My Aunt's Battle with Leukemia

In June 2010, my aunt received devastating news.  She was diagnosed with leukemia...the really aggressive kind.  I will never forget getting the call from my parents.  I had gone to a new church that morning with some friends and ironically the pastor had talked about receiving devastating news and the impact news like that can have on your life.  Immediately after church as I was walking into the parking lot, my dad called me.  I couldn't believe it.  Honestly, the first thing that came to mind was that leukemia is the really, really, really bad cancer.  I mean all cancer is bad, but leukemia...and she had breast cancer a few years prior to that.  Next on my mind was what do I do.  How can I help my aunt and her family?  At the time, the most important thing I could think of was PRAYER...and, get everyone I know to pray.  So, I did just that.  I asked anyone I could think of and had a Facebook status about it.  The response was overwhelming!

My aunt immediately had to go into the hospital that afternoon for 5 weeks of intense chemo the day she got the call from the doctor.  In the mean time, all of my family became fast experts on leukemia trying to learn everything we could.  The kind she has leads to death if it's not caught within 5 months.  Her first signs had happened 3 months prior, but her cancer scan (she went in for regular scans due to her breast cancer) 4 months prior had been clear.  How quickly things can change...

After her 5 weeks of chemo, she was able to go home for about a month, and then had to go in for another 5 weeks.  The doctors then decided that a bone marrow transplant would be her greatest chance for long-term survival and being "cured".  The first people they look to is your siblings.  If none of them are a match, then you have to go on the transplant waiting list.  My aunt has three siblings: my mom and then identical twin brothers.  All three of them got tested.  My mom was not a match, but my uncles were both PERFECT matches!  One of my uncles lives in New Zealand, so the one who lives in the US did the donating.  Now, you can get a bone marrow transplant from a sibling who is a close match, but a perfect match is obviously way better, but the chances of having a sibling who is a perfect match is not real high.  It was a miracle from God that she had two perfect matches from a sibling!  When a sibling donates the bone marrow, it's much more successful than if you receive it from an unrelated donor.  By the way, donating bone marrow is NOT an evasive process as many think, so you should look into it!  You could save someone's life!

So, my aunt had the bone marrow transplant in late September.  Since then, she's been weak and recovering at home.  The recovery process is very long and they monitor you closely for 18 months because of many risks.  We received GREAT news last week that her body has accepted my uncle's stem cells from the transplant.  100% of her cells are now his cells, which is the goal.  She's still recovering, but this is a HUGE step in the right direction.  She will even be able to go back to work part-time teaching her HS science students next month!

My aunt is an incredible person!  I admire her and love her so much!  She's been so strong and continues to be a fighter!

God is SO good and prayer works!!!  I have seen God in every step of her battle with leukemia!  I have been incredibly touched by all the people who've prayed and asked me about her.  It's also led to more people sharing their faith with me.  It's amazing what can happen when you share prayer requests with one another!

So, how can I pray for you or someone in your life who needs prayer?