A community is excited for one of their local leaders to get back to work after a battle with cancer.
It’s a story we have been following since the very beginning.
9&10’s Taylor Jones got unprecedented access to show us this local leader’s fight for his life.
“I’m excited because it’s my last one. I am really excited to get this over with and I’ll say, I didn’t look forward to coming to get my last chemo because I know the side effects, but on the other hand, thank god it’s good and I don’t have the cancer anymore,” says John Wilson.
The sixth and final time John Wilson will sit in a chair and be hooked up to IV’s.
“When I first started, I didn’t know. They told me what some of the side effects would be and I don’t normally have side effects, but I had them all with mouth sores and the nausea,” says Wilson.
Wilson was diagnosed with a form of lymphoma cancer and has been getting treatment at University of Michigan Ann Arbor Hospital and Covenant Cancer Center in Saginaw since March.
It’s been a long road.
“I get it and they are three weeks apart and towards the end of the third week I’m feeling good and then I get hit again with the chemo drugs and I am back to where I was at. You can’t do much. You can’t go out in public because your immune system is so low. That’s probably the worst thing about it, you can’t go anywhere, you can’t talk to people and I’m a people person,” says John Wilson.
But after six treatments spanning months, Wilson is ready to get back to his life.
“I have a different outlook on my time now and how I’m going to spend my time. I’ve been spending a lot more time with my sons and my dad and fishing. Just getting back to work,” says Wilson.
Wilson adds,
“It just feels good to get out of my house and be back part of the group. My last chemo was about two and a half weeks ago. I miss interacting around people. You need that as a sheriff. You need to be a part of the community, you have got to be out here with the people and hear what’s going on first hand. You don’t want to hear it second hand, you want to be right there for the people, that’s what he sheriff should be doing.”
Sheriff Wilson, back in the office and doing what he loves most.
“We had a man flip over in the river and I got to be part of that, I got everything up, got the boat out there and it just felt really good. It felt like I am back part of the department again and not just sitting watching what’s going on,” says Wilson.
While getting chemotherapy, Sheriff Wilson’s departments kept him up to speed, handling everything happening in Clare County.
Lt. Ed Williams says everyone is just happy he’s back full time.
“Not having the sheriff around day to day has been very different. It has been as if you come to work and there’s a piece missing. He cares about everybody so much that as he gets back into work he spends time just trying to make that connection with everyone again and know how they are doing and if he can do anything to help as he can get stronger,” says Williams.
“Probably the best part about being sheriff is serving the people. It is a job like no other, you are elected by the people and you serve those people. I thank god that he healed me and I’m back here and I can continue on and do my work,’ says Wilson.
Sheriff Wilson’s team will be monitoring him closely as he gets back to his full health. If you would like to wish him well you can find the link to his Facebook page
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