"The strongest Dad in the World" By Mavis Gonshorowski

His dark blue shirt's logo reads "Polaris Powertrain". It made me think, "For what this man has been through, he is a powertrain all of his very own! His daughter defines him as "the strongest Dad in the world. His strength comes from within and it's so much more powerful than any weight room could give." Meet fifty-year-old Greg Hamness, who has been faced with some extremely difficult and trying health issues within the last year and a half. Being of strong faith and determination, he faced the enemy head on and has proven to be a survivor. He and his family allowed me the privilege of his sharing his story. Greg and his wife Laurie are residents of the rural Strathcona, Minnesota, area. They have three children: Erick, a UMC-Crookston student; Adam, a student at the University of North Dakota, and Katie, who recently graduated from the Greenbush-Middle River School System, and has plans of attending NDSU this fall.

Greg's battle began with a fall from a haybine in August of 2004. "I didn't go to the doctor right away. My back was very sore; I blamed it on the fall. But as time went on, the pain worsened. I was having trouble with shortness of breath, " Greg stated. Upon consulting a physician, suspicions of heart problems entered into the picture. However, the tests came back negative. "The back pain became more intense and I was experiencing spasms, so severe they would practically knock me to the ground, " Greg continued. An MRI showed a broken vertebra. In December of 2004, Greg underwent back surgery in Fargo, North Dakota, continuing to return to Fargo for monthly checkups. Greg said, "It just wasn't getting any better. I was having a lot of pain and the surgical site had not healed." Further MRI's showed additional compression fractures and broken vertebrae.

In May of 2005, following more tests, Greg and Laurie got the news; it wasn't good. Greg was diagnosed with, Multiple Mylenoma a cancer of the blood plasma which is concentrated in the bone marrow. In an essay entitled "The Strongest Dad in the World", written for her English 12 class, Katie wrote: “I remember the first time I found out that Dad was actually sick. Mom, Dad and my brother Erick were sitting in the kitchen talking about the cancer and what it was and what it did. I walked in and suddenly everything was hushed. I guess Mom and Dad didn't want me to know just how bad it was yet. I ended up getting mad because no one was telling me anything and stormed out to the entry. Dad followed me out there and I started to ask him why I couldn't know anything and why everyone was keeping secrets from me. Dad didn't get angry with me yelling at him, he just gently looked at me and with tears in his eyes he said, "Katie, it's just too hard to tell you." Then he walked into the garage so I wouldn't be able to see him cry. He was being strong for me.”

Beginning in the month of May and out into October, Greg received steroid treatments along with many antibiotics in Roseau which suppressed the cancer cells. "It really lowered the cancer count. I was actually feeling pretty good...only the cancer would have returned in a matter of time, " Greg said. An evaluation was conducted to see if Greg was a candidate for a stem cell transplant. To see if he had insurance coverage was also another factor. The findings were positive. Katie's essay continued: On October 16, 2005, my parents left for the hardest six weeks of my family's life. It was a Sunday morning around 9:30. Both of my brothers, Mom, Dad, Grandma and me were sitting around the table eating warm muffins that Grandma had just made. When it was finally time for Mom and Dad to leave, Grandma made us all close our eyes and fold our hands in prayer. "Dear Lord, please be with us during this rough time."

"Once we got down to Rochester," Laurie said, "Greg had to go through a whole week of tests. Shots were given to stimulate the stem cells to grow and to get them out into the blood stream to be collected." The stem cell collection process was conducted over a period of two days. "Enough stem cells were collected for three transplants. I was exceptional; they were able to get enough for three transplants in just two days. For most people, it takes longer, " said Greg. High doses of chemotherapy were administered after the stem cell collection was completed. Blood transfusions and plasma were given as needed to keep him alive until his own cells made a comeback.

