Bought this 1950 Massey Harris 44 from a man over the summer and was restored a long time ago and I plan on using this tractor around the farm as time goes on.
Mo Ali
Fremont, Indiana
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Driving for the cure became an idea from a cancer survivor, Michael Gideon, in August of 2011. Michael was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and liver in July 2010. Michael had no signs or symptoms other than when he ate his food it would tend to get “stuck” every once in a while in his lower esophagus. He went to a gastrologist and the gastrologist said that he probably just needed his esophagus stretched. The doctor said it was normal everyday procedure. Michael went in for the procedure to get his esophagus stretched and while Michael was waking up after the procedure, he awoke to hear the doctor telling his wife Suzan, that he had a tumor in his esophagus and it looked to be cancerous. Michael was scheduled for additional testing 2 days later. After the second test, Michael woke up to hear the doctor telling Suzan that the cancer had spread into his liver and that they had done a biopsy and were waiting for the results. The doctor said it would take a few days for the results but he was confident that it was indeed cancer. A few days went by and the doctor finally called Michael and told him that they had confirmed it to be adenocarcinoma, cancer of the esophagus. The doctor chuckled when he told Michael the news. Michael, furious with the doctor laughing, immediately started doing research on his own to find someone that might be able to help. Within a couple of hours Michael was scheduled to be seen at CTCA in Chicago the following week. July 2010, Michael went through some extensive testing and within 72 hours of being diagnosed for the second time, CTCA had a plan in place and treatments started. Michael was given a 50/50 chance of living past 11-12 months. Michael’s doctors said that he was very healthy and strong other than the cancer. His age they said played a big part also. When Michael heard the news he immediately began to cry as well as his wife. All he could think about was being able to walk his daughter down the aisle when she gets married and the fact that his kids could possibly grow up without their daddy. He was only 40 at the time of his diagnosis. Michael is married to his lovely wife Suzan and has three beautiful children, Kailey, Zachary, and Braedon. Michael began very extensive chemo treatments, receiving chemo every 21 days through his port access and he would take 8 chemo pills a day for 2 weeks in between his IV chemo. Michael continued chemo treatments from July 2010-February 2011. Michael had gone to CTCA to get retested in December of 2010, 2 weeks before Christmas. Michael and Suzan were given the news they had hoped and prayed for. The doctor told them that the scans looked great and the tumor was gone and so were the spots on his liver. Michael and his wife could not believe their ears. The doctor recommended they do another 12 weeks of chemo to kill any micro cells that maybe lingering. After another 12 weeks of chemo therapy, Michael was once again re-tested. The doctor could not believe himself what he was about to say. “Well Mr. Gideon, I can say that the scans look great and you are not only in remission, we consider you in complete remission!” After collecting his thoughts, Michael looked at his doctor and said “I told you that I would not let this cancer take me out!” The doctor said “you are truly our miracle child”. Right after Michael was diagnosed Michael’s family along with his community and fellow employees came together to support Michael and his family not only financially but spiritually also. Several fund raisers were put together throughout Michael’s treatment. Michael never will forget the support he received from everyone and is proud to live and work in such a great community. Michael will never forget the support he received from other cancer patients and survivors during his treatments either. Michael has been in remission since February 24th, 2011 and spent a few months thinking of how he could help payback his fellow man and to help fight this terrible disease. In August of 2011, Michael came up with the idea of “Driving For the Cure”. Michael loves old antique tractors and has always wanted to restore one. Once Michael told his wife and his mother-in-law of his idea, His mother-in-law told him that he could have the 1946 Farmall M that belonged to his late father-in-law Francis “Pud” Shrock. So the idea became a reality at that point. The restoration process began in August of 2011 and was completed in July 2012. Michael decided to paint the tractor lavender for all cancers. Michael said “Since cancer does not discriminate neither will I. Michael wants to help raise money and awareness, not only for his type of cancer, but for all cancers. The tractor is being used at cancer benefits to help support local cancer societies and patients battling cancer but might be in need financially. Michael’s goal is to find a cure to this ugly disease. Michael has dedicated this tractor to everyone that has lost their battle, continue their battle, and have won their battle. Michael has also made himself available to anyone and everyone that has been affected by cancer to talk to. He is always willing to lend a caring ear and a shoulder to cry on. He hopes and prays that someday a cure will be found and maybe with his idea we can be one step closer to that day. Thank you for taking the time to read my story and please keep in mind that everyone is touched by cancer at some point in their lives.
Mike Gideon
Kirklin, Indiana