On Christmas Eve 2023, I had a bad cough and decided to go to a walk-in clinic to get something for a cough. We weren't celebrating Christmas until Christmas Day. I went to the doctor, and she said she wanted to get an X-ray because she didn't like the way I sounded. She came back and asked if I wanted the good or bad news. I said I wanted the good news. She told me I didn’t have COVID or influenza. She turns the computer screen to me and says, “You have double pneumonia and a mass in the middle of your chest. I need you to go to the ER immediately.” I was in disbelief. What just happened? I called my husband and told him. He said, “Let's go!”
My friend Angie had taken me to the doctor, and my husband was already in the car when I got home. The ER was waiting for me and did a CT scan. They said I needed to go to the big hospital two hours away, and an oncologist had agreed to take my case. I was then taken by ambulance with my husband driving behind us. I ended up in the ICU due to pneumonia, and I was in the hospital for a week. I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL).
I had five masses, and my blood count was low, needing an IV in my arm to get a transfusion. I got a spinal tap, a port put in, and a PET scan. I was having chemo within a few days after I was out of the hospital. I was allergic to the first bag of chemo drugs and passed out. I had chemo for four to five hours on that day with five IV bags. I had gotten double pneumonia two other times during my six months of chemo, which one time was the day I rang the bell. I went into cancer with pneumonia, and during my last chemo, I was also sick. I still get short of breath, but I'm alive, and I am so thankful.
I've been in remission for 1-1/2 years, and my family, friends, community, and work family helped me through this difficult time. I received flowers every week, had meals made, had a fundraiser, and received gifts of support. I will keep my faith that I will continue to beat this fight. And I want to say prayers for everyone with blood cancer.
Debra
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL)
