Utah police officer fights for own life after brain cancer diagnosis
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Marc Blaine, KSTU
KAYSVILLE, Utah (KSTU) — A Utah man who fights crime for a living now finds himself fighting for his own life after an unexpected medical diagnosis.
“I’ve done hard things before, so I expect this to be just another hard thing that’s standing in my way,” shared Jared Jensen.
Don’t tell the 35-year-old Jensen that life as he knew it is over after being diagnosed with Stage 4 brain cancer early last month. The Kaysville police officer has come a long way since first being admitted to the University of Utah Medical Center.
And since the beginning of the rehab process, Jensen’s progress has been nothing short of remarkable.
“I’ve been here 12 days-ish, and 12 days ago, couldn’t walk couldn’t talk, couldn’t do anything,” he explained.
Despite Jensen’s progress, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the father of two, his wife, Camille, sharing, admitting that at one point she thought she lost her husband.
“He had two surgeries, he didn’t wake up for about a week after the second surgery and I think I’ve really learned not to take a day for granted,” said Camille.
The medical ordeal hasn’t changed Jensen’s goal-orientated thinking. That’s because eight years ago, he reached one goal by becoming a member of the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team.
Now, that same team that is rooting for Jensen to return to work at some point.
“In law enforcement, we all go through a lot together,” said Mark Thomson, Supervisory Deputy for the team. “There all sorts of things going on, and so there’s that brotherhood and camaraderie of closeness, and when you hear things like this that Jared is going through, it’s hard and it makes everyone want to rally and to just say, we’re there for you, we’re there for you.”
When it comes to reaching goals, Jared has reached another one. After two weeks of rehab, he’s walking with purpose and looking forward to resuming his family life.
“Gonna go back home, be with our kids and resume life as normal,” he said. “We still have to do treatment and things like that, but be able to do it from home.”
As an outpatient, Jensen’s treatment will involve nine months of radiation treatment as well as a regimen of chemotherapy pills. At the same time, Jared plans to add a big dose of positive thinking.
“We’re gonna come out on top and that’s the attitude I’ve got to take.”
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