“I had just turned 41, in 2011, when I was diagnosed with Leukemia. My only child had moved to The University of Southern Mississippi to start college. I began to feel unwell with fatigue, anemia, and a cough that wouldn’t go away. I went to the first home football game in late September to visit my daughter, and was so fatigued that I had problems walking short distances, became out of breath, and had to stop and sit down to take breaks walking from the stadium to her dorm room. When I got back home to Fairhope, I continued to bruise heavily from no real cause, my gums began bleeding, and I developed blood blisters on my lips. I thought I just had anaemia, which I had as a teenager, and took supplements, but I Googled my symptoms and found I was having the signs of leukemia. My family came over to our house for my birthday dinner, and my mom was extremely worried about my bruises and severe fatigue. She made me promise to call my doctor. The next day, I called a physician who is a good friend of mine and he told me to drive to his office for some blood tests. I did and had not even gotten back home when he called and said that I needed to come back immediately to get a six pack of platelets and several units of blood. I told him I was physically too tired to drive back again. I went first thing the next morning as an outpatient to receive the blood transfusion but I was running a fever and they could not give me the blood and they admitted me to the hospital. My family was in the room when the oncologist told me that I had leukemia. My family freaked out but I didn’t because I had been expecting this.”
“Within 24 hours, I learned I had a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia and was in the ICU on oxygen because my heart rate had dropped very low and my breathing was extremely labored. My daughter told me she was going to drop out of college to care for me, and I told her no. She had to go on, graduate and make me proud. The doctors were worried that I wouldn’t make it. My doctor friend came into my ICU room and I could tell by the look on his face that I was in bad shape. One evening, I had such labored breathing that I had to force myself to concentrate on taking the next breath, then the next one. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Soon after that, I felt like someone else was in charge, and I could just focus on today. I began chemotherapy and stayed in the hospital a month. I developed several complications including a blood clot in my PICC line, and was transferred to MD Anderson cancer hospital in Houston. The blood clot moved into my brain and was probably the most painful thing I have been through. It eventually moved into my Sigmoid sinus, where it is safely stationery now. My jugular foramen, brachiocephalic and subclavian veins are still occluded. I stayed in the hospital another month, then began a year long outpatient treatment plan with over 100 infusions of cancer treatment. I had to get an apartment in Houston.”
“Around this time, my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. She wasn’t even a smoker. She fought hard, but passed away about a year after her diagnosis. This was the hardest thing I have had to face because we were extremely close and had to fight our separate cancer battles in different states, away from one another. We would have been right by each other’s side in any other circumstances, but I knew she was with me and vice versa. She is always with me.”
“It was a relief to hear the words ‘you are in remission.’ I hope to stay here in remission and make it to the five year mark, which will mean I am technically cured of this disease. I still go for regular bone marrow biopsies and blood tests at MD Anderson. I am feeling good, but it is always in the back of my mind. I live my days to the fullest and look for positive in all that life throws my way. Searching for the silver lining in life has made me a better person and I am so thankful to have supportive family and friends behind me. My proudest moment was seeing my daughter graduate magna cum laude in May of 2015. I never thought we would make it to that point, but I am so thankful we did.”
Been watching you get healthy on the rec center track. Your parents were friends of ours back in your dads banking days. So glad to hear your story of recovery. I’ll introduce myself the next time we walk on the same morning – keep up the good work!
I have just started attending Tone to Stone and I am honored to hear your story. Thank you Lynn for sharing. My daughter Sarah was diagnosed with leukemia at age 4 in 2004 and is now 16. She was part of a confirmed childhood leukemia cluster on the Eastern Shore. We petitioned the state health for studies that closed abruptly so we started a nonprofit to study rare cancer here and possible environmental links. Too many rare cancers here. May God continue to bless you with good health. You have an amazing story.