Fast forward to Friday morning, 9am, my PCP calls (I thought she was just calling to say hello & see how I was feeling). She started with that but very quickly she turned very serious on the phone and shared her concerns about some blood tests that had come back and she mentioned to me that I needed a bone marrow biopsy immediately and that she had already been on the phone with the Kaiser Hematology/Oncology team. When she said the word oncology my heart sunk but I still was in shock, thinking this was all a mistake and that we’d figure it out when we got to the doctor’s office for the biopsy.
I called John immediately and asked him to come home so he could come to the oncology office with me for the biopsy (and I am SO glad he came with me because bone marrow biopsies HURT and he was able to hold my hand the entire time). Before leaving the office we had a consult with the oncologist who confirmed through the bloodwork that I have leukemia but that we wouldn’t know more until we got the biopsy results back. I was handed my “what to expect from chemo” folder & told that I was to come back to the hospital on Monday to start treatment.
Our world had just been turned upside down. We called family, friends, and work. I cried. My mom booked a flight immediately and flew out Saturday afternoon. We spent Sunday running errands and getting ready for me to be away from home for a few days.
Monday morning we arrived at Exempla St. Joseph’s Hospital as instructed & I was admitted to the hospital (10th floor – oncology dept). We met with the oncologist and we finally got my official diagnosis: B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Apparently it’s much more common in kiddos but it obviously occurs in adults as well. I spent the rest of the afternoon getting more diagnostic tests done. I had my first lumbar puncture (spinal tap) as well as a MUGA scan (a nuclear medicine test that measures cardiac function). The MUGA scan was ordered to see what my “baseline” cardiac function is so that they know if there are any cardiac effects from the chemo. The lumbar puncture wasn’t too bad (it was nothing compared to the bone marrow biopsy) and the MUGA scan was slightly claustrophobic but no pain whatsoever.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
News from Chellie
Today we have a post from Chellie herself!
Blog entry for 2/18/13 -
How this whole thing started…. Last week I caught a cold/virus of some sort. I was at work on Tuesday and came down with a terrible sore throat. By Wednesday I was so sick I stayed home from work to rest. Thursday I decided it was time to go to the doctor so I called Kaiser and made an appointment at my usual clinic (had to see a different doctor b/c my regular PCP was out that day). Dr. Karen Anderson is who saw me on Thursday. As we were finishing up the office visit she was looking into the computer and just mentioned that I had been slightly anemic after having Scott and that we should just recheck that blood work to make sure everything was back to normal.
Fast forward to Friday morning, 9am, my PCP calls (I thought she was just calling to say hello & see how I was feeling). She started with that but very quickly she turned very serious on the phone and shared her concerns about some blood tests that had come back and she mentioned to me that I needed a bone marrow biopsy immediately and that she had already been on the phone with the Kaiser Hematology/Oncology team. When she said the word oncology my heart sunk but I still was in shock, thinking this was all a mistake and that we’d figure it out when we got to the doctor’s office for the biopsy.
I called John immediately and asked him to come home so he could come to the oncology office with me for the biopsy (and I am SO glad he came with me because bone marrow biopsies HURT and he was able to hold my hand the entire time). Before leaving the office we had a consult with the oncologist who confirmed through the bloodwork that I have leukemia but that we wouldn’t know more until we got the biopsy results back. I was handed my “what to expect from chemo” folder & told that I was to come back to the hospital on Monday to start treatment.
Our world had just been turned upside down. We called family, friends, and work. I cried. My mom booked a flight immediately and flew out Saturday afternoon. We spent Sunday running errands and getting ready for me to be away from home for a few days.
Monday morning we arrived at Exempla St. Joseph’s Hospital as instructed & I was admitted to the hospital (10th floor – oncology dept). We met with the oncologist and we finally got my official diagnosis: B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Apparently it’s much more common in kiddos but it obviously occurs in adults as well. I spent the rest of the afternoon getting more diagnostic tests done. I had my first lumbar puncture (spinal tap) as well as a MUGA scan (a nuclear medicine test that measures cardiac function). The MUGA scan was ordered to see what my “baseline” cardiac function is so that they know if there are any cardiac effects from the chemo. The lumbar puncture wasn’t too bad (it was nothing compared to the bone marrow biopsy) and the MUGA scan was slightly claustrophobic but no pain whatsoever.
Fast forward to Friday morning, 9am, my PCP calls (I thought she was just calling to say hello & see how I was feeling). She started with that but very quickly she turned very serious on the phone and shared her concerns about some blood tests that had come back and she mentioned to me that I needed a bone marrow biopsy immediately and that she had already been on the phone with the Kaiser Hematology/Oncology team. When she said the word oncology my heart sunk but I still was in shock, thinking this was all a mistake and that we’d figure it out when we got to the doctor’s office for the biopsy.
I called John immediately and asked him to come home so he could come to the oncology office with me for the biopsy (and I am SO glad he came with me because bone marrow biopsies HURT and he was able to hold my hand the entire time). Before leaving the office we had a consult with the oncologist who confirmed through the bloodwork that I have leukemia but that we wouldn’t know more until we got the biopsy results back. I was handed my “what to expect from chemo” folder & told that I was to come back to the hospital on Monday to start treatment.
Our world had just been turned upside down. We called family, friends, and work. I cried. My mom booked a flight immediately and flew out Saturday afternoon. We spent Sunday running errands and getting ready for me to be away from home for a few days.
Monday morning we arrived at Exempla St. Joseph’s Hospital as instructed & I was admitted to the hospital (10th floor – oncology dept). We met with the oncologist and we finally got my official diagnosis: B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Apparently it’s much more common in kiddos but it obviously occurs in adults as well. I spent the rest of the afternoon getting more diagnostic tests done. I had my first lumbar puncture (spinal tap) as well as a MUGA scan (a nuclear medicine test that measures cardiac function). The MUGA scan was ordered to see what my “baseline” cardiac function is so that they know if there are any cardiac effects from the chemo. The lumbar puncture wasn’t too bad (it was nothing compared to the bone marrow biopsy) and the MUGA scan was slightly claustrophobic but no pain whatsoever.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment