A Note Of Thanks

Where do I begin. Thursday morning (July 14th) I was having breakfast with my daughter. I dropped her off at her daycare and then I received the call that my wife had been diagnosed with leukemia.

There really aren’t any words to describe the feeling one endures from a sucker punch like that.

I am typically a rather private person, no really. But, I felt an urge to share that with anyone I could. I needed support and wow, did it ever come pouring in. For that, I am eternally grateful. Between friends and the security community I was blown away by the response. Thank you all.

So, the “what” comes to mind. My wife has been ill for some weeks now. Her family doctor has now been revealed to be little more than a bargain basement quack of the worst variety. Her response to my wife had been that she was suffering little more than a migraine. Her advice had been to go home, nap, and take a Tylenol. It turns out that she had not even taken the time to do basic tests. For that, I hope she rots in her own personal hell when that day comes.

That being said, my wife has a finely tuned bullshit detector that goes all the way to 11. She went to a walk-in clinic on Monday morning. As luck would have it she saw the very same doctor who saved my life just over a year ago. This doctor immediately recognized that things were not adding up. She ran the proper tests and within 24 hours had the results and my wife was admitted to hospital. Thursday morning she was diagnosed with leukemia, specifically, acute myeloid leukemia.

From MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopaedia:

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most common types of leukemia among adults. This type of cancer is rare under age 40. It generally occurs around age 60. (This article focuses on AML in adults.)

AML is more common in men than women.

Persons with this type of cancer have abnormal cells inside their bone marrow. The cells grow very fast, and replace healthy blood cells. The bone marrow, which helps the body fight infections, eventually stops working correctly. Persons with AML become more prone to infections and have an increased risk for bleeding as the numbers of healthy blood cells decrease.

The doctors are giving her really good numbers. For that, we’re very thankful.

I would like to address the entire security community and the response that we received. Thank you all so much for your support. Thanks to those who went for marrow tests. Thanks to those who sent food and flowers. Thank you to those of you who made donations to the Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre in Diana’s name. Thanks to everyone who is doing whatever they can. Full karma points.

And a huge thanks the James, Jackie and the entire Arlen clan for their unbelievable support.

Live life to the fullest.

To everyone, I am in your debt.

(Image used under CC from ~*Gillian*~)