I’ve always known that I wanted a career in sports in some capacity. My dream since I was in the third grade has been to become a professional football player, but I also was taught the reality of that dream. When you’re little of course you just want to be what you want to be, but as you get older you start to learn what can be in your reach and what the true reality is.
Nevaeh was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML+MLLr)+CNS chloromas on February 2, 2022, at 12 months old. Nevaeh first showed symptoms of high fevers, no appetite, and little to no energy. After a trip to the ER, a few tests, and x-rays, I was told Nevaeh had COVID and pneumonia. She was discharged with instructions to go back if her symptoms worsened.
In December 2015, our son, William, started complaining of leg/knee pain. William had always been an active boy, so we figured that he must have just hurt himself doing something physical. After a few days of the pain continuing, my husband thought that maybe it was “growing pains.” We continued to keep an eye on it but weren’t too concerned at this point.
Nora was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on August 20, 2018. This is the day our lives were turned upside down and forever changed. Nora was about three weeks away from her second birthday, and we were in utter shock that she would now be fighting an unfathomable battle. After all, this was Nora, our go-hard, go-fast, ray of sunshine.
My son Evan was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) when he was two years and seven months old. He went into remission a month later. He finished his chemotherapy and treatment, but shortly after he relapsed. He went through radiation and chemotherapy again and was given a bone marrow transplant. He never made it out of the hospital and passed away when he was four and a half.
The best thing and the worst thing to ever happen to me happened at the same time. On my birthday, I found out that I was pregnant. That explained (I thought) why I felt so run down and lethargic. My husband and I were over the moon as this was our first child.
The news came that I had been dreading after three days of being hospitalized. Finally, they would tell me my diagnosis. Why my blood counts were critically low. Why the pain in my right leg was excruciating. Why morphine didn’t touch that pain. Since arriving at the hospital, my inner dialogue was on repeat, “What’s wrong with me?
My dad, David, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on March 1, 1993, after looking at his blood under a microscope in college class. He started three years of intense chemotherapy on March 8, 1993, and finished it on January 26, 1996, while a third-year medical student.
This story is about my girlfriend of six years, Kara. I was diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (PH+ ALL) in May 2021 and went into the ER on Kara's actual birthday, May 22.
In March 2022, I began experiencing unusual symptoms of fatigue, nausea, persistent infections, and bloody noses and gums, but I didn’t think much of it. Following a lucky-timed appointment with my primary care doctor and multiple blood tests, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).