My Saga with Leukemia

The Saga Begins

I should have known I was sick, if for no other reason than I was looking forward to my doctor appointment, set for Thursday, Aug. 7. I tired so easily and my stamina was zilch.

Dr. Ann wasted no time in ordering blood tests. Thirty minutes later, after obtaining the results, she hustled me into her office. "Judy, there's something seriously wrong here. Your numbers are so bad I'm surprised you're even able to walk!"

Definitely not what I wanted to hear. The panic in her voice caused me to panic. She briefly went over my blood test numbers. "Your red blood count, which should be a healthy 12-14 is only a 4! Your white blood cells, the ones that fight infection, are virtually zero; and your platelettes, whose job it is to make your blood clot when you cut yourself, are dangerously low.

With her final words..."you need to be hospitalized right now!" the fear descended. Reluctantly, I sat in the clinic lobby, waiting for my husband, Bill, to take me to the local hospital.