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 marrow biopsy which was, in her own words, more painful than delivering her three children. She went from taking 1 pill a day to taking 6+ pills a day. This could not be more of a nightmare for her as she experiences extreme anxiety taking medication. However, we were all adjusting to the new changes.
1/21/2020: Today was another day full of blood tests. Mom was getting her blood drawn every 4-5 hours. We still weren’t sure what type of acute Leukemia she had so it was a suspenseful day. Her labs came back with low platelets causing the continuation of the blood in her urine, however it was getting better. Her appetite came back and she was able to eat a bit of chicken noodle soup. Dad was having a hard time accepting that mom was a cancer patient. Again, we were still adjusting.
1/22/2020: We found out today that she has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Her oncologist made the decision that she would have to start treatment as soon as possible. To do that, a Hickman central line was surgically placed in her chest. We went back and forth with the Hickman line vs. the Portacath – The Hickman line was recommended to provide additional flexibility for her chemo treatments. She didn’t have any pain during this process but her lack of sleep and appetite was starting to affect her mood. She was adjusting…
We reached out to friends and family asking about their experiences with AML and ALL. This gave us a better understanding of what to expect and how we could better prepare her for what was to come. Although mom is immunocompromised, seeing close family has been helping her stay positive! Your love and support means more than you will ever know, for her and for us.
