Inspirational Stories

My mom raised seven kids before finding out she had myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and lymphoma, as well as Parkinson’s. She was going through treatment for the blood cancers, getting infusions of Rituxan® for the lymphoma, and transfusions of usually two units of blood when her red blood cell count was too low. We (us kids who live local) would sit with her (whoever was available) for the six+ hours it took for whichever treatment she was getting at the time. We played cards, fed her chocolate ice cream, laughed, and visited. After a few years of undergoing the treatments and getting tired of being poked and prodded, even with a port, she got tired of going through it all. After talking to us about it, we respected her wishes to quit the treatments. A few months later, close to my birthday in June 2017, she passed away at home. We had her wake on my birthday.