Leukemia

My story starts in March 1983. I was lucky to have been chosen to attend Squadron Officer School in residence at Maxwell, AFB, Alabama. I was, I thought, a healthy 28-year-old and newly married with a promotion to captain the following month. Then, a worrying symptom suddenly occurred. Everything was going dark briefly under physical exertion.

I am a 26-year-old cancer survivor and am about to begin my first year of law school.

I was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in 2021 last year at the age of 21 years old. Over the year everything happened so fast.

In November 2016 I was tired. TIRED. I had a 20-month-old and a 4-year-old, had just come off the busiest month of the year for work, and I figured I was tired for no other reason. But then tired became not having the energy to take care of my 20-month-old. Tired became going to be my best friend's wedding and needing to lay down in between steps. Shower, lay down. Makeup, lay down.