“Hola,” I said playfully, as I answered my cell phone on a beautiful Saturday -- April 21, 2012.
“This is Dr. so and so. I’m calling because your blood work from yesterday is all out of whack.”
“What do you mean, ‘Out of whack?’”
“Your white blood cell count is high,” he said.
“What’s high?
“It's at 63,000.”
“And what's it supposed to be?”
“10,000.”
In that moment, while at a barbecue with friends, I knew that I had leukemia. I uncharacteristically fell apart crying, saying, “This can’t be happening to me!” He said specialists were waiting for me at Westchester Medical Center and that I needed to get there immediately. So with just the clothes on my back, I checked into the hospital to begin the most surreal experience of my life.
Within the next few days, I was officially diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a rare and aggressive disease that is treated with intense chemotherapy. The goal is to annihilate diseased bone marrow, thereby killing the leukemic cells too. Unfortunately, this form of leukemia often returns within two years, so a stem cell transplant is highly recommended.
The news was devastating and unbelievable, yet I felt a strange calm. I think I went into warrior mode -- relying on sheer determination, strength and positivity to assist my body in combating the illness.
Fortunately, the initial round of chemotherapy put the cancer in remission, and after some hesitation, I decided to go for a stem cell transplant. Four potential donors were found within weeks and one was a 9 out of 10 match – 9 out of his 10 blood proteins matched mine.