On Sunday (April 28th), I woke up with a bit of a headache. It wasn’t very bad, so I went to my church meetings. Later that afternoon, I felt at some sore muscles in the left side of my neck only to find a few lumps. I looked in the mirror, and there were lumps. Big lumps.
I tried to settle down for some sleep to rest my eyes while my siblings Googled my symptoms. No sore throat, no coughing, no sneezing, no recent fevers, no red spots or rashes. I had swollen lymph nodes on the left side of my neck, and that was about it. My left ear hurt a bit, but I thought it might just be a headache. My best guess was an ear infection.
After a couple hours’ sleep, I called a knowledgeable friend about my symptoms. He asked me a lot of questions, then recommended a doctor’s appointment. I agreed and went to bed.
Monday morning, I was feeling pretty tired, but aside from my left neck, I felt fine. My mom drove me to the doctor’s office.
They asked me some questions, but I’d heard them before. My ears looked clear on inspection, but the doctor prescribed me some antibiotics just in case. He raised the possibility of mono, which would make sense as I share musical instruments at school. I was told to schedule another appointment if nothing improved.
Throughout the next few days, I resolved to go to school if I felt better. Every morning, I would just be so drained of energy. Sometimes I’d work up the strength to type a few words of my essay, but have to go back to bed pretty soon.
Thursday morning. I was looking forward to the Sir Isaac Newton physics contest, but I missed it for another doctor’s appointment.
The doctor said I could stop the antibiotics because they seemed to be having no effect and ordered some blood work done to see if I had mono. I went to the lab right after and they took a few vials of blood. Then I went home and spent the rest of the day in bed.
Friday morning. I was awoken by my mom holding a phone.
“Aaron, it’s for you. It’s the doctor.”
I was told that I needed to go to Victoria Hospital immediately. My blood work had been analyzed and it was very probable I had acute leukemia. My dad drove me there.
When we arrived, a nurse took some more blood. We spent a couple hours in a room as we waited for the results, but they did come—visual confirmation of the leukemia cells in my blood.
The doctors and nurses came to tell me the news, answering a lot of questions on the way. I would be staying in the hospital for the weekend, and probably longer.
At this point, I’m doing really well. No pain, a little discomfort from the IV in my right elbow, and a really nice hospital staff.
I wanted to make this website to give some general updates on how I’m doing. If a lot is going on, there might be a delay in me writing these, but I’ll do my best to keep you updated.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
So now we get to see where it leads.