Caregiver

It started in September of 2020, the start of this new journey in life called acute myeloid leukemia (AML). September 13th was the day that something needed to change. Something was just not right. She just was not herself and couldn’t figure out what was wrong. A doctor had told her to get to the hospital to get some fluids.

Toben had entered preschool at 3½ years old, and within a few months, he was getting sick often. He started getting random fevers that would go away in a day. When he got leg and arm pains, we started to get concerned. The pains were so bad that he couldn't walk and would wince when we picked him up or moved him.

In April 2018, our lives were forever changed when we found out that our sweet Jaleah, full of life and personality, had cancer. Sometimes life is unfair—to sit there helpless and scared and then hear the doctor say, “Your child has cancer,” was pure devastation and the worst day of our lives! These words should never be heard by any parents.

Kennedy was diagnosed with mono at age 12. Within a week she developed swelling and had a hard time breathing when laying down. Our pediatrician advised us to go to the children’s hospital where they did CT scans, MRIs and discovered a soft-sized mass pressing against her airway. There we got the news you never want to hear, our girl had lymphoma.

I’m a 12-year survivor of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). I was diagnosed on Sunday, October 4, 2009.

Lori’s journey to becoming a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) volunteer began back in 2002 through her own experience with being diagnosed with Myelofibrosis (MF). Lori had just embarked on a new job as a real estate agent to a new home builder when she began to feel extremely tired and have pain in her hands.

In 2017, Mya was just two years old when diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML M6) in her central nervous system, which created solid tumors in her brain and spine.

There came a day when we had to ask her to choose. We laid out the options carefully not wanting to alarm her with the hopelessness behind either.

Five-year-old Leo was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) in June 2019. His parents had noticed bruising on his legs, petechiae around his eyes, fatigue, and shortness of breath, but because the symptoms didn’t present all at once, they didn’t think it was anything serious.