On July 5th, 2018, my family and I left home from Wisconsin to Branson, MO. I had been feeling very tired and had not been breathing well. My gums and cuticles were bleeding. Our drive was split into two days, due to our leaving late and towing our boat.
Upon arrival in Branson, I knew I was in trouble. My temperature seemed very high and I was losing my voice. I could hardly breathe. After unloading the truck and unhooking the boat, I told my wife I needed to go to urgent care. I drove myself. I had finally come to grasp that I was having major health problems. I hadn’t had a sick day in 15 years.
When we arrived at urgent care, they said that I needed to go to the emergency room. A couple of tests later, and my doctor, who could no longer look me in the eyes, said that he thought I had leukemia. My white blood count was over 85k and I had platelets of 5 with extremely low hemoglobin. My troponin T level, a marker of a heart attack, was indicating heart damage.
Springfield, MO is the regional hospital for cancer patients. The on -call physician stated that my levels were beyond their abilities to treat. A life flight helicopter was ordered. I was flown to Barnes-Jewish hospital in St. Louis, where I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. My cancer treatment journey had begun.