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April, 2020 - One month into COVID lockdown, what begun as just another “getting old” ailment, leg pains, a doctor visit and standard blood lab work, two months later turned into the beginning of Marie’s journey as a cancer patient.
June 18 2020 - Marie is official diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), bone marrow cancer. On this day while shopping at Walmart Marie receives a call from the oncologist that the bone marrow biopsy indicated she had MDS.
July/August 2020 - Cancer treatments begin in early July and go through August. Once a month for an entire week Marie goes to receive a form of light chemotherapy. The objective was to reduce the chances of MDS progressing into Leukemia (AML) and get her immune system prepared for a bone marrow transplant.
August 30, 2020 - After months of getting unpleasant news practically every other week, we get a call that the transplant team had identified 4 perfect matched bone marrow donors. Needles to say that these were the best news we had received in months.
September 2020- Ten days later after the donor news Marie is informed that the transplant is being schedule for October 15, finally it looked that the nightmare will be ending soon. In preparation for the transplant a bone marrow biopsy was done. The good news were short lived. On Friday September 18, Marie received a call and is informed that the July/August treatments had not yielded the desired results for the transplant to move forward in October, instead she was to be hospitalized the following Monday for a more aggressive chemotherapy treatments, the transplant would be rescheduled for late November.
Week of September 21, 2020 - our daughter Ashlee and I dropped off Marie at the hospital for her 6 to 8 week stay. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic Marie will not be allowed any visitors during this period. The first day Marie had all sorts of tests done (CT scans, echo gram) sonogram, etc)in preparation for the chemotherapy.
Monday evening we had a FaceTime session with the doctor and everything is going according to plan. Wednesday morning, Marie calls me and tells me that the Sonogram show breast cancer tumors. Friday the transplant team confirms the breast cancer is of a serious nature and Marie is referred to a breast cancer specialist and is discharged from the hospital.
October 2020 - After a series of scans and breast biopsy, on October 15 Marie is diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Because of this complication she is no longer eligible for a bone marrow transplant. After meeting with the transplant team the only option Marie is given is to seek experimental treatments at MD Anderson in Houston Texas. We look for a second opinion and transfer her case to an oncologist at Northside Hospital.
January 25, 2021 - Beast news since August 30, 2020. Marie spend s the entire day at Cancer Centers of America going through followup tests and scans. At the end of the day we meet with her breast cancer oncologist and he tell us the her breast cancer tumors and lymph nodes are shrinking.
April 2021 - Marie’s bone marrow treatments are showing signs of not working. And her white cells counts continue to drop and there is a need for a blood transfusion. Treatment is suspended
May 2021 - treatment is suspended and Marie gets another blood transfusion and doctor orders a bone marrow biopsy on May 27.
Friday May 28h 2021, Marie is diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Monday February 28 2022, Marie loses her battle. Miss her so much
