Stephen Dowswell has been a police officer for 15 years, 10 years in Manteca.

The Valley Springs resident and his wife, Linda, a registered nurse, have four children ranging in age from nine years to 19 years.  Their lives have all been rocked by a deadly disease.

Stephen remembers the night he first became sick. Thinking perhaps he had a flu coming on, Stephen was still at work and involved in a tense (apprehension) situation when he realized he couldn’t proceed. Leaving the scene, he was very sick for the next 3-4 days, unable to eat or drink and finally ended up in the emergency room (ER) hoping IV fluids might help the situation. After being examined and having lab tests completed, the ER doctor stated gravely, “I’m not sure what you have but it isn’t the flu. I’m thinking it might be bone cancer or leukemia.”  Stephen thought he had a made a mistake; Linda methodically took the lab sheets, examined Stephen’s results and started crying. Stephen says, “Linda is not a woman who just starts crying. I knew it must be bad.”



Hard times ahead

“I was told that I was so sick that I would have died in the next 24 hours if I had not gone to the ER,” says Stephen. “It’s hard to believe when I had been so healthy my whole life.” The local hospital started making plans to transfer Stephen as soon as possible; so many did not have a bed for an immediate admission. Finally, he ended up at St. Helena’s in Napa Valley, a hospital where his dad had worked for over thirty years. Somehow, it felt right even though it wasn’t the first choice amid specialty care hospitals and larger medical centers. The initial months of treatment were intense and frankly, Stephen doesn’t remember a lot of it. The medical team worked to find the best treatment for him even though the prognosis was grim. Intense chemotherapy. Endless blood transfusions. Infections and dark nights. 

All the while, Linda stayed close by his side and learned about leukemia, clinical trials, treatment programs and more. It was overwhelming. Eventually, the medical team would figure out an outpatient program that allowed Stephen to be at home and receive treatment in Napa, two hours away from home rather than San Francisco, four hours away. Stephen wanted to be closer to home for Linda and his children.

Speaking slowly and thoughtfully, Stephen shares, “I am used to being the one taking care of others – saving others, providing for others - and letting others make decisions for me or take care of me has been one of the most difficult parts of this experience.”

The prayers of others sustained him even when he was unaware of prayers and unable to say any himself.  The dire predictions made at his diagnosis did not come true. Stephen made it into remission – a minor miracle considering the odds he had been given. Hope returned to a family that had never relinquished it despite the stated odds.



New diagnosis

Hopeful after pronounced in remission, Stephen was dealt another blow when a large tumor developed over his heart and pleural effusion set in, a dangerous condition involving the lungs. “I almost didn’t make it,” says Stephen. The news once again was grim. The tumor would need to be treated before a bone marrow transplant, now his only hope of a cure from this aggressive leukemia, would even be considered. More chemo. More intense treatments. More blood transfusions and treatment-related side effects. Stephen endured it all though physical, mental, emotional and spiritual challenges take their turns with him.

Stephen recently received good news that the tumor has shrunk significantly and plans for a marrow transplant can now go forward.



Home for the holidays with gratitude and hope

With hope that a potential matched donor will move forward in the donation process and that he will be healthy enough to receive the transplant, Stephen looks forward to these holidays, home in Valley Springs, seeing his Manteca colleagues and friends.

A marrow transplant is tentatively scheduled for January. Stephen is committed to helping those in need of marrow transplant to find matches by participating in upcoming marrow registry drives and encouraging those who can to donate blood that help patients like him.

“I would never wish this on anyone,” says Stephen somberly. “I am so grateful to my community – family and friends, neighbors and co-workers – who are helping me and my family through these hard times in many different ways. I am a big believer in prayer and faith. My faith has been challenged but I believe God shows love for me in many ways, especially through my wife, Linda, who has never once left my side since this whole experience began. I thank people for donating blood, signing onto the marrow registry and for their prayers that I believe sustain me day-to-day through this hard experience.”