As many of you know my maiden name is Likness and my father is Dr.Clark Likness. I have discussed in previous posts about how growing up in a home where medical terms and science were discussed on a regular basis helped shape my interest and passion for health, wellness, and nutrition. Healthy eating and regular activity were norms in our household and have continued to be a focus for us as we all get older. Many of you have probably heard stories, rumors, or maybe the actual truth about what has been going on about my Dad recently. There seems to be a lot more of the rumors versus the actual truth going around about what happened, that Dad and I decided it was time to discuss it on our wellness blog to not only inform you all of the truth, but show how important healthy living, choices, and wellness checks with your regular doctors are.
“Dr.Likness” to many of you, “Dad” to me, “Clark” to friends, and “Grandpa Clarky” to my nieces and nephew has been out of the clinic on medical leave since the middle of August. He is doing well and will be coming back to the clinic to see patients in a few weeks. In the early summer, he noticed he was having some issues with his veins in his legs and decided to get it checked out. A small tumor was found on his kidney and after multiple tests and consults with various top notch health professionals, they concluded the tumor needed to be removed as there was a possibility of it being cancer. If removed, he was cured, no matter if it was benign or malignant. In the meantime, he was working on some landscaping at my parent’s lake cabin and blew out his rotator cuff in his shoulder and developed a hernia. In Dad’s early years (before becoming a doctor), he helped his grandparents and parents on the farm and worked road construction. The years of manual labor and hard work caught up to him this summer and basically his body was falling apart! So facing the fact that he needed to have all of these issues taken care of, he decided to do them all at once so that he could be out at the same time for them and not have to take multiple medical leaves of absence from the clinic. It may seem crazy to have it all done in the same time period, but he thought it was best for himself and his patients to not be out multiple times. In August he had the tumor on his kidney removed and the surgery was successful. The pathology report came back that it was benign, which means NO CANCER! We were relieved and thrilled with the news. A few weeks later, he had the hernia and his shoulder repaired. He is now recovering from that and engaging in therapy to get himself back up to steam and have full range of motion again. The picture above is from our last short boat ride around the lake this last weekend before we pulled everything out for winter. As you can see he’s looking good!
There have been multiple rumors going around that he has liver cancer, lung cancer, and is retiring, and we want you all to know NONE of these are true!! He is doing great and will be back to work and 100% health soon! Each doctor he saw through all of this remarked how he went into surgeries, surgeries were successful, and the recovery will be better all because he has kept himself in good shape. He exercises regularly and makes efforts to eat healthy. The benefits of making these daily choices are rewarding! In addition, regular check ups and screenings are essential for good health and prevention as if he wouldn’t have gotten checked out, there is a chance that the tumor in his kidney could have progressed into a cancerous tumor. Even though making healthy choices, practicing portion control and moderation, and making time for regular activity aren’t always appealing (yes it does take some effort and motivation!), we need to make these efforts to take good care of our bodies as we only get one! We decided to share his story to show you how important healthy living and proper self care is…and a little piece of me wanted to help set the record straight! 😉 Dad’s motivation continues to be his family (all of us below minus the newest addition, my niece Blair who was born in the spring) as he wants to be around to enjoy all of life’s events with us! We all need to find that certain motivation to help us stay on track with our goals and efforts! If you don’t have it now, I encourage you to do some serious thinking on what motivates you to live healthy. That motivation and incentive is your key for a long and healthy life!
-Kelsey
