As published in the Record Journal on Friday April 26, 2013
By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz
WALLINGFORD — On April 11, the day Town Councilor John Sullivan walked into the Weill Cornell Medical College at New York- Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan to have an operation for the prostate cancer he was diagnosed with a year earlier, his nerves were a wreck.
But nerves did not get in the way of a successful surgery. To the excitement of Sullivan’s family and friends, he can say “they got it all.” Sullivan says he is cancer free.
“People have been so kind to me,” Sullivan said. “I don’t deserve it.” Sullivan, who announced his condition to the public in a Record-Journal article that ran the day of his surgery, was supported before and after surgery by his wife, Sue. On the day of his surgery, Sullivan said, he was surprised that he was not wheeled into the operating room on a stretcher, as is routine on television. He remembers feeling strange walking into the room and lying himself down on the operating bed.
“You had a look of a puppy dog that was about to be euthanized,” Sullivan recalls his wife saying about his demeanor just before the operation.
Sullivan remembers being cold. Once he was unconscious, five robotic arms operated by Dr. Ashutosh Tewari did the work of removing Sullivan’s cancer through dime-size incisions. All the while, taped to his chest — over his heart — was a picture of his wife and daughter, Riley.
“For me, it was seconds,” Sullivan said of the surgery. “But it was three-and-a-half hours.”
After the operation, Sullivan was in pain. He said that during the surgery, his body was tipped so his head was far below his feet, forcing the blood from his organs. He was also pumped full of gas that made for a “very painful post-op,” Sullivan said.
Life is now beginning to return to normal, he said. After staying in New York City the Friday night after his surgery, the Sullivan family returned home to Wallingford. His wife is back to work as a full-time substitute teacher at Moses Y. Beach School. Sullivan said he’ll be resting at home for at least another week before he returns to his job at AT&T on a part-time basis. He’s also excited to soon return to his seat on the Town Council, although he’s not exactly sure when. “People didn’t elect me to hang around the house,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he’s heard from all his colleagues on the council, calling them a “caring bunch.”
He doesn’t see party lines on the Town Council. “I look at this as one body,” he said. Sullivan, a Democrat, is especially thankful for the support of Town Council Chairman Bob Parisi and Vice Chairman Vincent Cervoni, both Republicans. Sullivan said they have known about his illness from the beginning and have been there for him without hesitation.
“I’m very excited for him and very pleased,” Parisi said. “John and I have been friends for a long time. He’s doing well, and he’s got a good attitude and taking care of himself.”
Cervoni said his conversations with Sullivan about the recovery process have been encouraging.
“I’m thrilled that the prognosis is good,” Cervoni said. “I’m happy for him.”
Town Councilor Jason Zandri, a fellow Democrat, has stayed in touch with Sullivan via email.
“I’m happy to hear he’s doing better,” Zandri said. “It’ll be nice when he’s back up to speed to have him back on the council.”
From the experience over the last year of being diagnosed, preparing for and receiving surgery, Sullivan said he’s learned and wants to pass on that “men need to take their health into their own hands.”
A powerful experience for Sullivan came on Tuesday, when a man who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer gave him a call to talk about what comes next.
“He was so happy to talk to someone,” said Sullivan, who referred the man to several doctors. “I know what it’s like to feel alone in this. I hope I helped this fellow.”
Sullivan is extremely thankful to his wife and daughter, and also appreciates the support of his in-laws, Bob and Ann DeMarchi, as well as the understanding of his employer.Friends such as Joe Gaetano and Shane and Chris Lachance have also been important to Sullivan, among dozens of other people.
From here on out, Sullivan will be checked every six months to make sure the cancer does not return.
“I’m just appreciative of all the support,” he said. “I do not have cancer anymore.”
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