In this 10th month I have continued to heal and grow stronger. I did not get my next set of vaccines yet due to a stomach issue. But hope to receive them when I see my doctor tomorrow. I feel extremely fortunate. My chemotherapy is on indefinite hold due to the lung infection that started getting worse in December, just a month after I started my chemo. The doctors put me on a new antibiotic and decided that the chemo was drawing my white cell count too low to fight the infection.
My latest CT scan of the chest and chest X-ray now show some nice improvement in what they call a pneumonia. I have no clinical symptoms at this point.
At the same time I was very saddened to have to say "good bye" to a dear friend whom I met in the hospital. Sharon and I met in the waiting room of the "Fast Track" blood collection area in September of 2013. This is where most of the Leukemia patients spend their time while they wait for a nurse practitioner or physician assistant to check the results of the morning blood draw. They are the ones who determine if you need hemoglobin or platelets, or other medical interventions. Sharon overheard me telling another patient sitting next to me that I had MDS. Her face lit up. She explained that she too was diagnosed with MDS a month before me. As it turned out, we had many more than a few similarities. She was diagnosed at the same clinic at Methodist Hospital, wound up at the same Leukemia doctor (Dr. Garcia-Manero) for a second opinion at MD Anderson, and would have the same Stem Cell Doctor, Dr. Champlin. Sharon was born approximately a year before me, which is a young age for most patients with MDS. Furthermore, we ended up realizing that we were raised in the same neighborhood in Houston. Well in my mind there was no coincidence to our meeting. Throughout the next year and a half we repeatedly looked forward to our waiting room time together, where we would compare notes ("So what did he tell you?"), latest research we had inquired about, ways we dealt with particular ailments...and the list goes on. Sharon and I were a team so to speak!
She suffered several set backs, the greatest one being that the MDS returned after only approximately a month after her stem cell transplant. It quickly went from MDS to AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia)Finely her body became too week for the fight. Sharon passed away on February 6th. I know that she no longer suffers the consequences of this horrible disease and that I have one more person in Heaven rooting our team on! May the saints and angels carry you to eternal bliss, my friend!! I pray we will one day be enjoying each other's company again!
