[smjson]

9 year anniversary

by smjson on Tue Sep 11, 2012 3:47 pm

9 years ago I was on active duty with the US Army Reserves at Ft McCoy, WI, where I worked in the Dental Clinic. There was a blood drive on base and our troops had invaded Iraq, so most of us gave blood, except me. My hemoglobin test came back at 9.2 and I immediately went to the base medical clinic for a Complete Blood Count. This lead to many tests to determine the cause of my anemia. I finally had a CAT scan in Nov 2003 that showed multiple lytic lesions and the diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma was made. My symptoms prior to diagnosis were all related to anemia, especially my inability to complete a 2 mile run, something I had no problem with the year before. I attributed this to getting old, poor work out routines, bad diet and stress. It all made sense to me after the anemia was discovered and I went through all the mental anguish new Multiple Myeloma patients experience. At this stage of my medical history, the US Army was responsible for my treatment because I was diagnosed while on active duty. I had kept up my personal medcial insurance and was able to meet with a private oncologist and consult with a transplant specialist at the Univ of Minnesota Bone and Marrow Transplant Clinic. I started with thalidomide/Dex in Dec 2003, was medically discharged from the Army 04 Sep 2004 and had my Auto SCT 29 Sep 2004. This was followed by the Mini-Allo SCT 16 Dec 2004. I then was blessed with 6 years of remission. In Dec 2010 I relapsed, had radiation on my pelvis and a Donor Lymphocyte Infusion (DLI). This worked out pretty well however, it increased my Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) which is a complication of having had a donor SCT and the DLI. So currently I am taking Revlimid/Dex and doing well.
When diagnosed, I never expected to see all my children graduate from High School or College, witness their marriages and know grandchildren. So I feel very blessed and hope to have more years of life in this wild and crazy world. I am now 60, retired from my dental practice and the Army and live on a 10 acre ranch with my beautiful wife of 31 years, 4 horses, 3 pit bulls, 2 cats and chickens.

[Guitarnut]

Re: 9 year anniversary

by Guitarnut on Fri Nov 16, 2012 8:28 pm

Hi Steven,

First let me say...THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!! I so appreciate the sacrifices you and your family have made.THANK YOU!!

Secondly, thank you for sharing your story. You are an inspiration to many of us, I'm sure, that have just begun this journey. Mine started just over a year ago and I know what the scrambling for answers and information can do to a person. I wish I would have found your story back then!

Keep up the fight and I wish you and your family a long and prosperous future!!

Scott Hansgen
(aka, Guitarnut)