Cancer Survivor Pens 5 Books From His Hospital Bed

Randy Smith thought he had COVID when he rushed to the emergency room in August 2024 with breathing problems. A CT scan revealed something far more serious: a mass in his neck had pushed his airway aside and was cutting off his oxygen.

The 58-year-old sales rep from North Dakota was immediately moved to intensive care at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo for emergency surgery. Doctors told him he might never speak again.

So Randy started writing instead.

"When surgery temporarily took my ability to speak, I spent more time listening, thinking and writing," Randy said. "I'd be laying in bed and watching everything that was going on. In a way I was hearing and listening for the first time."

From his ICU bed, Randy wrote poems about his Stage 4 thyroid cancer journey. He wrote about the nurses who cared for him at his most vulnerable. He wrote about hands that hold hope when his own started to shake.

Those poems became his first book, "The Road Unknown: My Cancer Journey." It recently won an International Impact Award for poetry.

A framed copy of his poem "In the Hushed Light of the ICU" now hangs in the Fargo ICU where he was treated. Randy gave signed copies to the nurses and doctors who saved his life.

The response stunned him. "I'm hearing from people all over the world about what this book and the poems in it have done for them," Randy said.

He has since written four more books: "The Journey Continues," "Soups and Poems," "Inspirational Quotes," and "Strength for Battle." All aim to help readers find hope during their own health battles.

Sunny's Take

Randy's wife Carmen has been through two transplants herself, so he thought he understood what caregivers do. His own cancer journey taught him he had no idea.

"I thought I understood the role of a caregiver," he said. "But now I know I really didn't understand it until I went through my own health problems."

Randy has regained his voice and returned to his job at Dakota Wholesale Tire, though his cancer treatment continues. His advice to other cancer patients is simple: keep moving.

"Put two feet on the floor and get out the door," he said. "Don't curl up. When you rest, you rust."

His books have opened doors for readers facing their own battles. Randy says his positive outlook comes directly from the care team that stood by him. "I'm still kicking, and it's because of them."