One evening in July I was laying in bed with a headache (which at the time was unusual for me) I was massaging the back of my head when I noticed a marble size lump on the back of my neck. It wasn't an innocent fatty tissue lump, more of a solid attached lump, but I put it out of my head. Two months later the headaches were becoming more frequent and I began needing about 10 hrs of sleep a day to function. So I decided to finally go to the doctor. She ran blood tests (including mono) then scheduled me for a CAT scan, and chest X-rays. Everything came back clear! Such a relief! I was told to go home, rest and wait for the "virus" to take its course. However over the next few weeks I became more fatigued, had daily headaches, my gums were swollen and red, and I felt like I had a perpetual flu. The night that I broke down to Marc and asked if this was just going to be my new "normal" was when I finally started to get some answers. That night I got a sudden localized headache on the back of my scull that seemed to be swelling and tender. No amount of pain medication even took the edge off! By morning I was pacing the house in tears asking Marc to take me to the ER. We quickly dropped the boys off at a friends and headed in! The doctors suspect that the lump was another lymph node that was being smashed against my scull. After running blood tests the doctor came in and said "well, a normal white cell count is between 5-10, yours is at 66. This is very indicitive of Leukemia and we'd like to do further testing." I said "ok, what do we do next?" he looked at me with a puzzled expression and said "do you understand what I'm telling you? Your taking it very well..." I told him that yes I understood, I just wanted to get to the next step so I could get better! I was admitted that afternoon and after about 3 blood transfusions I was able to begin Chemo. I know it's not going to be an easy or short road, but I've got an amazing family, amazing friends, and God on my side and I know I'm going to be ok!
Thank you for following me in my journey!
Lots of Love, Janette
That's the attitude that helps people survive! You are an instrument in Father's hands and He will not leave you. Life never really goes exactly how we plan. But somehow with an attitude like yours lemons can turn into lemonade. Loves!
ReplyDeleteFor those who know Jan well, we know that when she is faced with a challenge or a problem, she doesn't back off or try to find a way to avoid it, she just carefully looks at it and figures out how solve it or get through it. As Jan's father, I am humbled by how amazing she is. When she was little, she learned from Chris and I, but now that she is grown, it's our turn to learn from her.
ReplyDeleteJanette -
ReplyDeleteI came across your blog on Pinterest while looking up stuff for my nephew who is 3 days into his leukemia journey. He turned 8 in April of this year. I have started following your blog to keep up with your journey. My prayers are with you!
Ashley
ashleyquarles.blogspot.com