned passing blood. \u201cI\u2019d chalked it up to training guys in their 20s,\u201d he muses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were about 30 seconds into the procedure and I remember seeing something on the monitor. \u2018Doc, that don\u2019t look right,\u2019 I said.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSon, it\u2019s not right,\u201d the doctor replied. \u201cThen they turned up the gas and knocked me out.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Terry came to, he faced the news of a tumor the \u201csize of a soda can\u201d and a grim prognosis. Surgery was scheduled immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are they telling you?\u201d the sheriff asked the next day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said, worst case scenario, six months. Best case scenario two-and-a-half years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Backtrack to 1987 and a 19-year old Terry faces his father\u2019s death from heart trouble.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided I needed to change my life and that I needed to change it right then,\u201d he explains. \u201cI wanted to be like my grandparents and get to see my<\/i> grandchildren and great-grandchildren.\u201d<\/p>\n

He began training in the basement of his grandmother\u2019s house in Halltown, Missouri. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what I was doing so I just did everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reading workout magazines led to throwing punches and kicks on a heavy bag and biking the three-and-half miles to the I-44 truck stop and back. In time he found himself in the local gym for serious weight training. \u201cThat\u2019s where I met my first law enforcement partner who started out as my workout partner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weight training led to statewide bodybuilding shows. After that, Terry began training others for bodybuilding shows, helping with routine, workouts and diet, then judging shows and training even more people.<\/p>\n

Fast-forward to 2010 as Terry met with his surgeon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe time frame [of six months to two-and-a-half years] is not gonna work for me,\u201d he told the Springfield doctor. \u201cI have a two-year old baby and my wife is pregnant. We have 10 children. I have to live long enough for my girls to remember me.\u201d A few short days later, Terry walked into the hospital, still feeling fine.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t wake me up and tell me you think<\/i> you got it. Tell me you got it all<\/i>,\u201d he said to the physician moments before surgery.<\/p>\n

Terry woke up to good news:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe re-sectioned your colon. You don\u2019t have a colostomy bag. We got it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tumor had grown through the colon. The cancer had spread into the lymphatic system, necessitating the removal of 27 lymph nodes in his chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was probably 30 to 40 people in the room when I woke up, from family to law enforcement, all showing their support.<\/p>\n

Chemotherapy was next and it would require all of Terry\u2019s trademark strength and tenacity to survive. Fortunately, he\u2019d been an over-achiever long before 2010. Back in the early \u201890s, he and his first workout partner attended bodyguard school \u2014 \u201cthe same training the Secret Service gets\u201d \u2014 and a couple years later was invited to get started in law enforcement by the academy\u2019s owner.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody had to start out entry level,\u201d Terry notes quietly. \u201cBut within the first six months I got to go out with the swat team on my first mission, which is pretty unheard of really.\u201d He began working for both Stone County and Christian County\u2019s sheriffs departments. When Christian County got the Immigrations & Customs Enforcement (ICE) contract, Terry created a five-man\u00a0 transportation and extradition unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d go to places like Cassville and do raids with dozens of federal agents. One day we detained 176 people for processing to see who was illegal, who were criminals, and who were people here just trying to better their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Transportation and extradition brought more unique experiences. \u201cMy team would meet the plane on the Kansas City tarmac. It\u2019s an unmarked plane. You\u2019ve got a marshal under each wing. We load 90 prisoners and stay on the tarmac. We\u2019re responsible for the prisoners until the wheels come off the ground. We did that probably once a month. It\u2019s something not just everybody gets to see or even knows is going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The job included flights to Hawaii \u2014 \u201ca nice perk of the job\u201d \u2014 and New York City \u2014 \u201cquite a shock for a small town country boy\u201d \u2014 for extraditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked with Port Authority and transported people back from Riker\u2019s Island. We were in the courtrooms in Queens \u2014 which are huge, like a movie theater. The buildings are so tall that you can only see two or three buildings ahead because no matter how far you look up, there\u2019s always something blocking your view.<\/p>\n

On September 11, 2001, Terry was back in the Ozarks, helping his brother on a farm near Rogersville. \u201cMy wife called and said, \u2018The world is going crazy. They are flying planes into buildings.\u2019 I think people all over the country were as scared as people in New York City. Everything changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

When chemotherapy began, everything changed for Terry as well. A chemo port was put in his chest. The \u201catmosphere was sad and dark and gloomy,\u201d he remembers. \u201cI didn\u2019t want my kids to see me that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

During treatments, he refused a wheelchair, and then rolled his IV with him, chatting with other patients. He stayed tanned, bought \u201cI Hate Cancer\u201d shirts, cutting out the arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy kids called me Superman and then called me Cancer Warrior. The name stuck. That was my persona when I was in the cancer center.\u201d<\/p>\n

He encouraged fellow patients on their eating, outlook and exercise. \u201cI got a lot of people to start walking.\u201d During treatment Terry dropped from sturdy 200 pounds down to 140 pounds. He credits his passion for fitness with his survival.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think exercise is cumulative. Everything I did from 1987 to 2010 made me strong enough to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Five years later, Terry was declared cancer free.<\/p>\n

Today, though still working through side effects of his treatments, Terry is hard at work increasing his strength and stamina. \u201cThe mind always fails before the body. The body is capable of amazing things if we can push through mentally.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways give one hundred percent,\u201d he tells others, \u201cbut remember 100 percent can vary a lot from day to day. It doesn\u2019t mean you have to finish a certain routine. It means just giving all you have to give at that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nothing more. Nothing less. Terry Sartin. Cancer Warrior.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”1064″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”1066″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”1065″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”1067″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”1068″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”1069″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”1071″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Terry Sartin #CancerWarrior Photos<\/strong>, courtesy of Terry Sartin, Halltown, Missouri.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text] Terry Sartin #Cancer Warrior by Joshua Heston Terry Sartin remembers his diagnosis of stage four colon cancer with the clarity reserved for life-changing moments. He was 42 years old, recently training young police cadets in defense tactics. His wife and a corporal had talked him into a colonoscopy after he mentioned passing blood.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[946],"tags":[296],"class_list":["post-1952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manlyozarks","tag-terry-sartin","category-946","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1952"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1974,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952\/revisions\/1974"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}