This Saturday, May 10, 2014, marks the one-year anniversary since I was diagnosed with leukemia and admitted to the hospital for the first time. In some ways it seems like a long time ago, but many of the memories of that time are still very vivid and full of emotion. It was a year of ups and downs for sure, but more than anything this has been a year of the Lord continuing to fulfill his promises to us.
Spring is here. It is a time of renewal, a time of new growth and new beginnings. We are hopeful that this applies to our lives as well, that our new normal is one void of cancer and full of hope and health. Whatever it holds, the evidence of God at work in our lives cannot be denied. In the last year, the enemy gave me cancer, but God gave me hope and a strengthened faith. That is a year worth living.
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| By Lrscott5 (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons |
We are still on track to return to Kentucky next week even though my skin rash has returned. I’ve stopped taking Sorafenib, the FLT3 inhibitor, as it’s suspected of aggravating the GVHD, and will meet with another doctor this week to look at other options.
The Beginning
What started with the hope of a short hospital stay and treatment by chemotherapy alone soon became a seemingly endless struggle to get ahead of the cancer. I spent the better part of May and June 2013 in the hospital at the University of Kentucky receiving and recovering from intensive chemotherapy.
With the exception of a short stay due to an infection, July and August were months of recovery at home. Although I couldn’t do much at first, I slowly regained strength as we waited for the stem cell transplant. The bombshell came when I received news on September 3, just one day before going in for the transplant, that the cancer had relapse a second time. For whatever they were worth, the “odds” weren’t good.
God Bless Texas
I spent much of September through December here in Houston as part of a clinical trial. My family was here during the initial six-week stay. After having good results, we went home and Christi and I returned in November for a checkup and more chemotherapy. I returned alone in December for radiation therapy to target the cancer in my brain and spine. I had an allergic reaction that almost put me under, but it seems to have worked.
After spending Christmas at home, we flew back to Houston on January 1, 2014. Following several doctor visits and procedures, Christi went home to get the girls and I went in the hospital for the transplant. Fast-forward four months through the battles with pneumonia, GVHD, and unfavorable test results, and here we are, on the verge of going home and beginning our new normal.
The Lost Year?
It’s tempting to call it that. In a sense, you could say that I’ve lost a year of my life. You could say that I’ve had a year taken away from my career and making memories with family. That I’ve been robbed of a year in the prime of my life that could have been spent doing something substantial, something worthy.
But the truth is that I’ve found, or better yet, been given, far more than I’ve lost in this last year. I’m not at the point yet of saying, “I’m glad it happened,” but frankly that’s irrelevant. It won’t change anything, especially the outcome or my perspective.
What I have been given over the last year includes many new friendships, being the recipient of numerous acts of kindness, and, most importantly, a visible role in God’s plan. What I have found is perspective, a renewed sense of purpose, and peace. I have been given grace, by both God and men, and a strengthened faith. God has refined my character more in the last year than the previous decade and, I believe, reached more people than if I’d stayed healthy. I wouldn’t call that lost time, would you?
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20,21 NLT)