Today is Independence Day. In addition to celebrating the founding of our country, it is a time to honor the armed forces that preserve our independence. We pray they will not have to make the greatest sacrifice for our country, but the sacrifices they make each day are unavoidable. Their tours last multiples of my 40 days in the hospital. They miss births, birthdays, graduations, and so many small, precious moments in their family members' lives.
I have always held those who serve our country in the highest regard. In fact, if Lily would have been a boy, born this August, he would have been named after a World War II veteran in our family. My experience this spring has given me a glimpse of what the troops endure in terms of being away from their families. Now I hold those who serve in an even higher regard.
To any who have served or serve now: thank you, for everything you've sacrified.
Hello Shelley, my name is Rebecca Van Houten and I'm a 19 year old girl who was diagnosed with APL on June 21st. I have been in the hospital for 11 days now, finished a week long treatment of chemo (but I can't remember the name of it), and am now playing the waiting game for my white count to go back to normal. I've been having a fever lately and the doctors are keeping a close eye on me, doing lots of testing for infections and stuff like that. I'm pretty scared and hoping that the fever isn't anything serious because, as you know, the reality that there are absolutely no fighters in your body to fix an infection that in healthy people would be no big deal is very unsettling. I'm going in for a CAT scan later today and blood cultures are growing as you read this. I would really like to keep in contact with you, because your blog and the fact that you are now in remission has helped me start to think positively about this whole situation. My email is rebeccadvanhouten@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteThank you, and I wish you a long healthy cancer-free life :)