personalities
By Brandon Klein
A Life of Gratitude Local artist finds new perspective after brush with cancer
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him purpose while he underwent treatment at OSU. Before the project was underway, Charlowe thought it would be a simple remodel – similar to the ones he watched on HGTV. “Little did I know, TV is TV,” he says. “Reality is something else!” Due to his health, Charlowe had to wear a mask during the demolition of the
church’s interior. Back then, before the pandemic, he says, the only masks he could find were the construction kind at other home improvement stores. “Now everyone knows about masks,” Charlowe says. “You can have any masks in a variety of sizes and colors.” Charlowe’s church renovation took nearly four years to complete, mostly www.healthynewalbanymagazine.com
Photo courtesy of David Charlowe
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n 2017, artist and photographer David Charlowe’s spirits were low. What first appeared to be upper back pain turned out to be advanced lung cancer. After six weeks of physical therapy on top of visiting a chiropractor with no improvement, Charlowe asked his doctor for a scan. His doctor had to be convinced – he didn’t believe Charlowe needed one – but eventually, and reluctantly, relented. “That’s how they found the cancer,” Charlowe said. The unchecked lung cancer had expanded, cracking one of his ribs, which caused the back pain, and had spread to his brain. After visiting cancer specialists across the country, he settled on getting treated at The Ohio State University. Charlowe underwent radiation therapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy to fight the disease. Charlowe found himself sitting in his summer home in New Albany feeling sorry for himself when he received a call and learned that an acquaintance’s son was also ill. It was a wakeup call to change his perspective on his situation, he says. “Things can be a lot worse,” Charlowe says. “I lived my life. I had a great life.” A few days after that phone call, Charlowe came across an advertisement in the paper about a Pataskala church that was for sale. Although the church had previously been in contract, the realtor informed Charlowe that it was back on the market. “I thought it was meant for me to have it,” he says. Charlowe purchased the property with plans to renovate. The project gave
