Ted Fighting Cancer-Wife has MS
Donation protected
I cannot work anymore due to illness. I was very tired in the months leading up to this. This is progressing quickly. My medical employment insurance money was done on February 21, 2020. CPP disability could take 4 to 6 months to get and it was just sent in for approval by the doctor. My doctor thinks I will not see the end of this 2020 year as I will be passing away from the illness. My wife has Multiple Sclerosis and has been medical retired since 2003 with a small disability insurance pay. She was a very hard worker building a career.
All of this is very stressful for both us of and is adding to our fatigue. The thoughts of what could be happening in the next few months ways heavy on both of us.
We just had our first grandchild on February 1. This has been good for us and our brains.
November 5 2019, I was very tired and I was diagnosed with Leukemia from bloodwork that was done. During that time, it was discovered I had a lung infection and needed medications.
November 13, I had a bone marrow biopsy.
November 22, my blood levels were down so I received 1 bag of blood with transfusion.
November 27, I went to see an Oncologist and was told that I have MDS/MPN overlap syndrome.
The myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative overlap syndromes (MDS/MPN) are a group of rare myeloid malignancies. They are a clinically diverse group with highly variable prognosis, often limited by transformation to acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), and have limited treatment options.
- Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPNs) is the name given to a group of conditions sometimes referred to as blood cancers.
MPNs originate in the bone marrow – the soft tissue in the middle of the bones where blood cells are made. In a healthy person, bone marrow makes blood stem cells that, in time, develop into mature blood cells – red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets.
- Myelodysplastic Syndromes or MDS?
MDS, also known as myelodysplasia or myelodysplastic syndromes, develops because the bone marrow cells do not develop into mature blood cells. Instead, these blood cells stay within the bone marrow in an immature state.
There are many subtypes of MDS. Some cases are mild, while others are more severe, and carry a high risk of becoming acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The subtype you have, and the severity of your case, depend on many factors, including how low your blood counts are and any genetic changes you have in your bone marrow cells.
At this time, I was given about 1 to 7 years (less now) to live diagnosis, depending on my treatment, how my body deals with the treatment, and if I could get a stem cell transplant with a match. The doctor said I would be way worse before I felt better.
December 3, I started chemo.
December 6, I needed 3 bags of blood with transfusion.
December 20, I was admitted into hospital because I have pneumonia. On December 23, I went home.
January 2, I saw my Oncologist again. This time he said my life span could be 6 to 18 months (less now). He said I would not be able to get a stem cell transplant as I would only have 3% chance of surviving the surgery.
January 3, I had to receive 1 bag of blood and 1 bag of platelets.
January 7, I had to get potassium.
January 10, I got 1 bag of blood.
January 30, I saw the Oncologist and he now says I won't see the end of the 2020 year.
February 7, I received 1 bag of blood.
February 12, I received platelets. I had a very bad reaction to those and was pretty wiped out for days and days.
February 20, I received blood as well as platelets since my platelets lower then before I got them on the 12th.
I see my Oncologist again on February 26.
During this whole time, I've been pretty weak and I sleep a lot in a lazyboy. I have a lot of pain and nausea.
I have lost 26 pounds due to not being able to eat and keep food down.
I now have a chronic lung infection due to all of this illness and chemo.
I previously had and have a bad back problem but because of this illness, they will not do surgery for that so I have major pain and sleeping problems in bed with that and it makes my legs weak now.
I've had to buy many medications that were not cheap during this time to deal with all the issues.
With me being down and my wife having MS, there are many things that don't get done as she can't manage to do the whole load of chores. I was the support for her for many things as well as income. We have some help from others with chores and am very thankful for that. Some have cooked for us, some have driven me for my many appointments.
My wife's small disability income will pay some bills and other things but not everything until my CPP gets started. She has in the past organized MS walks (created teams to help) and helped MS people (all volunteer work). She does so much volunteer work to help others, lost and found pets, and fostering cats for a rescue as well when she can.
Please donate to make my illness and passing more peaceful.
