It was Dec. 10, 2010. My brother Dirk and I were lifting a heavy steel frame for stacking fire wood. We were moving it by rolling end over end. While lifting it on about the 3rd roll I felt something give in the small of my back. It hurt some but I kept going. We finished the move and the aching continued. Usually when I get a sore back it lasts about a week or so and it goes away. This time it didn't, in fact it became worse, a lot worse. On Jan. 3 of this year I went to see our family Dr. to have a look and to have a physical exam while I was at it which included blood work. A week later I get the results of the labs and the Dr. says he wants to retest, that there were some scores that were off and needed to be rechecked. We did. Results were the same and I was stunned when he referred me to an oncologist. That was the rocky road that led to finding out I had cancer, leukemia to be more exact. About the back? I ended up going to an orthopedic surgeon. Three crushed vertebrae and surgery a month later, resulted in some restorative work but chronic pain remains.
My point? A year ago today I almost broke my back, which got me to the doctor, which led to having a blood test, which revealed I had leukemia. It's been a rough road.
A year later we have news of 2 people who are matches, 10 out of 10, and a 3rd person's tests are pending. It will take another month after the selection of the donor is made before we count down to the actual Stem Cell Transplant. Here's to pain as a friend. Happy Anniversary.
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