My wife was diagnosed with Pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in June of 2018. For nine months I watched her battle her cancer and her treatments. I learned so much about what families with a cancer patient go through ― the uncertainty, the anxiety, and many protocols and precautions to keep your loved one safe. It was a very scary time for us, full of unknowns. But we lived each day at a time. The uncertainty brought us closer together and allowed us to live every moment with gratitude. My wife was in full remission before the end of the year, and we had so much to celebrate! Her cancer came back in January of 2021, and we were on a mission to fight for a second remission and bone marrow transplant. I knew that I wanted to be her full-time caregiver and spend all of my time and energy making sure that she would not face this alone. If she was going to fight, so was I. We were a team! She made a great recovery the first few months only to have her cancer come back five months later that same year. Thanks to the recent developments in immunotherapy, she was able to achieve a third remission this year! As a caretaker, it can be easy to burn out, worry about the things you cannot control. If you’re not careful, the fear of the unknown can steal your joy. But together we have decided not to let cancer steal any of our present moments and live life to the fullest capacity with what we have today. Even though I’m her caretaker, we have both learned so much from each other about how to live this life to the fullest, regardless of cancer.
Micah
Caretaker
