It felt just like any other Saturday after my dad's birthday. He got his annual checkup and bloodwork, and we would all celebrate our April birthdays around Easter Sunday. But this turned into something unlike any other Saturday. His cell phone rang, and everything changed.
My story begins with a diagnosis of hypothyroidism but they noticed something unusual with my white blood cell count, which was elevated but I had no infection. Further tests revealed that it was lymphoma. My initial diagnosis was incorrect so I went for a second opinion at the University of Kansas Cancer Center.
My son, Benjamin, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in February 2019 at the age of four. Due to the unique nature of his presentation, he was placed in the VHR (very high risk) category and underwent three and a half years of treatment.
I was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at age 25 and since then I've had two bone marrow transplants and CAR-T. For the past 8 years I have been on and off "healthy" and undergoing or actively recovering from treatment.
My son, AJ, was diagnosed with leukemia on September 23, 2014, and from then on, our life changed.
In November 2015, I began experiencing persistent hives, severe fatigue, and chest pain that I couldn’t explain. At the time, I was managing a demanding schedule, and I initially attributed my symptoms to stress.
On November 3, 2014, I drove to work and, upon arrival, knew that something was seriously wrong with me. I called my love, Holly, and informed her that I could not drive myself home as I was afraid of hurting someone else. She came to my work to pick me up and told me we were going to go to my primary care physician to demand a complete blood panel workup.
My name is Nicole, and I am a 21-year-old cancer survivor! Last year, on February 1st, I started to go for chemotherapy after being misdiagnosed for TWO years! For those two years, I was told that the softball-sized lymph nodes in my neck were all because of allergies… I knew something was wrong when it became the size it did, and being vain was going around it.
