Third Relapse, Fourth Diagnosis

Cancer never comes at a convenient time, and it especially doesn't seem to for me. The first time I relapsed, I was in the Missionary Training Center. The second time I was half way through my third semester at BYU and I had to drop all my classes that I had worked so hard in. This time I relapsed a week before finals at BYU.

The way I knew that I had relapsed this time was very similar to my previous relapse in 2017. In October 2017, I noticed some bruising and little red/purple dots on my ankles called petechia. They show up when platelets are really low. I went for my monthly blood work and just that simply, they saw the leukemia cells.

On Wednesday, December 5, 2018 I noticed petechia on my ankles again. I also noticed one on my eyelid and lip. I ignored it for the morning and went to class. After class, on a phone call with Mallory, I started to get really concerned and worked up. Now, my platelets and counts in general had been fairly low since getting my CAR-T cell immunotherapy infusion earlier that year. The doctors said it could take up to a year for blood counts to truly recover from that. I tried not to be too upset but it was like a repeat from 2017's relapse. I went to to work that night and felt exhausted after only two hours. I resolved that I would get blood work done the next morning.

Thursday I went and got my blood work done then went to class. After class I waited for my doctor to call with the results. She eventually did and told me my platelets had dropped from 68 the previous month (which is still pretty low, but safe enough) to the lows 20s. She tried to reassure me that it could just be a fluke thing but I think I knew what was going on. A plan was made for me to get my blood work checked again on Monday. After I got that news though, I was a mess. Even though it wasn't confirmed, relapse was suddenly a big possibility. The rest of that day and Friday and Saturday I just did what I could to distract myself and stay calm. I couldn't bring myself to go to work and thankfully I didn't have class anyway. I watched movies and hung out with my close friends. On Saturday morning a plan was made for my mom to fly out the following evening to help me get through the last week of school and finals.

Sunday came and my best friend, Amber and I decided to just attend sacrament meeting at church. I was exhausted and emotionally spent so it seemed like the best option. We went but by the end I really thought I was going to pass out. As soon as we got home we packed a bag and Amber took me to the Emergency Room. I was shaky and weak. They got me hooked up to IV fluids which made me feel better. I was probably super dehydrated so it helped a ton. They drew labs and it was there in the ER that I found out that the Leukemia had returned. I wasn't surprised. My platelets had dropped more so I also received a bag of platelets. We were there in the ER for over eight hours and my mom finally got there (what a blessing that she had planned to fly in that night!). Shout out to Amber for sitting with me that whole time! My other lovely roommate (also named Amber) also came and sat with us for a while. My mom and I left and went to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City. They communicate with CHOP (where I'm treated) so that was the best option. We stayed there overnight.

The next day (Monday, Dec 10), I received a blood and platelet transfusion before we were released to go back to Provo and get my things together. My angel friends Amber, Amber, and Emily packed up all of my clothes and things for me which was such a relief! I went back to the apartment that night with my mom to collect the suitcases and I was able to say bye to some of my close friends.

Charlie, Calvin, Amber, Emily, me, Joe 

Amber, Amber, me, Elizabeth (Avenues 232💕)

That night my mom and I stayed at our close family friend's house (the Lundbergs). Tuesday we went back to my apartment one last time so I could say goodbye to my roommates and double check that everything was packed and taken care of. After that we went back to Primary Children's in SLC because in order for me to be considered "safe" to fly home, my platelets needed to be 50 or higher, so I got another platelet transfusion. That night we stayed at our friend's the Monson's. They drove us to the airport the next morning. We decided to fly first class because then I'd be around less people and I'd be more comfortable. It was not how I pictured my first time flying first class, but we were so glad we chose to do that! I needed to be pushed in a wheelchair through the airport and between that and having the advantages that you get with flying first class, we were at our gate in like 10 minutes! It was the fastest that I'd ever gone through an airport, that's for sure. Then it was equally as fast getting out of there when we landed. Way to go Delta.

Blurry, but I had to document my 1st first class flight! 

We made it back to New Jersey safe and sound. It was definitely bittersweet. I would have much rather been studying for finals. By the way, shout out to all of my professors for being so understanding and supportive! I was able to finish out the semester super strong!

Always a joy to be back with Maxwell

The day after we got home (Thursday), I went to CHOP for a bone marrow biopsy and spinal tap. That night Marti and my friend Libby helped me dye a strip of my hair teal because it's something I always wanted to do and I was going to lose my hair anyway.

It turned out more green than teal ://

The rest of the weekend was pretty low key. We unpacked my things and prepared for the month long hospital stay ahead.

I'll write about this hospital stay (yes, I'm still here 🙄) in my next post! Really really hoping for a huge jump in my ANC so I can be home for my birthday on Thursday!

Current blood counts-
Platelets- 14
Hemoglobin- 8.7
ANC- 40