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Mike Miller's
Battle with Leukemia
Mike and April
Gulf Shores 2011
Mike was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) in May 2002. He was 30 years old, and he and April had been married three years. Mike hit total remission by late June after induction chemotherapy, which was followed by 3 cycles of post-remission chemotherapy. He then developed severe migraines in February 2003,
and by March was found to have central nervous system (CNS) involvement in addition to recurrence in the bone marrow.
Mike again hit remission, but only after months of Arsenic Trioxide and intrathecal Ara-C. In April, we visited MD Anderson in Houston, where they recommended an additional experimental drug Mylotarg. Mike received five cycles in five-week intervals. After our follow-up visit to MD Anderson, Mike relapsed again in September. After reinitiating intrathecal Ara-C treatments, Mike was again in remission by November but at the cost of neuropathy in his lower extremities. We visited MD Anderson a third time in November where they concluded the neuropathy was related to drug toxicity, not the relapse of Leukemia.
At the recommendation of Edward Muir, MD, we visited Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle in January 2004. We liked what we saw! We returned to Seattle in March to begin the 100-day process for a stem cell transplant. God has blessed our family in so many ways, including the day Mike was brought into this world. We are so fortunate God's plan included making Mike an identical twin. On May 3, Mike received his donor stem cells. Thank you, Mark, for donating your stem cells
and giving Mike the gift of life!
Now nine years since his initial diagnosis, Mike and April are home in Marion, Arkansas. By the grace of God, Mike remains cancer free today! They are enjoying life and raising their three beautiful daughters,
Emerson Jane, Maggie Claire and Chloe Allyn!
Thank you for your love and your continued prayers.
Journal
Monday, August 1, 2011 Today Mike and I are celebrating our 13 year wedding anniversary! Well, he’s in the hospital celebrating over baked chicken and ice cream and I’m celebrating by working today and having the girls’ pictures made tonight in Jonesboro. But we’re sure to celebrate again with dinner and movie very soon.
Mike went to the ER last night because he was having trouble breathing. He hadn’t felt well all weekend. After blood work and a chest xray, they decided to admit him for safe measures. Doesn’t look like pneumonia (which is what we were afraid we might hear), but his breathing is very poor and there’s obviously an infection. So he’s on oxygen and a heavy dose of antibiotic and already feels better today! This hospital visit may go down in the books as his shortest hospital visit yet! Probably not tonight, but he sure hopes to be released tomorrow!
Just to recap these last several years (since I’ve been absent from caringbridge), Mike hadn’t been in the hospital in nearly two years. What a huge improvement over the previous seven years! Until a bout with pneumonia over this last new year, which landed him in the hospital over the holidays. But I’m sure Mike will be home again tomorrow and we’ll be back into our normal routine again, just in time for school to start.
Read Journal History
Links: www.caringbridge.org/visit/meltonholt Heather Holt and family
http://millerphotocollection.shutterfly.com Family Photo Site
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