If a Frog Had Wings

Book excerpt: "July 24, 2008, my wife and I sat in Dr. Doug Flora's office. The doctor entered the room, turned, and looked at us and said, 'I know folks, this really sucks! You have esophageal cancer. It is what is called a clinical T3N1 tumor. It's extremely serious.' He then went into a detailed explanation of Dr. Saeed's findings. He sketched a picture of my esophagus and stomach on a white sheet of paper that covered the examining table and pointed at the base of my stomach and esophagus and drew a circle where the tumor had been detected. He said that the tumor's size was 2.0 mm. I told him that I had been taking long walks to get a suntan and to lose weight and had been proud to lose seventeen pounds. He said, 'The cancer took your seventeen pounds-it wasn't the walking.' Join author Paul D. Jackson, Jr. in If A Frog Had Wings as he reflects on how his life experiences from childhood to adulthood had prepared him for the fight of his life. Share in the humor, heartbreak and steadfast stubbornness in Paul's love of life that have helped him to overcome great adversity and come out standing.