It’s funny how life works. Long story short, after the last post, I was packed up into an ambulance and transported to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. I arrived there around 4am on Friday and ended up going 33 whole hours without sleep. Every time I would drift off, another doctor or nurse would come in to talk to me or take my vitals or give me more meds. I was having fluids pumped into me, so that resulted in many trips to the bathroom, which wasn’t ideal for sleeping either.
The doctors were able to work me into the O.R. later in the afternoon for a bone marrow biopsy and aspiration. I even got the results that night. LEUKEMIA. Specifically, Acute Myeloid Leukemia (MO7) And it’s in about 50%+ of my bone marrow. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but the doctors so far have seemed really hopeful. Since that initial diagnosis, they have run lots of tests to help determine what kinds of chemo I can handle, and they said, “You have the healthiest body we’ve ever seen for having been through all you’ve been through.” I completely turn that one over to God… That was definitely not my doing!
I don’t actually feel like writing a novel today, so a lot of details are being left out... I’ve been avoiding it for over a week now because it just makes my brain hurt a little to think about. Monday (Nov. 24) We will be spending the day in CInci again for PET/CT scans and lots of talks with doctors to go over the official game plan. I’m hoping to record all of that so I don’t feel so overwhelmed trying to remember it all and be able to explain it.
I do have to say how much Brian and I and my mom LOVE Cincinnati Children’s. Already, I feel incredibly well taken care of, medically. I love that the doctors love that I’m a challenging case. The nurses have been nothing but incredibly nice to me and I just feel like I’m among friends. (I find that most people want to be friends with you after you tell them you are a pastry chef ;) ) The kids were even able to come visit on Sunday and we were able to attend church as a family. Kids are so funny about hospitals. They loved my cool bed with all the buttons, they loved that I could order pretty much any food straight to my room, they loved the play room filled with toys and books and art stuff, they loved how the nurses fawned over them, and they loved, loved, loved my huge TV that had FROZEN on it haha :) It was like a magical wonderland for them :) We broke the news to Miss M before they left. I had consulted with her therapist on how I should handle it before it happened. Her therapist and I both agreed that just telling her the truth about everything but reassuring her would be best. M cried of course, but then I was able to cheer her up and give her something to look forward to when I told her she could do artwork on my bald head :) She just loved that idea and already has a design in her head. It has a peace sign and a bird in it… It actually sounded really artistic when she explained it to me. She’s an incredibly creative little girl. And of course, Little Man just wanted to eat his corn dogs and push all the buttons in the room haha :)
I’ll write more next week. In the meantime, here’s a good website one of the nurses referred me to, to help explain my leukemia: Acute Myeloid Leukemia
The doctors were able to work me into the O.R. later in the afternoon for a bone marrow biopsy and aspiration. I even got the results that night. LEUKEMIA. Specifically, Acute Myeloid Leukemia (MO7) And it’s in about 50%+ of my bone marrow. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but the doctors so far have seemed really hopeful. Since that initial diagnosis, they have run lots of tests to help determine what kinds of chemo I can handle, and they said, “You have the healthiest body we’ve ever seen for having been through all you’ve been through.” I completely turn that one over to God… That was definitely not my doing!
I don’t actually feel like writing a novel today, so a lot of details are being left out... I’ve been avoiding it for over a week now because it just makes my brain hurt a little to think about. Monday (Nov. 24) We will be spending the day in CInci again for PET/CT scans and lots of talks with doctors to go over the official game plan. I’m hoping to record all of that so I don’t feel so overwhelmed trying to remember it all and be able to explain it.
I do have to say how much Brian and I and my mom LOVE Cincinnati Children’s. Already, I feel incredibly well taken care of, medically. I love that the doctors love that I’m a challenging case. The nurses have been nothing but incredibly nice to me and I just feel like I’m among friends. (I find that most people want to be friends with you after you tell them you are a pastry chef ;) ) The kids were even able to come visit on Sunday and we were able to attend church as a family. Kids are so funny about hospitals. They loved my cool bed with all the buttons, they loved that I could order pretty much any food straight to my room, they loved the play room filled with toys and books and art stuff, they loved how the nurses fawned over them, and they loved, loved, loved my huge TV that had FROZEN on it haha :) It was like a magical wonderland for them :) We broke the news to Miss M before they left. I had consulted with her therapist on how I should handle it before it happened. Her therapist and I both agreed that just telling her the truth about everything but reassuring her would be best. M cried of course, but then I was able to cheer her up and give her something to look forward to when I told her she could do artwork on my bald head :) She just loved that idea and already has a design in her head. It has a peace sign and a bird in it… It actually sounded really artistic when she explained it to me. She’s an incredibly creative little girl. And of course, Little Man just wanted to eat his corn dogs and push all the buttons in the room haha :)
I’ll write more next week. In the meantime, here’s a good website one of the nurses referred me to, to help explain my leukemia: Acute Myeloid Leukemia
And for your entertainment and cheer-uppy-ness, I have fallen in love with this song. It's so happy and perfect for this blog:
I love you Andrea.
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