Inspirational Stories

On my ex-husband's 40th birthday, I asked him to take me to the hospital. I'd had elective surgery a week prior, and I knew something was terribly wrong. I felt awful, it hurt to breathe. In emergency, we learned I had acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and bilateral pneumonia. A triple lumen was put in so I could receive antibiotics, blood transfusions, and chemo at the same time. I wasn't expected to make it through the weekend, and my entire family traveled to Dallas to be with me. Through a series of events, I was fortunate to be cared for by Dr. Emil Freireich of MD Anderson (Houston) and coordinated locally with an oncologist in Plano. Both Dr. Freireich and his nurse PRN were AMAZING, as were all the folks we came in contact with at MD Anderson. 

My prognosis was poor, but every week meant my chance of living increased. The bone marrow docs were sure I'd relapse. It's a bit hard to be positive when experts are so sure of a different outcome. I couldn't find a good match, and I knew that bone marrow transplant success was poor if I didn't have a good match. Insurance only covered up to $5K in searching, so at $25K in, I made the decision to stop looking for a match (or Plan B). At that point, I had lived six more months. My sister reminded me I wasn't in "the stats," which is true. I found a couple of gentlemen who were alive longer and only had chemo, and that gave me hope. When I was scared, I leaned on my strong-faith friends and family, and my work family was amazing in their support. Since I didn't have my induction round at MD Anderson, I was able to choose an experimental path of treatment (daily injections of interferon and ara-C) that I gave myself the next three years (after the initial induction and six more aggressive rounds in that first year). 

EVERY morning, I give thanks. My fervent prayer was to live and be able to raise my children. I am proud that I was able to put both kids through college (solo, I might add), and in another month, my son is getting married, and my daughter will likely be engaged by the end of the year. They are amazing young adults and gave me a strong desire to live. I left corporate life two years ago and now develop workouts for an online fitness platform and personally train women. I LOVE being physical and focusing on what was in my control (mindset, movement, nutrition, meditation) during the cancer experience helped me stay positive (most of the time!). I had to remove myself from negative people, so I could be positive. It helped to hear stories of people who were still alive and living vibrant healthy lives. That gave me hope. And my sister was right, I was NOT in those "stats." The stats looked backward; they were old. I had a good support network (sans ex-husband). I knew how to exercise and put weight back on. My kids were two and four when I was diagnosed and three and five years old when I got divorced. I had started experimental injections by that time. So, EVERY day I wake up to life and no hurting lungs, I am so happy. Bad hair days don't matter because I have hair. My kids are now independent young adults. I feel great, I feel strong, vital, and healthy . . . and I am so grateful to still be here.