Over the past few weeks I had been struggling with some unknown health issues (mainly shortness of breath and a little more fatigue than usual). In a recent Chest CT scan to rule out a possible Pulmonary Embolism (blood clot in the chest...which came back negative) they found swelling in an enlarged lymph node under my armpit so they performed additional testing to determine the cause of inflammation. On Monday afternoon (July 1) we received the most unexpected diagnosis I think we could have imagined. I was told that I have Acute T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
By the grace of God, I was able to be fit into a follow up appointment with an amazing leading Leukemia Hematologist on Tuesday afternoon (July 2) and after a blood workup came back, I was directly admitted to KU Medical Center’s Leukemia Specialty Center within a couple of hours.
While this appears to be a serious and aggressive form of cancer, the doctors have indicated it is very treatable and survivable. Since I have not had symptoms for more than a couple of weeks, we are hopeful to have caught this early and have already begun the needed chemo treatments and further testing to knock it out!
The current treatment plan is for me to stay as an inpatient at KU Med for the next three to four weeks in their Leukemia center, followed by short stays at home combined with three-four day inpatient stays for more rounds of chemo until I reach remission.
My family appears to be in for a long road ahead, but while we are not sure what to fully expect moving forward, we fully believe God has already built an amazing army of medical personnel & praying friends and family to help us in this fight!!
We created this site to help keep our friends and loved ones updated on what is going on along the way. As you can imagine, trying to keep up with sharing all of this information to those we love can be quite overwhelming and I have known other families who have benefited from communicating information and receiving feedback from loved ones in this way! Prayers are the biggest way to help myself and our family during this time. However, if you do feel inclined to send anything to the hospital, please know that due to this type of disease, we cannot accept live flowers, plants, or food baskets/meals into our hospital room due to potential bacteria.
We appreciate the many prayers as well wishes that we know are being extended on our behalf. Your love and support and the grace of God is what will hold us up as we fight this battle together.
We love and appreciate you all more than you can know!
Debbie and Tony
Megan, Marisa, Jon, Jake, Carter & Cooper
“Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimated. Don’t give it a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6
“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I and your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 ESV
*Please Note: When you make a tribute on this page, this donation is not going directly to our family, it is going to Caring Bridge Non-Profit. We will let you know ways to help our family soon.
Anniversaries usually have strong emotions attached to them, good or bad. This day marks the 2 year anniversary of the phone call that changed our lives. I was given a diagnosis that rocked our world and created great fear and unrest for our family and friends near and far away. This entire week has a lot of “not so nice” memories attached to it, but I was reminded today that today is about redemption, not sadness.
I am reminded today of God’s great faithfulness in my life and throughout this journey of illness. He has made me new, literally, with new cells and a new perspective on life. I will never forget the happenings of this anniversary, but I choose to remember how He walked with me through them all. I am forever grateful for his provision of an amazing care team, and the love care and prayers of friends and family! Thank you all again for loving me when I needed it most! 🧡
Patients and caregivers love hearing from you; add a comment to show your support.
Help Debbie Stay Connected to Family and Friends
A $25 donation to CaringBridge powers a site like Debbie's for two weeks. Will you make a gift to help ensure that this site stays online for them and for you?
