From tumor to toddler: A Montana mans path to fatherhood
Nestled among the rolling hills of central Montana is Roundup--
It got its name from literally rounding up cattle here because of the river, because of the landscape.
--a small town--
1,100 people in the city.
--where there are no strangers.
Everybody knows everybody.
A lifelong resident, Derin Gebhardt takes great pride serving as a volunteer firefighter.
I want to help people. I want to follow in my dad's footsteps. I want to make a difference in my community.
And like most in this tiny town, family matters.
It's important to take care of those around you. Because one day, they may need to take care of you. A newlywed in 2016--
Yeah, we dated for eight months and then married after that.
--Derin was in his 30s but his health was a concern.
I was not sleeping well. I had terribly high blood pressure. I was 465 pounds.
He was eating healthy and exercising but couldn't lose weight.
I remember talking to my mom. And I was like, there's something wrong, but we can't find it. And I just was scared to death that he was going to die.
And they were trying, to no avail, to have a baby. Derin's wife Sandra suggested that the problem might be hormones.
She comes home and she says, I got a feeling that maybe you have low testosterone.
Sandra's suspicions were right. And a local doctor confirmed the hormone imbalance was caused by a benign tumor on his pituitary gland near the brain.
I kind of had a sense of opening a new door and not knowing where that's going to lead you to but also a little bit of relief like to say that, OK, it's not my fault.
Medication to reduce the size of the tumor was first, followed by surgery to remove it at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.
His hormones were out of whack because of this tumor pushing on the pituitary gland.
This particular tumor called a prolactinoma produces a hormone called prolactin. The function of prolactin is also to inhibit fertility.
Now this is the area that we are a little concerned about.
The minimally invasive surgery took a team of Mayo experts in neurosurgery and otorhinolaryngology to remove.
We actually go through two nostrils, and we work as two surgeons with four hands. We actually use very small, microscopic instruments, great precision in what we remove.
Surgeons successfully removed the tumor.
His testosterone normalized. His prolactin level went to normal. His MRI after surgery showed complete tumor resection.
And less than nine months later--
So when she told me that she was pregnant, it was an answered prayer.
--little Gage arrived six weeks early.
It was wonderful when he was born and he was healthy. And I changed his first diaper and held him in the NICU, an overwhelming joy and also a feeling of someone else is depending on you now.
Because we often think of endpoints in terms of just the patient's health. But when you also allow a family to create life together, that is just a very meaningful thing.
It definitely shouldn't have happened from a scientific standpoint, but it did. And we were we were very, very excited.
Derin is a doting dad.
You just say, wow, what a blessing.
He's lost a significant amount of weight. His blood pressure is normal. He's sleeping well and full of energy, just like his son.
He really keep us on our toes.
He's definitely one to explore. He likes to do his perimeter sweep around the room and around the house. I'd love for Gage to grow up and have a happy childhood, and the future is bright.
For the Mayo Clinic News Network, I'm Jason Howland.