At first, the information was overwhelming. Eric Robertson, a tall, all-American 32-year-old, and his wife Kathi would spend hours on the Internet looking up everything they could about Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a condition that Robertson was diagnosed with in Sept. 2002.
But after awhile, they needed to get life back to normal. They started focusing on one day at a time. While Robertson went to his weekly chemotherapy sessions, he also rehearsed with his band, the Richard Walton Group, in Maryland. By keeping active and concentrating on his loves of family and music, Robertson could have something to look forward to.
"You realize, there’s life after this," Robertson said, while he his 3-year-old son Chad played on his lap.
On Wednesday, Feb. 7, Robertson’s band, the Richard Walton Group, will perform a benefit concert at Jammin’ Java for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Robertson came up with the idea for the benefit as a way to make his life go on.
"It’s just another way of fighting," Robertson said.
Robertson, who has lived in Vienna for four years, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s in Sept. 2002, after the family returned from a vacation in Scotland. Robertson had been suffering from a lot of different ailments, but doctors couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. His symptoms had disappeared briefly, but resurfaced during the Scotland trip. When he returned to the States, the doctors discovered a lump indicating Hodgkin’s.
ALTHOUGH THE DIAGNOSIS was worrisome, Robertson and his wife were more troubled about the treatment, particularly its side effects, such as the possibility of potentially developing leukemia. The doctors required him to go to chemotherapy once a week for six months. Although the treatment could rid Robertson of the tumor, it didn’t guarantee that it wouldn’t reoccur.
"My greatest challenge is overcoming the fear," Robertson said.
To do that, Robertson and his wife began concentrating on living day-by-day. They played trucks with their son and talked through each day. Their perspectives on work and family began to change, especially because they couldn’t think ahead about the next vacation or the next job.
"The unpredictability is really difficult," said Kathi Robertson. "We’ve learned to live more in the moment and focus on each day."
They also found help through their friends.
"It’s shown us how much we need to, and can rely on our friends too," Kathi Robertson continued. "It’s shown us that there are a lot of good generous people out there."
Eric Robertson agreed, "They can see this as a battle that can be won."
When Robertson approached his fellow band members, they readily agreed. Robertson has been part of the Richard Walton Group, an instrumental, contemporary jazz ensemble, ever since he auditioned to be their drummer in 1995.
"The first word that comes to mind is talented," said band member David Meer, when asked to describe Robertson. "He’s been playing music since he was 13. He’s the best drummer I’ve stood close to, and definitely the best drummer I’ve ever played with."
Although the band members themselves have coped with Robertson’s illness differently, Robertson’s fighting spirit has inspired them.
"It reinforces a lot of negative feelings about how the universe works. It’s clearly not fair," Meer said.
The band’s leader, Richard Walton, thought differently. "In some ways, his illness has brought us closer together. It just put things into perspective a little bit more," Walton said, mentioning that praying for Eric has helped him.
But despite the chemotherapy sessions, Robertson will continue on writing songs and recording a CD with the band. He’ll also come home each day from his job as a systems architect contractor with Fannie Mae to play with his 3-year-old son, Chad, and their two cats.
"I think when you hear the word cancer, it scares everybody…but it’s not a death sentence," Robertson said.