You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have
Janice, our mom, was as healthy as you could imagine. She’s a small petite woman in her late 50s, working full-time at an aerospace company and spends most of her time baking and tending to her organic vegetable garden. It was a shock to all of us when we found out she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
We decided to document our mom’s journey fighting against ALL in hopes that it will help us reflect and heal through this process. This blog is written in the POV of her three children – Calvin, Michelle, and Brandon.
Unexpected ER Visit
2/5/2020 – 2/9/2020: A few hours after mom came home from her last outpatient chemo session, she was readmitted to the ER. This was unexpected because she had been doing so well the last few weeks. She came home feeling tired with no appetite (not a surprise). We thought it might’ve been a side affect…
Chemo Day 10-13
2/2/2020 – 2/5/2020: Mom’s second round of chemo (still on cycle A) were outpatient. We took turns taking her to the clinic for her outpatient clinic visits. Mom continues to take Vincristine, Dexamethasone, and Rituximab. Although still having trouble with appetite and sleep, she said it still beats being in the squishy, uncomfortable hospital beds.…
Mom’s First Break
1/31/2020 – 2/1/2020: Today is the day mom gets discharged from the hospital after being there for almost 2 weeks! We sanitized the entire house and gave mom her very own new and improved room. Before she left the hospital, she was given a blood transfusion to help resupply what the chemo had destroyed. Seeing…
Chemo Day 4-7 Extended
1/27/2020 – 1/30/2020: Mom was on the last stretch of her first round of chemotherapy before her break. She was taking Dexamethasone, Vincristine and Doxorubicin – the struggle was real. She didn’t have motivation to walk her mile, she was barely eating, and on top of all that she had DIC (Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation). Her…
Chemo Day 2/3
1/25/2020 – 1/26/2020: Mom continues to stay strong through days 2 and 3 of chemo. Due to the ongoing irritation of her acid reflux, they decided to do an x-ray of her esophagus. Luckily, she has no signs of blockage when swallowing – just slight issues when swallowing pills. The next few days consisted of…
Chemo Day 1
1/23/2020 – 1/24/2020: Today was day 1 of mom’s first round of chemo. Due to GERD, her appetite has been quite poor. Regardless, we could not delay the chemo. She had been throwing up breakfast that morning but was mentally prepared to fight this cancer. This was going to be a busy few days. They…
Adjusting
1/20/2020: We were all adjusting to the possibility that mom could have cancer. We woke up thinking all of this was a horrific nightmare, but reality sunk in. Today was the day we received official results that mom was diagnosed with acute Leukemia. It was a painful day for mom. She went through a bone…
The Day We Found Out
1/19/2020: It started out as an uneventful day after hearing that the antibiotics prescribed at the urgent care clinic did not improve the amount of blood in her urine. This is when her sister (our aunt) convinced her that morning to go to the ER. That day my mom encouraged us to go to a…
The Symptoms
1/11/2020 – Our mom hasn’t always had the best appetite, but that has never stopped her from enjoying tasty food! Mom would occasionally have symptoms of indigestion and acid reflux which was a known issue. This week was different. She was having problems digesting her meals so she decided to take Tums and other over-the-counter…
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Our Mom's Strength Against ALL 