Jo Ann Tesar

What a year 2018 has been!  In June of 2018 I was diagnosed with stage 3 Multiple Myeloma cancer.  I had just healed up from a horrible infection in my hip replacement and was on my way in my recovery.  I went to my post op appointment with my primary physician who stated that she had been monitoring all my blood test results and she stated that my calcium levels where high.  I thought to myself "oh good, I'm drinking enough milk", the doctor however ordered a blood workup before I left.  A couple hours later I get a call from the doctor stating "i have ordered you a room at United.  Your calcium is dangerously high.  We need to have more tests" .  All this over calcium!!???


When I had my second hip replacement I came out of surgery feeling like the doctors had gone mid evil on me.  My right shoulder and my ribs felt all bruised up and extremely painful, breathing hurt, lifting was impossible and using my walker/cane felt almost impossible because of my own body weight.  You are probably asking how this is related to the cancer.  I am getting to that.  


I get into the hospital and the first thing they do is start blood work and explain to me that I will need to wait for the doctor to see the results before I'll know what is happening.  They start me on some calcium medication, which immediately makes me sick and put me on pain meds because of the shoulder and rib pain.  The next day I finally see a doctor and we have my son Curtis on a conference call to learn more about this high calcium business.  The doctor starts talking and in midst of the conversation we hear "cancer" and she keeps talking.  Both Curtis and I at the same time say "WAIT!, back up, cancer?"  Yep, thats what she said anything she said before and after the word cancer was canceled out.  After a few more tests and more conversations with doctors, I was finally released to go home.  


A couple days later I was summoned back to the hospital and re admitted. This is where my memory of what happens over the next couple weeks is sketchy at best.  My people who went through it with me will be filling in the blanks from here.