Early Days of Leukemia (1996-2000)

Since I have been blessed with 12 years of life after my diagnosis with leukemia, I decided to reflect on the early years (1996-2000). Many people ask me, "How did you know that something was wrong with you?"

In 1996, our family had taken a long vacation through Canada and to Niagara Falls. It was a beautiful trip and was made especially memorable as we were able to take my Grandma on the journey. On that very trip, I kept noticing left-sided pain in my upper abdomen/chest area. At times, I wondered how a 32 year old could be having a heart attack, but that was what the pain made me consider. This happened several times and later that fall, I noticed feeling very fatigued most of the time. (Later we learned that the pain was from an enlarged spleen attributed to the leukemia.) Infections also began rearing their ugly heads. Pneumonia and sinus infections were my primary villians. Initial CBC's revealed that I had a slightly elevated lymphocyte count and some smudge cells were also observed. I continued on with my life, attributing these abnormalities to the infections that I had been battling. An occasional enlarged lymph node in my neck also was attributed to my body mounting responses to these infections.

Later in the summer of 1997, my physician recommended that I consult with an oncologist. As you might imagine, the mere mention of an oncologist, struck fear in my heart and mind. Most of us know when an oncologist is invited to join the medical inquisition team that nothing positive is being investigated. On August 12, 1997 I endured my first bone marrow biopsy. Not one to welcome sedation, (afterall I had undergone sinus surgery and rhinoplasty under local sedation), I opted to have the bone marrow biopsy without sedation. OUCH. We were told to return in one week to learn the results of these tests.

After feeling poorly for over a year, on August 19, 1997, I was discovered that I had leukemia. Cancer. The "Big C" ..... the "L" word ...... a death warrant had been written and filed against me. But God had different plans for me then and He continues to have different plans for me today as He has saved my life too many times to count.

I recall awakening on that scorching August morning in 1997 and looking into the mirror. The chorus "Sanctuary" replayed over and over in the recesses of my mind and heart. I did not know then that my Lord was preparing me for what was to be told to me later that morning by the oncologist. Sanctuary is defined in Webster's as "A shelter from danger or hardship". My Father knew the hardship and dangers that were about to plague me. But He had gone before me, to prepare a place of shelter and protection from this threatening life storm. These few simple lines of a holy chorus infiltrated my mind and allowed my memory to recall them on numerous occasions:

Lord prepare me. To be a sanctuary.

Pure and holy. Tried and true.

With thanksgiving, I'll be a living Sanctuary

for You.

To this day, I cannot hear that chorus without replaying that day's events in my mind. God did continue to work in my life, even with the diagnosis of leukemia. We watched Him provide for our may needs -- physical, emotional, and financial. Jehovah Jirah - my Provider. He equipped me to be that very LIVING SANCTUARY for Him and His Kingdom.

The early years of diagnosis were spent processing immeasurable amounts of information. I studied God's Word more than I ever had in my life and I reviewed libraries of medical information plentiful enough to educate myself about the opponent who was threatening to defeat me and to rob me of my life.

We traveled a great deal to various specialists. A trip to New York City was made to consult with an alternative cancer treatment specialist. I utilized many of his suggestions in those early years. This trip also provided us with a priceless photograph of my husband and our daughters -- all posed in front of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers. Little did we know that in a few short years, that photo would be impossible to be reproduced -- twin steel giants eradicated by enemies of our country.

I also visited doctors at IU Medical Center, Ohio State University, and most often the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland (outside of Washington, DC). Quarterly flights and visits to the NCI filled my calendar.

A trip to Orange Beach resulted in a serious cellulitic infection in my leg. Although I obtained medical care at the local hospital in Alabama, I worsened and we made a rushed trip home to our local physician and hospital. This was my first exposure to serious infections requiring hospitalization and IV antibiotics. I say my "first" exposure as many, many serious infections have followed.

The new millenium arrived and I had survived with leukemia for nearly 4 years. Shortly after diagnosis, we had been told by my cancer specialist that I "might" live 3-5 years. At that time, the hourglass of life appeared to be quickly emptying for me. As the world celebrated the arrival of the year 2000, I was painfully aware of the passing of time and the years that had passed since my diagnosis with leukemia.