Blog Post Series
A Miracle for the Holidays

A Miracle for the Holidays

For those of you who know me or may have read my other story, you know about my husband’s battle with cancer. Now that I know how this story ends, I want to share with you a little hope for the holidays, and all the small miracles we’ve experienced along the way.

The first miracles we experienced before we even knew something serious was wrong. My husband was not someone to go to the doctor for small things, or really even big things, so it would take something obvious to make him visit the urgent care. Later, he would tell me that it was a good thing the tumor was in his chest pressing on his heart, making his symptoms severe, or he might not have gone to the doctor. At the urgent care, he was prescribed steroids for an infection, which his oncologist later said may have helped to shrink the tumor. 

On his return trip to the urgent care, after he had continued to feel worse, an x-ray was done and he was told to go to the ER. The urgent care warned us that because he was young the ER would probably turn him away, thinking nothing could be wrong, but to insist that they see him and take a look at the x-ray. That’s exactly what happened when we showed up to the ER, and thanks to the doctor at the urgent care, we didn’t take no for an answer.

Before we showed up at the ER, a kind person suggested that we shouldn’t go to the closest hospital, so we ended up at the next closest one. This is where Daniel had an incredible heart surgeon. After the surgery, the surgeon knew it was bad. He told me that my husband was young and could beat this, and that it was important to get the biopsy results back quickly. He said he would do everything possible to speed things up, except hold a gun to someone’s head. I believe this surgeon and his dedication to getting us results made a huge difference in getting treatment early enough.

When Daniel did get transferred to a cancer center that could treat the rare and aggressive cancer that he had, known as T-ALL, the bone marrow biopsy showed only a small amount of cancer in the blood. It was technically below the threshold to be classified as leukemia, despite that the cancer he had almost always manifested in leukemia. Leukemia was even in the name because of this. The doctors decided to try treating his cancer with chemo before taking the difficult step of having a bone marrow transplant. The chemo did its job and got rid of the cancer in Daniel’s blood. I didn’t realize what a miracle this was until I started talking to other family members in the cancer ward.

Throughout Daniel’s first 6-week stay in the hospital and many others, we met many incredible patients, like one man who called my husband “Champion” every time he saw him out walking the halls. Daniel had committed to walking 100 miles during his treatment in order to “Walk All Over Cancer”. I’m so proud to say that while it was a lot harder than he initially thought, he blew that goal away. There was an older Asian woman who also walked the halls daily and another very upbeat woman who always smiled and chatted. I was always impressed by how brave and positive these patients were. 

Speaking to their loved ones was when I truly realized how fortunate we were. Every conversation I had the question eventually came up. “Did your husband have his bone marrow transplant yet?” When I answered that he wouldn’t need one, I was greeted with various reactions somewhere between disbelief and amazement. Every other patient in that unit that I heard about, almost every one with the less-aggressive form of the cancer Daniel had, needed a bone marrow transplant. And this transplant was extremely hard on the body and could be rejected just like any organ.

That’s not to say that my husband’s journey was easy by any means, but that was one less awful thing he had to go through. Not to mention, the doctors had prepped us that it would be difficult to find a match if he needed a transplant due to him being half Asian. That meant his mom, dad, siblings, aunts, and uncles would not be a match. I’m thankful we never had to learn if a match could be found in time. 

Daniel had many falls, literally, but most times there was someone there to catch him, whether it was a nurse or a stranger in the elevator. Most importantly, he always got back up. There are no words to describe how happy we both are that after almost 4 years he is done with chemo in time for the holidays. His last scans and bloodwork showed no evidence of disease. He has been in remission for over 3 years. And just a couple days ago he had his port removed, which he decided to keep as a souvenir. 

I can’t believe that all of these small things that led to healing were only coincidences. I think of them as small miracles and answered prayers. My wish is that this story gives hope to those of you who are battling cancer or other significant difficulties right now. For those who have won the fight, I hope it encourages you to look back at your journey and give thanks for all the miracles that led you to where you are now. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,

-Clever


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