Posted on 01/08/2018 9:07:17 AM PST by John Conlin
7 years ago this month my wife was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)…
Picture a 5 shot revolver. Open the cylinder and insert 4 cartridges, leaving only one chamber empty. Now close the cylinder, give it a good spin… and put it to your head and pull the trigger. Those were the odds she faced with the version of AML she had!
We convinced ourselves her odds were better because she was young and strong and there hadn’t been any organ damage yet… we were “happy” that perhaps her odds were as good as 50-50. That’s like putting 3 cartridges in a 6 shot revolver and pulling the trigger! You know you are in a pretty bad place when you are “happy” and excited that your odds for living might be as high as 50-50.
Today she is doing pretty dang good. Her strong Catholic faith and love of Jesus helped her make that long walk through the valley of death and to come out alive on the other side. But there was more than God on her side.
It wasn’t that long ago that a diagnosis of leukemia was a guaranteed death sentence.
God bless modern medicine. God bless the doctors and nurses at the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute. God bless the nurses up on the 3rd and 4th floors of Presbyterian St. Luke’s hospital. And yes, God bless the pharmaceutical companies which make the lifesaving medicines which keep millions of Americans (and folks across the globe) alive today.
Whatever her doctors make, they earn every penny. Whatever those nurses make, they are under-paid – many can’t make it on these hospital floors because the constant death just beats them down. And yes there are swine in all things, but let those pharmaceutical companies make millions for their shareholders too.
When you face 80% odds of death, you quickly realize there are faces behind each and every one of those statistics. Right now, this very instant, there are souls up on the 3rd and 4th floors sweating bullets and hoping and praying they too can be one of the survivors. Per capita more die on those floors than anywhere else.
God bless modern medicine! And for those of us whose hearts still beat… every day we should fall on our knees and thank God for giving us another day of life. It is an incredible gift which should not be taken for granted. Sooner or later we will each walk through the valley of death… let’s tip our hats to those who help us walk it later rather than sooner ;-)
Praises for your blessing of His grace over your sweet wife and modern medicine.
Science put to the uses of the grace and mercy of God is an excellent thing.
If I were in such a position I certainly would pledge my new lease on life to the service of the Lord.
I am VERY happy for you and yours and will pray also.
Farmer dean went in for removal of a small cancer in his intestine. HIGHLY rated medical facility in ohio.
That was in April. Supposed to be out in 3 days. He’s STILL in the hospital fighting for his life.
They botched the surgery and he got sepsis.
I think the number one killer in America is doctors.
I’ve known too many who have been given the wrong combinations of meds, etc, surgery gone bad, to give a hoot and a holler for modern medicine.
Modern medicine also included flooding the country with opoids after the pharmacy lied about its addictive effects.
But I am VERY happy for you.
May God continue to bless your wife, you and all your family and friends.
God continue to bless you and your sweet wife.
Then there are those of us with rare conditions taht can’t get ANYWHERE with the medical community.
The medical community does not want to touch someone with a condition that they don’t know about.
Diabetes? No problem.
Cholesterol? Child’s play.
Something as life threatening as cancer and rare? Forget it. You’re on your own.
Yeah how is it that they found a treatment for HIV, which should have been notoriously difficult, but cancer is still taking way too many lives?
Heroin addicts don’t have health insurance to pay doctors and hospitals a fortune. Plus hollyweird was behind it all the way, so they could continue to rape little boys without fear of dying.
The average cancer patient does have health insurance and is a gold mine.
I went to CVS pharmacy the other day and it hit me that people buying cholesterol and high blood pressure medication are 6 feet from 15 snack aisles :)
CVS is making its own patients lol
Please know that I will be praying for your wife, you, and your family.
My Dad died from AML in 2009. He was a stubborn guy and the disease was diagnosed late and was well progressed. It only took about six weeks from diagnosis until he was gone. I miss him still. Every day with those you love is a day provided by Almighty God.
The cure for sepsis:http://www.evms.edu/about_evms/administrative_offices/marketing_communications/publications/issue_9_4/sepsis.php
I guess the doctors at that hospital didn’t know it because it did a lot of damage to him.
He’s a FReeper so everyone give a prayer out.
Farmer Dean is a farmer (makes sense) and VERY strong and his wife is very tough.
I pray he’ll be fine. I get updates every week or so.
I’ve read of YUGE doses of vitamin C beating cancer.
And that was at the ACS site.
Jesus showed the way with miraculous cures. Now mere mortals are accomplishing the same 2000 years later.
I have CLL and MDS. I LOVE Big Pharma. Diagnosed 12 Years ago and I have passed the sell by “expiration” date I was given at the time. The improvement in Treatment Options in just that short period of time is amazing.
It took four (months long) rounds of Chemotherapy, numerous Blood and Platelet Transfusions and a Blood Plasma Infusion throughout the years, but I’m still kicking.
An old coworker of mine survived AML. He had no idea he was sick until he fainted at his Daughter’s 9th Birthday Party.
It was touch and go for a year or so, but he made it through.
God Bless you, your Wife and Family.
What an encouraging story. Thanks for sharing it. I have been reading stats about blood cancers. I am especially uplifted reading about your wife.
Wonderful news. Prayers for you and your wife.
Most of the medical miracles that have come to my rescue and those of family members were made possible through innovations in the last several decades: artificial hips; arthroscopic knee surgery; cataract removals; identification and removal of a benign brain tumor; cardiac stents for aortic blockages; glaucoma medications; statins to lower cholesterol and reduce stroke risk; and drugs to treat and remit multiple myeloma. Fifty years ago, none of these existed, but now they do because of the energy and talent of American medicine.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.