I was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myelogenous Leukemia) in 1982.  I was two and a half years old.  My mother noticed that I had three sores on my foot along with some bruising.  After a couple of weeks the sores and the bruising did not go away and my mother and father took me to the Emergency Room. I was there, what seemed to be forever.  They did any and every test they could. The test came back a few days later and what a shocker.  My whole family was devastated when we were told that I had this form of Leukemia.

After chemo and blood transfusions, relapses, and remissions, for three years, we were told that it was time for me to have a BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT. Every person in our whole family was tested to see if there was a match.  The last person that came to mind before putting me on the Transplant list was my only hope.  My seven-year-old-sister.  She was a match.  She had to testify stating that nobody put her up to it and she wanted to do it on her own.

In 1985 my sister was my Bone Marrow Transplant DONOR. I stayed in the hospital for a couple months and then my family and I stayed in the Ronald McDonald House for another month making sure that my body was going to take the Bone Marrow.

I never knew my life would change so much when I went home, back to Missouri.  I was kept in our home for a whole year not going anywhere.  My mom wouldn’t let nobody in except for our close family and when my sister went to school, as soon as she would walk in the house she had go and shower before she could come near me.

There were four other people in our town that also went through a bone marrow transplant.  My mother and I would see them through our window walking around town.  I wanted to go outside so bad but my mother never let me.

One time the Mayor of our town came to our home to meet me, and my mother would not let him into our house.  This is how strict she was.

Later I found out that all of the other bone marrow transplant patients in our town did not survive.  I was the sole survivor of this procedure.  Now, in looking back, it makes sense how strict my mother was regarding cleanliness, no visitors, showers every time a family member came home, etc.

I have been free from leukemia or any cancer for 22 years.