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I almost died five times. I went into septic shock and my organs started shutting down. My blood was poisoned and had to be stabilized. It was like an ER program with my body shaking, teeth chattering and my body stiffening. I had 14 spinal taps that were very painful, endless IVs and infection for about six months. They were supposed to do eight treatments, but they could only do six full and two half ones because it would've killed me if they would've done them all.

What made the treatments so brutal?

King There were higher dosages of drugs. A lot of people take a mere fraction of stuff I got, and it makes you feel terrible. If I can say anything good about the cancer I had, it was the fact that because it spread so fast and so aggressively, that made it easier to find and kill, whereas some cancers disguise themselves a little—they're more chameleon like. There were only a few hours a week when stuff wasn't being pumped into my veins. Doctors wore protective suits because if it got on them, it would've burned them—and this is what they were putting in my veins! It's kind of like poison, so I think it was an issue of the volume and the number of different types of chemo they gave me.

How in the world did you get through those six months?

King To be honest with you, I had had mixed emotions about Christian music and the way it's run and operated, but I'm so thankful for it because through Christian radio, people got the news all over the country—churches, radio stations, youth group, and they all prayed for me. Everything I had been so critical about melted away. I'm so thankful for the community of Christian music, the way they rallied and prayed for me.

Did you question God?

King I had a friend go through chemo a few years back, and he told me after the surgery about questioning God, being mad at God, blaming yourself, and how all these emotions collapse on you and drag you down. He said, "Just don't go there. It's not your fault and it's not a punishment." He told me to go to a happy place and laugh, because the ones who have positive attitudes last; they do better and get better faster. That, along with dear friends coming to pray, got me through it. I also watched funny DVDs. I laughed so hard; I know laughter got me through a lot.

Did I question God? I think probably the closest I came to that was during periods of really just checking out and not praying and not talking to anybody—not because I was mad or bitter, but it was just my mode of survival at the time, because the drugs did so much to me physically. There were times I didn't talk to my wife for the first three months. To ask for a glass of water felt like walking ten miles. I don't know if I ever blamed God. I think maybe I've been a Christian so long that I knew I was not supposed to do that, and I didn't. Not that God couldn't handle it, but I think it was a discipline. Instead of having it out with God, I gave him the silent treatment. It was probably worse because he'd probably rather me holler at him and wrestle with him.

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