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Beloved UPS
man Paul Alberts opens up about struggle with cancer
By Jeffrey
Pickette
Citizen Staff
Even though
a biopsy had been conducted on his lower back the day before,
Paul Alberts, a 31-year UPS veteran, was back at work this past
Christmas Eve to make last-minute holiday deliveries. With
Alberts buckled over in pain, he strapped on a weightlifting
belt to give his back support and completed his 180-stop route.
 “I wanted to
make sure that every single package on that truck was delivered
because I knew that they were all gifts,” Alberts said. “I was
working in excruciating pain, but I just had to take care of my
customers.”
It is just
another example of how passionate ‘Paul the UPS man’ — as people
around town affectionately call him — is about his dream job.
However,
Christmas Eve was the last time the 49-year-old Alberts was able
to embark on his delivery route for UPS. He was forced to take a
leave of absence after being diagnosed in the last week of
December with multiple myeloma, a treatable but incurable form
of cancer.
Multiple
myeloma attacks plasma cells, a type of white blood cell in bone
marrow, according to the Mayo Clinic’s website. These cancerous
plasma cells continue to multiply, depleting the body’s immune
system and causing bone erosion in the process. Alberts also
suffers from constant pain in both his lower back and neck.
Prior to his
diagnosis, Alberts was in pristine physical shape. His delivery
route spanned throughout the town of Canton and included
anywhere from 130 to 180 daily stops. He would even make 4 a.m.
treks to Terban Health and Fitness in Stoughton four times a
week.
“I could
lift a mountain; I could out-run any 21-year-old kid,” boasted
Alberts.
But, with
his mobility now severely limited, he is forced to use either a
walker or a cane to move around.
A living
nightmare would be an accurate description of Alberts’
year-to-date. Since January, he has undergone two lengthy
surgeries, lost feeling in his right hand and broken his pelvic
bone.
“It’s just
been one thing after another,” Alberts said. “It’s just been a
real, real tough road for me, but I keep on plugging along and I
keep on trying to stay on top of things.”
Prior to his
diagnosis, Alberts was feeling pain in his lower back for the
previous eight months, visiting a chiropractor and undergoing
massage therapy in the process; but he assumed the pain was
typical for a UPS delivery person required to lift heavy
packages.
An X-ray
only hinted at the development of arthritis, so Alberts went for
an MRI this past Halloween. The MRI revealed a compression
fracture in his lower back — a potential sign of multiple
myeloma — but a battery of tests came back clean.
For the next
two months, Alberts traveled from doctor to doctor and hospital
to hospital trying to find a reason for the persistent pain in
his lower back. He was told there was virtually no chance he had
multiple myeloma, and bone marrow tests came back negative as
well. Finally, the biopsy he received prior to Christmas Eve
revealed that he did, in fact, have the disease.
On January
4, he underwent a nine-and-a-half hour operation to remove the
tumor that had settled on the T9 bone in his lower thoracic
spine (lower back) and had a rod placed there to provide further
support for his back.
The surgery
was followed with 26 rounds of radiation. Alberts was fully
mobile and had plans to return behind the wheel of his truck
when he was completely healed.
But Alberts
took a turn for the worse when the cancer spread to the back of
his neck, forcing him to undergo another surgery in April.
This
six-hour operation removed the tumor from the C1 bone in his
upper cervical spine (back of the neck) and another rod was
placed in this region to help stabilize support for holding up
his head.
Recovery
from this procedure did not go as smoothly, and Alberts suffered
many complications, including losing feeling in his right hand
and losing much of his mobility. Despite all the struggles, he
credits the support of his wife, Pauline, for his ability to
survive this ordeal.
“If it
wasn’t for my wife, I’d be all done,” Alberts said. “The way she
takes care of me, it’s unbelievable. Everyone in life should
end up getting married and end up having a wife like that, that
would take care of you the way mine takes care of me.”
Recently,
test results have been positive for Alberts and doctors are
encouraged with his progress.
Still, when
he watches a UPS delivery truck pass by his Pleasant Street
home, he is overcome with emotion. Odds are that at this time
last year, it would have been Alberts manning the UPS truck up
and down the streets of Canton.
“When I see
the truck drive by, my heart drops,” Alberts said. “That was my
life; that’s what I loved doing so much. That was me — Paul the
UPS man.”
As a
delivery person, Alberts would often help residents carry
groceries into their homes, help handle heavy packages, and even
leave a personal contact number if someone missed a delivery
that required a signature.
On Mondays,
he would carry lollipops in his truck and give them to each
child he passed on his delivery route, earning him the title of
“Candy Man” amongst Canton youth.
When word
spread of Alberts’ illness, the town rallied together to let him
know how much he was appreciated. He now has over 200 cards in
his home from Canton residents offering him encouragement.
Close family
friend Jennifer Fellini helped to spur a benefit in his honor.
Many local businesses contributed to the event, held June 14 at
the Canton Town Club. While Alberts was too weak to attend, over
400 people — from family friends to UPS executives to town
officials to people on his delivery route — showed up to the
dinner-dance to help raise money for the Alberts family.
“It was
unbelievable to see the turnout [at the fundraiser],” said
life-long friend and Canton resident Tom Arico. “Paul’s done a
lot for people over the years and now this was their way of
repaying Paul for everything he’s done.”
A video of
the fundraiser is currently in production, so Alberts can still
experience the evening.
“Thank you;
that’s all I can say to all of these people,” Alberts said. “I’m
very touched. I’m greatly, greatly appreciative of everybody’s
effort.”
August 21, 2008
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