Hey everyone! Morgan here- sorry for taking as long as humanly possible to update you on my life. To be completely honest, I would have kept putting it off if it wasn’t for my mother and her reminding me of my adoring fans (aka you!). But here we are, and this is going to be a long one, so buckle in, maybe grab some Starbucks, and I will try to make this as entertaining as possible.
For those looking for the short version of the story, here it is: On the fateful morning of May 26th, 2023, approximately at 10:15 am, I got the call that the results of my blood smear from the ER that morning came back abnormal, and they were suspecting I have acute lymphoblastic leukemia (spoiler alert: they were right). For context, I came into the ER with pain in my limbs, so this was not at all a diagnosis I saw coming. Within the next hour, I was back on my way to the hospital for what was going to be the beginning of my treatment.
From here, I think it’s easiest if I tell the whole story of my condition, so allow us to back up in time. One of the first questions I get, especially from my friends, is how long I have actually had this cancer. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is very unique in the fact it progresses so quickly, so we don’t know for sure. Even if we did know, not much would have changed in terms of my treatment. What I do know is the main symptom I had was joint pain. On March 20th, 2023, right after I returned from spring break, I had a horrible flair-up of pain in my left arm. Deep, throbbing pain that would not go away regardless of what position I put my arm in and kept me up all night. After sobbing on the phone to my parents at 5:00 am, I went to urgent care, which presumed it was most likely a muscle strain, and was prescribed muscle relaxers that did absolutely nothing. However, the pain subsided on its own within the next couple of days, and we figured I hurt myself carrying things to and from my room in the sorority house. Flash forward 3 weeks later. After returning back home for Easter break and carrying more things around, I had the same pain come back, this time in my right arm. This time I consulted the UNL sports medicine clinic, which attributed the pain to tennis elbow. This made some sense in this context since I used to play so avidly. The pain once again dissolved on its own, and I figured I just had the world’s worst body mechanics when lifting. Over the course of the rest of the semester, I had smaller flair-ups of pain in my arms and once or twice in my legs. However, if there is one thing I got from my mom is my sense of stubbornness, so I did not tell anyone and carried on with my life. Other than the unexplained pain, I had very few symptoms. I felt tired, but I was also a college student with a very rigorous course schedule and an active social life. Thus, I figured I would just catch up on sleep when I got home for the summer.
Fast forward to summer break, I had just finished finals and moved back home to take a CNA class and hopefully start work to get patient care hours. The night of Wednesday, May 24th, after a fun-filled day of CNA class, I was sitting with my family watching the Survivor season finale, and both my arms began to throb in pain. Once again, I did not say anything and powered through my day of class on Thursday. However, by the time I made it home, I was in tears from the pain. The whole night I searched for relief, and the only thing that made a dent was a hot shower, so my mom convinced me at 4:30 am that I did need to go to the ER, and thankfully we did.
Luckily, the ER was not a nightmare of waiting, and I was able to be seen quickly. Dr. Johnson was amazing and got some blood tests sent in addition to administering some pain medication. After I was found to be slightly anemic with no real explanation, we were sent home, and Dr. Johnson sent my blood for a smear test by a pathologist, leading us back up to the remainder of the story.
We returned quickly to the ER that morning after the call, not really letting the whole situation sink in, but we were already told we had oncologists working behind the scenes. Upon returning to the ER, we were told that they actually suspected I had acute myeloid leukemia, which has a less favorable prognosis than my true diagnosis and was shipped up to the adult oncology unit.
I then received a PICC line, EKG, lumbar puncture, bone marrow biopsy, and finally a corrected diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. From there, it was determined that I would undergo treatment by the pediatric oncology team at Blank- something I was very happy with as that atmosphere was much more lively.
By that afternoon, we already knew my proposed treatment plan for the next 2 and a half years. Treating ALL has become a very mainstream procedure in terms of already having a regime mapped out. There are multiple stages with varying levels of treatment and medications used- the first being the induction period that I am in as we speak. The good news? After these first 28 days of treatment, most patients are in remission! For the next month, I have received and continued to receive chemotherapy through IV and in my spinal cord, lumbar punctures, steroids, and a bunch of as-needed medications. I am able to complete most of this outpatient, which is a huge blessing to our family and makes the whole process easier.
Fast forwarding through my story just a little bit, I spent until the evening of Wednesday, May 31st, in the hospital. The staff at Blank truly are amazing once again- the nurses, residents, doctors, and support staff made my whole family feel welcome and comfortable, even in such a hard period. While in the hospital, I received my first 2 rounds of IV chemo and had an additional lumbar puncture. My labs were drawn frequently, and my body has begun and continued to respond beautifully to treatment. I am extremely fortunate in that department and am thankful for all of the good days I have had and will continue to f.
The trick with ALL is not necessarily getting rid of it but more of keeping it away. Essentially, the next 6 months of my life if going to “feel” like I have cancer even when I get to remission. I will be spending my fall semester at home due to necessary weekly doctor visits and some planned hospital stays. However, treatment for ALL is over a period of 2 and a half years. The last two years, or the maintenance phase, only consists of monthly appointments. With that being said, I have a great chance of resuming a more normal life this spring and going back to Nebraska as long as everything goes smoothly. While it’s going to be hard for me, it really helps me stay at peace knowing I have something to look forward to. Not everyone with a cancer diagnosis can say that, and I will never take that lightly. In fact, as someone who has been constantly going their whole life, this whole situation has put a lot of things into perspective for me. God is definitely using this as a way to open my eyes to something in my life (maybe medical school?), and there is a reason I am overcoming this all. I hope to try to be open to everything and find the positives in it all, which, so far, I think I have. I am not saying every day will be easy, and I know it won’t be, but finding little victories in what seems like only negative environments is possible.
I am going to end this update here for now, but I just really wanted to extend another thank you to everyone in my life. I have never felt more loved and supported by my family, friends, medical team, and community. I appreciate every single text, call, gift, prayer, and thought I have received. As I was saying earlier, there are positives in everything, and the love I feel from everyone is one of them. Now hopefully, I am a bit more timely on the updates, but if you know me, you know I get a little sidetracked!
hi everyone! its been a while, hasn’t it? I may or may not have forgotten that this is something I need to update. lucky for you, my mother kindly gave me a reminder (she threatened me).
honestly, I have not been up to much. it is very nice that things are slowing down. i did enter the maintenance portion of chemotherapy. this means most of my meds are now oral instead of iv and i spend less time at the hospital. i was hoping this phase would be easier, but I guess it takes your body some time to adjust. I have been dealing with extreme fatigue and headaches where I (still) don’t have a bone flap.
even with the setbacks, I continue to make progress in my speech, occupational, and physical therapy. I am building much higher stamina in my walking. We are working towards getting rid of the brace on my left ankle. I don’t need a well chair everywhere I go. When Max came to visit, we were even able to go to a restaurant and eat! I can lift my arm above my head and sometimes my fingers will wiggle.We thank God for the progress we are seeing as I recover.
We ask for prayers so that I start feeling more energized so I can keep continuing progress and that my headaches go away. I am hoping my body can keep tolerating the chemo. We are still waiting for a call that they can move my surgery up. thank you!
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