On Good Friday, I reflected on just how far my sister and my entire family have come since this day last year.

In 2011, Deana’s day began with a call from her doctor’s office, alerting her to the need to get to the hospital for three units of blood.  Her blood work from the day before showed a hemoglobin level of 6 g/dL.

When I heard how low Deana’s hemoglobin level was, I knew it wasn’t good.  However, it took some time for me to realize just how fortunate we were that we didn’t lose her.  Her heart was working awfully hard to transport what blood she had through her body.

On that day, the physical distance between us was made very great.

I was driving back from a work event in Jacksonville, Florida, and was checking in with Deana and our sister Darrie periodically.  It sounded like there was quite a bit of confusion, and ultimately, Deana only received two units of blood that day.  I was very concerned about the ramifications of only receiving two units when three were prescribed.  I was also stunned that Deana wouldn’t be kept for observation, given what seemed to be a rather severe situation.

My sisters continued to assure me that there was no need to travel to Pittsburgh – everything was under control.  My husband continued to encourage me to go directly to the Atlanta airport and get to my family.  In an uncharacteristic move, I honored by sisters’ wishes and stayed in Georgia.

Easter weekend brought no improvement, and Deana was admitted to the hospital on Easter Sunday evening.  I did not get news of this until the next morning, much to my dismay.

Again, I cursed myself for not going to Pittsburgh on Friday or Saturday.  My family was facing a potential crisis, and I was not there.

As many of you know, by the end of the day Monday, the doctors suspected multiple myeloma.  I showed up unannounced on Tuesday evening, and on Wednesday, we received the news that would change our lives: Deana did, in fact, have multiple myeloma.

What a difference a year makes.  We are so thankful that Deana is now in remission.  Last year, I was concerned we could lose Deana.  Now, she looks terrific and is back in the swing of life.

At Deana’s appointment with her oncologist last week, her blood results were outstanding: her hemoglobin was 11.7 g/dL and her IgA protein was 64 mg/dL.  (On a side note, I did not travel to Pittsburgh for this appointment, which is an indicator of how confident I am that all will be well.)

Deana had been concerned that her IgA was on the rise: it went up from around 80 mg/dL at the end of January to 97 mg/dL in early March.  This latest reduction to 64 mg/dL demonstrates that things are fluid and we have to get ourselves accustomed to fluctuations. We’ve come quite a way from an IgA of 5,496 mg/dL. Wow!

On March 30, we gathered in Washington, D.C., for the wedding of a very close family friend.  It was a grand occasion.  More than once, I paused to reflect on how grateful I am that we have Deana with us.  We sisters had a blast spending time with our mother and these dear friends.  We ate, drank, and danced the night away.  Deana never missed a beat.  We are blessed.

By next month’s column, Deana will have just celebrated her 40^th birthday.  (Of course, she now has her stem cell transplant birthday as well, so I should start working on a plan for a 1^st birthday bash in November.)  For now, I wish her all the best as she reaches this milestone and hope for many, many happy returns.