Bill Cafferty

Up until April 14, 2016, I lived what many would characterize as a charmed life, health-wise.  A spry 78 years old and never been hospitalized, save a few days for a kidney stone. Not one to spend a lot time exercising, I lived a pretty much sedentary lifestyle, was a bit over weight and pretty much did what I wanted to do to stay active. I continued to work as a consultant to Ace Hardware Corporation in the field of retail loss prevention, traveling the country and visiting Ace Hardware retailers to conduct surveys/audits, training and investigations. I was deeply involved in volunteer activities at our local police department, working the "duty desk," patrolling the city in the Citizens on Patrol vehicle acting as an extra set  o f eyes and ear for the fine men and women of the Kerrville Police Department, as well as writing citations for violations of Texas handicap parking laws , I was a three term president of the Kerrville Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association, which oversaw and managed all of the volunteer and support activities of our nearly 100 members. I was one very busy person - and just loved every minute of it. When asked how I managed to escape the many aches and pains associated with aging, I always said that it was by the grace of God, and that I didn't have time to be sick - too busy -  and the fact that my wife is nearly 20 years younger and keeps ME young! 

That all changed in late 2015 when I began having symptoms of what I thought to be anemia  - shortness of breath and the inability to maintain an "active" lifestyle. The doctors started a protocol of various tests to determine exactly what the cause(s)could be. it was soon determined that I was not LOSING blood, so then the tests switched to determining what was happening WITHIN my bloodstream. 

One of the tests was a bone marrow biopsy. Imagine the shock when it revealed that I have leukemia - and not just one type of leukemia, but TWO: Acute Lymphoid Leukemia (ALL) and Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Determined to beat this thing, we began a journey that has had many ups and downs. My oncologist, Dr. Rebecca Barrington, confided in us after three months of treatment, that she hadn't expected me to live for  two months when first diagnosed, and that my progress was remarkable. What follows is my "how goes it" blog which I immediately began and update weekly. I thank each and every one of you who have allowed me to keep you informed - and particularly for your thoughts and prayers as we continue along this journey. And I thank CaringBridge for providing the means to do that. Thank you for visiting.