Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
9/10/2013 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- "It doesn't look good" are four words no one ever wants to hear from a doctor.
For Col. David Barnes, 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center) senior director of operations, those words began a journey from cancer to passing a physical fitness test.
Just two months after arriving here from Germany, the colonel went to the doctor for what he thought was hypertension. After running some blood tests, the doctor noticed his creatinine (kidney enzyme) levels were slightly elevated, which led to an ultrasound. That same day, Sept. 4, 2012, Barnes learned he had a mass the size of a fist on his kidney.
"Thanks for ordering the blood work Dr. Sajid, now how do I get it out of me?" was the colonel's first reaction.
Jenny Juenger, 375th Flight Medicine nurse, called five different hospitals to see which of them would remove the mass on his kidney. She found a kidney specialist, a general surgeon and an oncologist located at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital (no relation to Colonel Barnes) in St. Louis.
Less than two weeks later and many "what if's", Barnes' kidney was removed and it was confirmed he had cancer.
Barnes' wife of 23 years, Kelly, his daughter and his Air Force family at work and at the 375th Medical Group were crucial to his recovery.
Barnes' co-workers also helped by providing meals, performing chores around the house and mowing their lawn.
"Everyone kept telling me to keep moving," said Barnes, who hails from Jacksonville, Fla. "So Kelly and I would walk first 100 yards, then we worked our way a bit further by walking to the stop sign in front of our house, eventually 10 minutes led to an hour and now we continue to walk because it has strengthened our marriage."
Juenger explained movement is so important is because it prevents clotting, a common complication following surgery.
The Barnes family also credits the power of prayer as a key factor in his recovery.
Barnes also praises the Tricare health care system. While some might find the system tricky, Barnes found it beneficial.
Although cancer free now, Barnes tells people he is "beating" cancer because he knows it's a on-going process. One of the first challenges in getting back to "fighting shape" was to pass the Air Force physical fitness test. Two months after kidney surgery, Barnes was due for his test. Despite not needing to take the waist measurement test following an abdominal surgery, he opted to take it and passed.
Six months later, Barnes was again faced with accomplishing his next PT test.
"He called me to inform me he was about to do his PT test, so I asked him if he needed a profile to get him through it," said Juenger, a native of Visalia, Calif. "He said, 'No, I'm going to do it on my own.'"
Barnes did more than complete his PT test, he earned a 91 percent, placing him in the top 10 percent of all Airmen when it comes to PT test scores.
One of the final stops on Barnes' journey was his "note to normal" - a waiver to remain on flight status he signed June 13.
In addition to Barnes' fitness regime, he and his lone kidney are on a modified diet while continuing to be monitored by doctors.
"I'm still trying to figure out what the new normal is," said Barnes. "While a cancer diagnosis may initially come as a shock, it is not necessarily a death sentence and this experience has taught me that I always have a Wingman."
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