Any $5, $10, anything would be helpful and would help relieve some of the stress during this time. We appreciate it and thank everyone for their support in anyway during this time. Illness can hit anyone at any time.
Thank you!
Ted
PS - Our large Halloween Haunted House on the street and our huge Christmas display will not be the same! ☹
All of this is very stressful for both us of and is adding to our fatigue. The thoughts of what could be happening in the next few months ways heavy on both of us.
We just had our first grandchild on February 1. This has been good for us and our brains.
November 5 2019, I was very tired and I was diagnosed with Leukemia from bloodwork that was done. During that time, it was discovered I had a lung infection and needed medications.
November 13, I had a bone marrow biopsy.
November 22, my blood levels were down so I received 1 bag of blood with transfusion.
November 27, I went to see an Oncologist and was told that I have MDS/MPN overlap syndrome.
The myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative overlap syndromes (MDS/MPN) are a group of rare myeloid malignancies. They are a clinically diverse group with highly variable prognosis, often limited by transformation to acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), and have limited treatment options.
- Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPNs) is the name given to a group of conditions sometimes referred to as blood cancers.
MPNs originate in the bone marrow – the soft tissue in the middle of the bones where blood cells are made. In a healthy person, bone marrow makes blood stem cells that, in time, develop into mature blood cells – red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets.
- Myelodysplastic Syndromes or MDS?
MDS, also known as myelodysplasia or myelodysplastic syndromes, develops because the bone marrow cells do not develop into mature blood cells. Instead, these blood cells stay within the bone marrow in an immature state.
There are many subtypes of MDS. Some cases are mild, while others are more severe, and carry a high risk of becoming acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The subtype you have, and the severity of your case, depend on many factors, including how low your blood counts are and any genetic changes you have in your bone marrow cells.
At this time, I was given about 1 to 7 years (less now) to live diagnosis, depending on my treatment, how my body deals with the treatment, and if I could get a stem cell transplant with a match. The doctor said I would be way worse before I felt better.
December 3, I started chemo.
December 6, I needed 3 bags of blood with transfusion.
December 20, I was admitted into hospital because I have pneumonia. On December 23, I went home.
January 2, I saw my Oncologist again. This time he said my life span could be 6 to 18 months (less now). He said I would not be able to get a stem cell transplant as I would only have 3% chance of surviving the surgery.
January 3, I had to receive 1 bag of blood and 1 bag of platelets.
January 7, I had to get potassium.
January 10, I got 1 bag of blood.
January 30, I saw the Oncologist and he now says I won't see the end of the 2020 year.
February 7, I received 1 bag of blood.
February 12, I received platelets. I had a very bad reaction to those and was pretty wiped out for days and days.
February 20, I received blood as well as platelets since my platelets lower then before I got them on the 12th.
I see my Oncologist again on February 26.
During this whole time, I've been pretty weak and I sleep a lot in a lazyboy. I have a lot of pain and nausea.
I have lost 26 pounds due to not being able to eat and keep food down.
I now have a chronic lung infection due to all of this illness and chemo.
I previously had and have a bad back problem but because of this illness, they will not do surgery for that so I have major pain and sleeping problems in bed with that and it makes my legs weak now.
I've had to buy many medications that were not cheap during this time to deal with all the issues.
With me being down and my wife having MS, there are many things that don't get done as she can't manage to do the whole load of chores. I was the support for her for many things as well as income. We have some help from others with chores and am very thankful for that. Some have cooked for us, some have driven me for my many appointments.
My wife's small disability income will pay some bills and other things but not everything until my CPP gets started. She has in the past organized MS walks (created teams to help) and helped MS people (all volunteer work). She does so much volunteer work to help others, lost and found pets, and fostering cats for a rescue as well when she can.
Please donate to make my illness and passing more peaceful.
Any $5, $10, anything would be helpful and would help relieve some of the stress during this time. We appreciate it and thank everyone for their support in anyway during this time. Illness can hit anyone at any time.
Thank you!
Ted
PS - Our large Halloween Haunted House on the street and our huge Christmas display will not be the same! ☹
Organizer
Ted MacLeay
Organizer
Red Deer, AB