On March 16, 2026, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.  This came as a complete shock because I had not been experiencing any physical symptoms indicating  something was wrong.  The disease was detected by a blood draw conducted for a check-in visit with a hematologist I’d been seeing since last summer.  (I’d been referred to the hematologist by my gastroenterologist when my red blood count dipped a bit.  We thought that issue was resolved through iron supplements.)  My white blood count was off the charts, so further testing was rushed to determine the diagnosis.

​

I was admitted to OSF St. Francis in Peoria on the evening of March 16th, and I spent 10 days there.  A bone marrow biopsy was conducted the next day, and two days later, enough results had returned to indicate what my disease looked like at the cellular level.  I began two types of chemo the very next day:  seven days of intravenous chemo (30 minutes per day) and 21 days of a chemo pill (which I could continue taking at home).  I did not experience many noticeable side effects of the chemo, thankfully.

​

While in the hospital I underwent several other procedures which determined all of my major organs are very healthy, and the disease had not advanced far enough to cause any further issues.  It also appears this has not caused any complications affecting my Crohn’s disease.

​

On my final day in the hospital, not only did I receive the final dose of IV chemo, but I also endured a lumbar puncture to remove a sample of my spinal column fluid and administer a dose of chemo into the spinal column.  The subtype of my leukemia put me at risk of the cancerous cells making their way into my spinal column which can then cause a secondary condition.  The fluid appeared to be clear of any suspicious cells.  I followed the recovery procedures and was able to be discharged from the hospital later that day.

​

The next morning, I woke up with a strong headache.  Unfortunately, this is a side effect of the lumbar puncture, and so I spent the first three days at home flat on my back to relieve the pressure imbalance caused by the loss of spinal column fluid.  While the headache and pressure in my head did not subside for three more days, I was able to be upright more often with a lot of resting in between.  

​

On April 9th, I had another bone marrow biopsy to determine if the chemo was working.  On April 16th, I had a meeting with my oncologist.  I learned that the second bone marrow biopsy determined that the chemo was reducing the cancer; however, my cells and tissues are difficult for pathologists to “read” for some reason which I don’t understand.  Therefore, I was unable to find out exactly how much of the cancer had been reduced nor how much remained.  

​

That day I began a second round of chemo identical to the first - and I was expecting this would happen.  Rather than an IV, I received infusions of the liquid chemo via three shots in the abdomen each day.  This round proved to be more difficult for me - because the chemo targets the bone marrow, it didn’t take long for the second doses to begin shutting down all of my blood production.  This led to extreme fatigue and weakness, red blood cell and platelet transfusions, fluid infusions, mouth sores, thrush, and a general feeling that my body could not heal itself any longer.

​

On May 11th, I had a port placed in my chest to make transfusions, infusions, and blood draws easier.  On May 14th, I had a third bone marrow biopsy to determine the status of the disease.

​

As more developments happen, I will add posts to the Update section.  Also included there is information about an expected upcoming bone marrow transplant as well as more about how this has affected me.