Greg was treated on an outpatient basis all of this time. However, when he became sick with a very high fever, he was then hospitalized for five days. One of the cultures taken showed an infection in one of the two ports that were used for administering medication and drawing blood. Upon removal of the port, the fever disappeared. He was then able to return to outpatient status. Greg lost all of his hair; he became extremely weak, suffered from sores in his mouth and lost his appetite. "It was tough going for a week to ten days, " he added. "All the while I never thought, “This isn't going well. I'm going to get better! "

Laurie remained by Greg's side all the while, serving as a strong support for him which was so very important. "Even though his appetite was next-to-nothing, I had to keep on encouraging him to eat, " Laurie said. "I'd keep telling him, you have to eat." "So then I would try to eat only to throw it back up," stated Greg. In another essay entitled "Grandma's Last Miracle" which is about Greg's mother and Katie's grandmother, Eunice Hamness, Katie shared the following excerpts:
My Grandma came to stay with me while my parents were down in Rochester. The last weeks of her "normal" life were spent with me. Then one night, a night that changed my life forever; I came home and Grandma was just beaming from ear to ear. "I just have some wonderful news to tell you, " she smiled. So, as I sat down to eat she said this, "Your Mother called and said that the doctors could not find your Father's cancer. It has disappeared! Isn't that just wonderful Katie!" And with a big smile on my face I stood and gave Grandma a hug as she whispered this, "God has been so good to us." Even though my Dad had cancer Grandma still thought that God had been good to us. All I could do was look at Grandma and laugh. What an amazing lady she was.

The stem cell transplant had proven successful! Greg returned home on November 23, 2005. Little did the Hamness family know that they were about to face another devastating hurdle.

Katie's "Grandma's Last Miracle" continues: After that day my Grandma began to complain about having headaches and being dizzy. She then went back to her home in Warren to go see her doctor. The headaches never quit, and that's when Mom called to tell me that my Grandma had a tumor in her head. The next few months seemed to fly by with my parents coming home from Rochester in November, Thanksgiving and Christmas in December. The hardest part though was going to visit Grandma and watching her slowly fade away. My beloved Grandmother passed away on January 29, 2006, with her love, faith and hope embedded into her soul. She will be dearly missed. Grandma had God working through her hands and with her faith, determination,love and trust in the Lord; she was able to take Dad's cancer away. She sacrificed her own life to save her son and what a gift that is to my family. There is no force comparable to a mother's love for her child. Grandma's last miracle is one I will never forget...her faith saved my Dad's life.

Greg returned to Rochester for a checkup on February 14. "I'm doing exceptionally well. The cancer is in remission; I'll always have it. Whether it will flare up again or not, we don't know, " he said. Because the entire ordeal was so destructive to his body, Greg will return to Rochester once a year, beginning now in November, where he will begin receiving his childhood immunizations all over again. He will receive the first series of immunizations at this time with remaining immunizations to follow as time goes on. Once a month Greg goes to Roseau to receive an infusion, in which he is given medication for the rebuilding of his bones. How are things going now? "My back is not okay, " he answered, "but it's way better than it was! " Laurie no longer has to look up to Greg. "He is three inches shorter than he used to be, so we are now the same height, " she laughed. "And his hair, which was one a light brown and straight as a pin, has come back dark and curly! "

Greg is in the engineering department at Polaris Industries in Roseau, Minnesota. "Out of two years, I missed eight to nine months of work. I was pretty sick last summer, " he said. "I was really tired for quite a few months. When I did return to work, I worked half days for a month, and then I was able to go full time. There are certain things that I cannot do yet, but everyone is so understanding and cooperative."

"They (Polaris) have been really good to me. The company and the people in my department have gone out of their way to help me, " Greg added. Laurie is employed as a Para professional in the Greenbush-Middle School system in Middle River. "The school system was very cooperative in allowing me time off to be with Greg. It was wonderful, " she said. And when it comes to family, friends and neighbors, Greg and Laurie can't say enough, "It¹s amazing how many friends you have and you don¹t even realize it, " said Greg. "If it wouldn't have been for the wonderful friends and neighbors coming to feed our cattle and help with the haying they would have been gone, " added Laurie. They are also very appreciative to those who made special trips to Rochester while Greg and Laurie were there. It helped make home seem not quite so far away.

In closing, here is another excerpt from Katie's "The Strongest Dad in the World":
Now in May of 2006, a year since he was diagnosed, my Dad is getting healthier everyday, growing back some fuzzy hair and our lives are getting back to normal...well, almost. Some things have changed, but those things are only for the better. My parents show more affection for one another and I appreciate my parents and all they do for me. We give more hugs, say "I love you" more often and every once in a while I still have Dad tuck me into bed. Standing only 5'9" he may not look that tough, but to me he will forever be the strongest Dad in the world!

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Mavis Gonshorowski, writes for the Tribune in Greenbush, MN. She conducted the interview and wrote the story.