Janeen Kaseman

My story starts back in December, although looking way back, there might have been signs my body was telling me for a long time, but I guess I chalked them up to just getting older and possible menopause. The last couple years had not come easy for us, but we plugged along day by day surviving like everyone else did. Back in 2017 in November, we lost my dad to Kidney Cancer after a long and hard 7 year battle. The following year in October, we lost Kirby's mom. The next month, we lost Kirby's dad. Losing all of these parents kind of knocks the wind out of you. This was all very difficult to deal with, but we got through. In August of 2019, Kirby's job, LME Trucking, shut down without a warning, with no pay...nothing. Just left without our main income. Once the shock wore off, he was able to get another job with Ruan Trucking. A good job, the pay was ok but not as well as before. I had been with Sanford health for 7 years. I have been a CNA for 30 years, in 2019, I decided to switch to the medical records department. I LOVED this job. Unfortunately, due to a stressful and hostile work environment, I was forced to have to decide to leave the job I loved. This was heartbreaking, Sanford was my "home." After this, I got a job at healthways, working for the PA there. She was expecting a baby at the time, but nothing was ever said about me not having any work when she was out for maternity leave. I enjoyed this job, helping the patients, making the appointments for them, taking there messages and just being there for them. My PA I worked for was due to go on maternity leave in November. The day before, I was told that they weren't sure if they could find enough hours for me while she was out on leave. I was devastated of course, I took my stuff and I left because I needed a steady job and paycheck. In November, we had to sell our home out in the country and downsize, so we moved into town. I got a job at Edgewood Vista Village assistant living, working as a dining room assistant. I enjoyed the job, but was having trouble getting uses to the physical part of it. I would be so tired and exhausted from the day. Everyday I worked, it was a struggle. Thinking that I just needed to get used to it again, so just kept going. It was on my birthday, December 31st, that I started to have flu like symptoms. We were all going to go out for dinner that evening to celebrate my bday, but I ended up leaving work early that day sick, so the plans were canceled. It seemed like my "flu" just wasn't getting better. I would try to go to work, and most days, I would end up coming home, sick. This was very frustrating because starting a new job, you don't want to be missing a bunch of days, not to mention, we needed the money. I ended up eventually going to the walk in clinic, mainly because I wanted a note for work. They didn't test me for influenza, the just went by my symptoms and said it was the flu. Kept trying to get back on my feet, but seemed to just get worse and worse. I went to my primary dr. then, he said the same thing. Went home and tried to drink and get enough rest(at this point, all I really could do, or wanted to do was sleep) I just kept trying to work and stay there. I took a lot of bathroom breaks just so I could sit and not pass out, I was so weak and dizzy. Finally on my weekend to work in the end of January, I made it through the whole Saturday, but thought I was going to die. I got home from work and went straight to bed and slept until the next morning. It was time to get up for work again, I got dressed barely and just couldn't do it, I could barely get out of bed. So, I had to call in again and it tore me up, because I honestly didn't know what I was going to do. I felt awful. That Sunday we decided, I was going to go to the ER. That was even hard for me to do. We didn't need to wait long in the waiting room thankfully. They started doing there stuff right away, drawing blood, giving me IV fluids, ect.. It didn't take too long and the Dr. came in and said, your hemoglobin is at 4.5. You will need blood and that is an automatic admission to the hospital. They checked to see if I was bleeding from anywhere...but nothing was found. The next day, they had me get a bone marrow biopsy. They were also sending results to Mayo. Results came back that I had Cancer of the bone marrow. Another name for it is MDS Syndrome. Yes, that's what they said. It really didn't sink in right away, but that was that. I would need to follow up with the oncologist and go from there. He referred me to Mayo Clinic. I would need chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.....and that is where our journey began.