Man beats cancer to bag big moose

By JOE SOVA / Hungry Horse News

For Dave Cochrane, the wait is over " in more ways than one.

The 49-year-old Columbia Heights man has been trying for a moose permit for 17 years. Finally, he drew one this summer. And after 10 days hunting in the North Fork, he and his wife, Geri, bagged a bull moose on Sept. 26.

Talk about determination. Dave went through a challenging stem cell transplant last summer; during his 100 days in Seattle, he found out he had drawn one of the 15 permits for the North Fork. Not to be deterred, Dave began his quest for his first moose.

Ray Becker, a friend of the Cochranes, saw the bull that Dave eventually shot on several occasions " but not when he accompanied them on their hunt. Dave and Geri had hiked into the area numerous times with Becker and other friends, including Todd Goe.

Recovering from the stem cell transplant, Dave used the hikes into the hunting area for exercise and to build up his stamina.

" That was our daily hike in," Geri said. " It was very good for him every day."

According to Geri, Dave could hardly walk after the transplant " a life-saving measure after his mantle cell lymphoma, a rare and aggressive cancer, that was in remission last winter reoccurred in January. In April, the Cochranes traveled to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, consisting of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington Medicine and Seattle Children's Hospital, for harvest of his stem cells. They returned in late May for the transplant.

Just before sunrise Sept. 26, the Cochranes finally spotted the moose that they sought " at the bottom of a hill.

" We were waiting for the moose to come out of the brush," Geri explained, as Dave used his voice for a " cow call."

Finally, the bull emerged, coming back toward the Cochranes. They had to move a couple of times to get in position for a clear shot.

At a distance of about 130 yards, Dave squeezed off a shot. The bull ran about 10 yards and began to fall as Dave's second shot was also on the mark. He had bagged a bull with a 42-inch horn span.

MARRIED FOR 22 years, the Cochranes have hunted deer and elk, and both bagged a black bear on the same date 10 years ago " in the Swan River area. They were shot about a quarter mile apart, and Dave and Geri dragged both out of the area.

But there was no way that the Cochranes were able to haul out such a large animal. So they walked back about a mile to their vehicle to call for help about 8 a.m. Goe was the first person that the Cochranes could reach by cell phone. Paul Albertoni, his wife, Kim, and son, Jess, were the first ones to arrive. Then came Goe, Becker, Mark Pederson, Jason Reeb, Casey Stratton, Aaron Anderson and J.J. Knudson " all there to help haul the bull out.

" They were awesome," Geri said of the 10 friends who answered the call. " We knew that help was only a phone call away."

But they knew it would take more than mere manpower to get the bull up the hill, so Wayne Jacobsmeyer loaned his winch. Paul Albertoni had a game cart he" d been lugging around in the back of his truck for four or five years, and this was the prime time to use it. The group loaded the front half of the moose on the cart and winched it up the hill.

Geri said it took more than five hours to get the big bull out of the area. Ironically, 12 years to the day earlier the Cochranes helped Albertoni " owner of Montana Wildlife Taxidermy " haul his moose out of another area of the North Fork.

" We were pretty bummed when we got it this year," Geri said of the moose permit, given what the Cochrane's were going through with Dave's transplant. " We wanted to get out and find a big moose, but this filled our freezer so we are blessed."

When Dave's cancer reoccurred in January, the Cochranes and their 17-year-old daughter, Jena, were living in their camper while building a home in Columbia Heights. When the home was complete, 21 people helped the Cochrane's move in.

While they were in Seattle for three months, maintenance on their yard fell behind. So several families in the Heights cut down waist-high wild grass and weeds a week before their return. When the Cochranes arrived from Seattle, they were humbled by a " welcome home" sign. Speaking of welcome home, the Cochranes' son, Jason, arrived from a tour of duty in Iraq on Tuesday for a three-week visit. He is in the Air Force and is stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.

A benefit rummage sale last Saturday at Angie's Greenhouse raised funds to help with the Cochranes' tremendous medical expenses. Geri and her family are members of the Fellowship Alliance Church and she said, " God will provide."

" I can't thank everyone enough for their help," Geri said, including the friends who helped with the moose and those who contributed during the fundraiser. " We" ve had love from friends and strangers."

Rebecca Starkel and Angie Olson organized the fundraiser. For a raffle, Olson donated a half hog, and Lee Starkel arranged for a unit of fiberboard and plywood donated by Plum Creek.

Geri said there is no cure for mantle cell lymphoma, but the transplant gives the Cochrane family more time as cancer research continues.

" Every day is precious. It's a gift," Geri said.